Have you ever heard about critical thinking? Have you everwondered what it is? Have you ever gotten so confused on what the big fuss isall about? I am going to try to answer these questions and make it a littlemore easy and comprehendible, by examining literature, situations and issues weall undergo in our daily lives and how critical thinking is involved in them.
“Critical thinking is self-guided,self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level ofquality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and socio-centric tendencies. They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking. They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason. They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest. They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society. At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so. They avoid thinking simplistically about complicated issues and strive to appropriately consider the rights and needs of relevant others. They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement.
They embody the Socratic principle: “The unexamined life is not worth living, because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world.”” (Paul and Elder, 2001)
The above passage is a thorough professional explanation of what critical thinking is. However it could be still viewed as a complex explanation that tackles many aspects. Therefore by further examining the given literature and own experience, I will make it easier to comprehend. I will start by explaining that Critical thinking is an acquired skill that you can learn and evolve. Concisely it’s been defined in the dictionary as “The capacity to perform good decisions based on solid logic.” If we brake that statement up, one would notice that its main components are good decision making and logical reasoning. So, how does one became capable of good decision making? The answer would be by learning more about issue at hand, analyzing it, and determining its credibility, through a combination of research and experience, then properly inducing an argument based on a generalization of the evidence acquired. What about logical reasoning? This involves drawing a rational conclusion based on a highly scrutinized evidence which is being presented in the arguments premise.
I am going to make this again a little more modest and easier to relate to. As designers we have all faced rejection in a way or another from a jury or a client. We’ve always regarded that as an unfair result towards our hard work and hours of sleepless, working nights. However have you ever thought elaborately why the rejection really occurred? Let me say one thing I always tell my students, “It’s nothing personal!” so why then. It’s based on your design not delivering the expected or required message. How could one truly reach that point when you’re a hundred percent sure that your design is delivering the required and the expected in an unorthodox novel manner. The answer is “Critical Thinking”.
Whenever one is presented with a project rationale and the sparks start to fly all over the place, the thinking process begins and development sketches are developing, and a first prototype is produced. At this point one has to stop for a minute and put their critical thinking cap on, and question, what was the initial spark that brought about this prototype? Have I carried this spark throughout my designing process? Why did one surrender to that particular spark? Is the produced prototype satisfactory of the initial spark, the provided rationale and one’s personal design tactics? Does this prototype satisfy time and budgetary requirements? Is this prototype satisfying its intended function? And on and on the questions continue. Answering these questions and redesigning project over and over till almost all questioned aspects are dealt creatively with will guarantee a much more successful final product to both designer and client or jury group.
Many in the design fields do this subconsciously, many others do it with high cognitive recognition, and others merely are beginners; but if we manage and learn to raise vital questions and problems, formulate them clearly and precisely; gather and assess relevant information, then interpret them effectively and come to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, that could be tested against relevant criteria’s and standards, and communicate them effectively with others and figure out solutions to more complex problems we have then definitely mastered the key elements of critical thinking that lead to one becoming a leading, successful and rather unique designer.
Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2001) The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools. United States: Foundation for Critical Thinking.
