Critical Thinking as an Educational Ideal

Critical thinking arrives at a judgment on a question by looking back in a reasonable way at the relevant evidence; it is “reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do” (Ennis). Its key component skills are those of clarifying meaning, analyzing arguments, evaluating evidence, judging whether a conclusion follows, and drawing warranted conclusions. An ideal “critical thinker” is open-minded and fair-minded, searches …