Are You Thinking Critically? Essay

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Four Stages in the Development of the Person Who Engages in Critical Thinking Are as Follows:

Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker. This is a stage in which the person is not aware of any problems within his thinking process. The individual might we of average intelligence and living a normal life but may now know that he is making "assumptions, forming concepts, drawing inferences," but he probably is not aware that his reasons and purposes are "clearly formulated" (Paul, et al., 2013). In this phase the individual makes decisions that are simplistic and does not "seriously question the thinking" that should go into every decision (Paul, 65).

Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker: This is the point at which the individual begins to realize there is a problem with his comprehension of issues in his life -- and he realizes he needs clarity. What needs to happen in this stage is the challenged thinker needs to dig deep and try and describe the problem at hand; not just face the problem, but describe it. How best to describe it? Brainstorming is an appropriate strategy because it helps develop "a clear and accurate description" of the problem (Stratton, 1999).

Stage Three: The Beginning Thinker: This is the time at which the person is "drawing realizations" and "developing willpower" and coming to terms with the truth -- he really is an undisciplined thinker (Paul, 70). An example of this coming to terms would be like the alcoholic who says, "I am an alcoholic and only I can do something about it" (Paul, 70). The Beginning Thinker in effect is opening the door to understanding by beginning to ask good questions, and he is beginning to notice that his assumptions aren't always accurate, and that he has previously held biased and selfish beliefs.

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Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker: As the title suggests, this stage brings to mind the fact that a person needs to practice the art of thinking carefully about important things. At this point the individual still doesn't know what system will work for him, but it is high time to "experiment with a variety of plans" that will be directed towards being consistent about deeper thinking (Paul, 76). There should be a starting point for learning how to practice thinking, and he won't know what works best in terms of developing deeper reflection, but practice is vital. A good time to practice for the practicing….....

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