back to main
back to faith07




The 5 Steps to Critical Thinking









The five steps to critical thinking define the way humans think critically.

1. Know the Facts

not expected to know all the facts

ignorance

someone is not aware of certain facts

culpable ignorance
Doing something you are clearly unskilled to do
example: not being a doctor and operating on someone

conscience
something inside us that tells us if something is right or wrong
a person must never act against his conscience

2.Principle of Contradiction

if one thing and another thing determine different views about the same thing, only one can be correct
example: Jesus either rose from the dead or he didn't

3. Define Your Terms

the validity of an argument depends on how you define your terms

4. Be Intellectually Humble

There is much to learn

We should learn that we were wrong when someone proves that we are wrong

Don't deny something until you have proven it to be false

5. Look for Different Perspectives

people naturally gravitate toward the more negative interpretation
example: It is hard to believe in God because of all the evil in the world
What about an explanation of all the beauty and goodness

We need to look for other explanations before writing something off as valid or invalid

back to main
back to faith07