想要写好Essay需要有批判性思考能力,只要拥有批判性思考的能力就能更加方便的写出一篇好的Essay。
如果你的思维模糊或有缺陷的,你的决定可能会导致小于理想的后果。思维技巧很容易被认为是理所当然的。 “当然,我能想到的!”你可以对自己说。现在的问题是,如何你觉得呢?

价值客观存在的。如果是立足于现实我们的思维也只能是有效的。现实是客观的;它独立于自己的愿望,愿望,率性和目标存在。你的思维将是富有成效的,你是能够准确地感知和理解这一现实的程度。这需要客观-的分离“是什么”,从你可能要相信什么或可能会更舒服相信的能力。
保持开放的心态。一个封闭的头脑从现实切断。封闭的头脑思考者可以很容易地被识别;他或她有刚性一套不公开讨论的意见和态度。这样的思想者不能与理性的,因为这种方法涉及处理新的输入。如果你觉得如果你谈话的砖墙,你可能处理一个封闭的心灵思想家。然而,作为开放的态度并不意味着你不应该被真理站在你也知道了,或者是你必须接受的各个角度。真相会承受质疑;只是错觉是思想交流的威胁。
不要容忍持续的和非生产性的歧义。你面对的大部分决策包含一定程度的模糊性,明显的非黑即白的替代品之间的灰色地带。这不是不确定性的容忍一个参数;这是锻炼的思想,建立清晰的权力的建议。歧义往往是草率的,不完整的,或者的非理性思维的症状。当您遇到这样的状态,现在是时候仔细检查你的前提,你的原则,你的知识,你的思维过程的功效。知识是清晰的不确定性和混乱的渐进检索。
避免行列。当一个概念流行起来,很多人会赶时髦拥抱它。这通常更多的是整合的功能比它是批判性思维。看看(想想)你三思而后行。
观察和推理区分,即遵循既定事实与猜测之间。
扣压判断,直到你确定你有足够的信息。这可能是很有诱惑力的妄下结论,但你可能在你没有看到一个洞结束。在另一方面,一旦你有足够的信息,不要犹豫,使基于它的判断。判断是思维过程的一部分,你的能力的应用程序来对现实的结论。
保持幽默感。你可以不直想如果一切好像生死你的问题。的能力,自嘲和看到的情况幽默往往可以帮助你保持思想和观点的清晰度。但是,提防用作武器的笑声诋毁你的价值或作为一个心理防线;这些用途需要认真回应。
培养求知欲。这个世界充满了事情你还不知道。好奇心是一个初衷就是自由和开放的现实的奇迹,不怕面对未知,才能掌握新知识的迹象。一位好奇的思想家将探索看待事物和处事方式新。如果你培养一颗好奇的心学习能不断的和令人兴奋的发现的冒险之旅。
不要拿东西的表面价值。在幼年时,我们大多数人学会不相信我们听到的一切。想象一下,你会是多么失望,如果你相信你在电视广告听到索赔!此相同原则应适用于附带通过媒体,甚至什么是作为其他信息“新闻”。其目的是要咀嚼(有时吐出),而不是整个吞下!谨防包装隐藏的真相。有时与前面看上画面一个大箱子承担什么是藏在里面的关系不大。打开它,看看自己!
挑战传统智慧。每一种文化是基于一定的假设去很大程度上毋庸置疑。伽利略,意大利天文学家和数学家,被宗教裁判所前,因为他敢于质疑“真相”,认为地球是宇宙的中心带来的。即使在今天,扁平地球协会的成员表示相信,世界是平如煎饼!你不能假设真理确实是真的什么是普遍接受的。真理是由理性思维建立的,而不是由一个民意调查和过去的做法。
抵制呼吁情感。情感有时会影响你的原因。如果你生气或欣喜若狂,你的思考过程将不会以同样的方式,当你在一个更冷静的心情工作。谨防在你的情绪被故意刺激(由奉承,恐惧或anticipations当你被要求做出决定的情况。这可能是操纵的结果的策略。
不要自动接受权威。权威上诉是一个最喜欢的广告噱头:好莱坞明星,体育人物,和流行文化的英雄被用来促进一切从早餐麦片内衣和腋下除臭剂。我们感到鼓舞认为,如果他(或她)说,这是伟大的东西,一定是!这样的权力得到支付数百万美元的他或她代言的事实可能是足以让你质疑他作为一个客观的权威。
谨防他人的自我取悦行为。奉承是说服的时间兑现方法。如果有人奉承开始,他们可能打算与你的思维还是在他们的口袋里的钱结束。这并不总是容易分辨真诚的赞美,旨在操纵你的陈述之间的区别。
要知道你自己的自我增强行为。决定通常可以通过您希望出现对自己或他人的影响。如果你过于担心保持给定的图像,你可能会做,说事情是不是真的在你自己的最佳利益。当你实现真正的自尊,基于外表的行为往往失去了吸引力。
维持透视感。当你在一个重要的事情之中,很容易失去对局势的平衡的观点。它往往是一个很好的做法,以“缩小”和查看此事在更大的范围内。一种方法建立的角度来看:在一到十的规模,一个是草和十个正在全球范围内的核毁灭刀片死亡,什么是你的情况率是多少?它是真正的关键,因为它似乎在那一刻?
要注意的潜规则。有时候,我们的行为方式是通过潜规则决定的。如果你不知道有这样的潜规则,你不会有你需要做出一个明智的决定的知识。如果你是在一个熟悉的情况下,机会是你知道规则(例如:不捣乱,不问老板,不要挑战教授)。如果你是在一个陌生的情况下(或外来文化),就可以支付是不同寻常的观察力和质疑那些更熟悉情况。这并不是说,你应该由这样的规则的限制,只有它们中的一个认识是可取的。
请注意非语言行为的线索。言语交流的影响不到你从别人收到消息的一半。消息的其余部分是通过非言语行为传递。您将通过双方的影响。如果有人充当友好而痛苦地挤压你的手握手,你可能有理由怀疑他或她在说些什么!如果有人在他的椅子上,打呵欠向后伸,同时告诉你他是在你的想法如何兴趣同样适用。情况的事实更清楚你的观念中,清晰的你的思维会。
在压力下,停下来思考。冲动的决策往往会导致决策失误。至于决策的压力增大,诱惑做出冲动的决定也随之增加。您可以认为任何决定比优柔寡断更加合理化这一点;这是很少如此。优柔寡断往往是较差的决策技能的结果。冲动仅仅保证你将收获决策失误的后果更快!
看到超越标签和成见。标签和成见是一种精神的简写,可以方便的思维和沟通。如果您需要设计一个坐四条腿的一件家具,更容易要求一个椅子上,忽略设计和材料的许多可能的变化。不过,如果你正在调查可能的职业选择,你不应该满足于参与你想知道到底什么是真正的意思是一个警察,脑外科专家,或金融分析师职业的刻板描述。同样,处理来自不同背景和文化背景的人受到严重损害的陈腐观念掩盖真相的阻碍。
铲除消极的自我谈话。大部分的思维传递什么真的自我对话子的声音,你不断地与自己进行交谈。这种自我暗示往往需要关键的判断和对自己态度的形式。你的思维能力可以通过自我对话,超过并传达负面的信息一再被削弱,强化负面的自我形象(“我不能做任何事情的权利”,“我只是不一样聪明的其他人”)或态度( “我还是不相信任何人”,“学校是浪费时间”)。除非这种消极的思想受到挑战和更积极的自我对话取代的时候,会以不希望的方式来影响你的决定。在这种变化的基本要素是自尊的培养。心理咨询是一个很好的解决了这类问题。
寻找一致性。爱默生曾经写道:“愚蠢的一致性是小小的心灵的妖怪。”一个深思熟虑的一致性,但是,仔细和彻底的思维特点。一致性和逻辑都应该适用于你考虑什么标准。不一致经常被用来掩盖真相。
实践同情。还有,你应该作出判断前,走在他人的鹿皮鞋一英里印度的说法。换句话说,你不应该评判别人,直到你完全了解他们的情况。通过实施这种类型的同情,你会减少使得瞬间判断,你可能以后会后悔的可能性。你也可能会发现一点理解便于深入了解其他人和他们的行为。更深层次的洞察自己和他人,明智你的决定会。
花时间去核对事实。如果你没有澄清事实,你的决定有可能被扭曲。在一些重要的事情,你应该尝试获得对相关事实的第一手资料的访问。如果你想做出一番事业的决定,并想了解一下您的职业技能,最好是采取一种能力倾向测试,而不是问你的哥们,他们认为什么是“你擅长的。”同样,最好是找到工作的性质对于给定的职业,根据公认的参考和工人的访谈,而不是依赖于刻板印象,可能是满偏真理,显著遗漏。请检查您的信息的可靠性。它是否来自可靠的消息来源?你可以发现,确认您的另一个信息来源?如果你能肯定回答这些问题,你可以更自信,你作为你的决策依据使用的事实。
检查您的信息的有效性。信息可能是可靠的,但无效。有效性具有的信息,其中被施加它的上下文的相关性有关。它可能是一个可靠的事实,当你划火柴,火会导致 – 除非你是在水下还是在太空真空!语境很重要!
培养听力技巧。当涉及到谈话中,你听到的就是你得到的。倾听是另一种技能,我们往往想当然,但很少以最有效的,我们认为利用。有多少次你一直在交谈中,突然意识到对方问你,你没听到的问题吗?多久你这么跟你自己的想法全神贯注在课堂上,你调出来的教练?它发生在我们所有人,这说明练这个看似简单的技能的难度。你听好了,更多的正确的信息,你将获得;你有更多的正确的信息,更好的决定,你会做。
要知道非逻辑思维的。有专门的逻辑,并且其中它可以被扭曲的方式整个哲学书。刻板印象往往是基于不合逻辑的思考,没有事实依据核实的应用在通用的方式具体特点,或假设两个不相关的事件之间的因果关系。广告通常鼓励不合逻辑协会:牛肉被吹捧为“以粮为真实的人”(什么“不真实”的人吃什么?),和洁白的牙齿或右除臭似乎在你的脚下,以保证辣妹(或帅哥)的一群(在哪里佳洁士?)。这似乎是显而易见的,这样的说法是荒谬的,但有人支付大笔资金,这些广告是有原因的!
听从你的直觉。我们每个人都有对事物在同一时间或另一种预感。这些预感往往是信息登记在比自觉意识其他级别的结果。这是当你感觉到有人盯着你,只为查找和发现它是真实等。有没有合理的理由相信有人在找你吗,但它在某种程度上仍然注册。直觉不能采取逻辑思维的地方,但它可以被开发作为一种有价值的补充。试图通过更多地了解你的直觉,你可以增加你的敏感性,这种信息。当你学会测试,并相信它,它可以提高你的决策能力。
How to Develop Critical Thinking Skills
If your thinking is fuzzy or flawed, your decisions may lead to less than desirable consequences. Thinking skills are easily taken for granted. “Surely I can think!” you may say to yourself. The question is, how well do you think?
Value objective reality. Our thinking can only be effective if it is based on reality. Reality is objective; it exists independently of your desires, wishes, whims, and objectives. Your thinking will be productive to the extent that you are able to accurately perceive and interpret this reality. This requires objectivity–the ability to separate “what is” from what you might want to believe or what might be more comforting to believe.
Keep an open mind. A closed mind is cut off from reality. The closed mind thinker can easily be recognized; he or she has a rigid set of opinions and attitudes that are not open to discussion. Such a thinker cannot be reasoned with, since this process involves processing new input. If you feel as if you are talking to a brick wall, you are probably dealing with a closed mind thinker. However, being open minded does not mean that you should not stand by the truth as you know it, or that you must accept every point of view. Truth will withstand questioning; only illusion is threatened by the exchange of thought.
Do not tolerate ongoing and unproductive ambiguity. Most decisions that you face involve a degree of ambiguity, a gray area between the obvious black-or-white alternatives. This is not an argument for the tolerance of uncertainty; it is a recommendation to exercise the power of thought to establish clarity. Ambiguity is often a symptom of sloppy, incomplete, or irrational thinking. When you experience such a state, it is time carefully to examine your premises, your principles, your knowledge, and the efficacy of your thinking process. Knowledge is the progressive retrieval of clarity from uncertainty and confusion.
Avoid the bandwagon. When a notion becomes popular, many people will jump on the bandwagon to embrace it. This is usually more a function of conformity than it is of critical thought. Look (and think) before you leap.
Distinguish between observation and inference, between established facts and conjectures that follow.
Withhold judgment until you are sure you have adequate information. It may be tempting to jump to conclusions, but you may end up in a hole you didn’t see. On the other hand, once you have adequate information, do not hesitate to make judgments based upon it. Judgment is part of the process of thinking, the application of your ability to come to conclusions about reality.
Maintain a sense of humor. You can’t think straight if everything seems like a matter of life and death to you. The ability to laugh at yourself and to see the humor in situations can often help you maintain clarity of thought and perspective. However, beware of laughter used as a weapon to denigrate what you value or as a psychological defense; such uses require a serious response.
Cultivate intellectual curiosity. The world is full of things you don’t yet know about. Curiosity is the sign of a mind that is free and open to the wonders of reality, unafraid to face the unknown in order to grasp new knowledge. A curious thinker will explore new manners of looking at things and doing things. Learning can be an adventure of constant and exciting discovery if you cultivate a curious mind.
Don’t take things at face value. At an early age, most of us learn not to believe everything we hear. Imagine how disappointed you would be if you believed all the claims you hear in television advertising! This same principle should be applied to the other information that comes through the media, even what is presented as “news.” It is meant to be chewed (and sometimes spit out), not swallowed whole! Beware of packaging that hides the truth. Sometimes a big box with a fancy picture on the front bears little relationship to what is hidden inside. Open it up and take a look for yourself!
Challenge conventional wisdom. Every culture is based upon certain assumptions that go largely unquestioned. Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer and mathematician, was brought before the Inquisition because he dared to question the “truth” that the Earth was the center of the universe. Even today, members of the Flat Earth Society are said to believe that the world is as flat as a pancake! You cannot assume what is commonly accepted as truth is indeed true. Truth is established by rational thought, not by a public opinion poll or past practice.
Resist appeals to emotion. Emotion can sometimes cloud your reason. If you are angry or ecstatic, your thought processes will not work in the same way as when you are in a more dispassionate mood. Beware of situations in which your emotions are being intentionally stimulated (by flattery, fear, or anticipations while you are being asked to make a decision. It may be a strategy to manipulate the outcome.
Do not automatically accept authority. The appeal to authority is a favorite advertising gimmick: Hollywood stars, sports figures, and popular culture heroes are used to promote everything from breakfast cereal to underwear and underarm deodorant. We are encouraged to think that if he (or she) says this is great stuff, it must be! The fact that such an authority is getting paid millions of dollars for his or her endorsement might be enough to make you question him as an objective authority.
Beware others’ ego pleasing behavior. Flattery is a time honored method of persuasion. If someone starts with flattery, they may intend to end with your thinking or your money in their pocket. It’s not always easy to tell the difference between a sincere compliment and a statement designed to manipulate you.
Be aware of your own ego enhancing behavior. Decisions can often be influenced by how you want to appear to yourself or to others. If you are overly concerned about maintaining a given image, you may be doing and saying things that are not really in your own best interest. As you achieve authentic self esteem, behavior based on appearances often loses its appeal.
Maintain a sense of perspective. When you are in the midst of an important matter, it is easy to lose a balanced view of the situation. It can often be a good practice to “zoom out” and view the matter in a larger context. One method to establish perspective: On a scale of one to ten, with one being the death of a blade of grass and ten being worldwide nuclear annihilation, what does your situation rate? Is it truly as critical as it seems at the moment?
Be aware of unspoken rules. Sometimes how we behave is dictated by hidden rules. If you are not aware of such unspoken rules, you won’t have the knowledge you need to make a wise decision. If you are in a familiar situation, chances are you know the rules (for example: don’t rock the boat, don’t question the boss, don’t challenge the professor). If you are in an unfamiliar situation (or a foreign culture), it may pay to be unusually observant and to question those more familiar with the situation. This is not to say that you should be limited by such rules, only that an awareness of them is advisable.
Be aware of nonverbal behavior clues. The impact of verbal communication is less than half of the message you receive from others. The rest of the message is communicated by nonverbal behavior. You will be influenced by both. If someone is acting friendly while painfully squeezing your hand in a handshake, you may have reason to question what he or she are saying! The same would apply if someone is stretched back in his chair and yawning while telling you how interested he is in your ideas. The clearer your perception of the facts of the situation, the clearer your thinking will be.
When under pressure, stop and think. Impulsive decision making often results in poor decisions. As the pressure for a decision increases, the temptation to make an impulsive decision also increases. You may rationalize this by thinking that any decision is better than indecision; this is rarely true. Indecision is often the result of poor decision making skills. Impulsiveness only assures that you’ll reap the consequences of poor decisions that much sooner!
See beyond labels and stereotypes. Labels and stereotypes are a type of mental shorthand that can facilitate thinking and communication. If you are in need of a four legged piece of furniture designed for sitting, it is easier to ask for a chair and to ignore the many possible variations of design and materials. However, if you are investigating a possible career choice, you should not be satisfied with a stereotypical description of the occupations involved you want to know exactly what it really means to be a police officer, brain surgeon, or financial analyst. Likewise, dealing with people from different backgrounds or cultures is seriously hampered by prejudicial stereotypes that obscure the truth.
Weed out negative self talk. Much of what passes for thinking is really self-talk–sub-vocal conversations you constantly hold with yourself. This self-talk often takes the form of critical judgments and attitudes about yourself. Your thinking skills may be undermined by self talk that conveys negative messages over and over again, reinforcing a negative self image (“I can’t do anything right,” “I’m just not as smart as everyone else”) or attitudes (“I better not trust anyone,” “School is a waste of time”). Unless this kind of negative thinking is challenged and replaced by more positive self talk, it will tend to influence your decisions in an undesirable manner. The fundamental element in such change is the cultivation of self esteem. Counseling is a good solution to this kind of problem.
Look for consistency. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: “foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” A thoughtful consistency, however, is the hallmark of careful and thorough thinking. Consistency and logic are criteria that should be applied to whatever you consider. Inconsistency is often used to obscure the truth.
Practice empathy. There’s an Indian saying that you should walk a mile in another person’s moccasins before passing judgment. In other words, you should not judge others until you fully understand their situation. By practicing this type of empathy, you will decrease the likelihood of making snap judgments that you may later regret. You may also find that a little understanding facilitates a deeper insight into other people and their behavior. The deeper your insight into yourself and others, the wiser your decisions will be.
Take time to check the facts. If you don’t have the facts straight, your decisions are likely to be skewed. In important matters, you should try to obtain firsthand access to the relevant facts. If you are trying to make a career decision and want to know something about your occupational skills, it is better to take an aptitude test than to ask your buddies what they think “you’re good at.” Likewise, it is better to find out the nature of work for a given occupation, based on accepted references and worker interviews, than to rely on stereotypes that may be full of partial truths and significant omissions. Check the reliability of your information. Did it come from a reliable source? Can you find another source that confirms your information? If you can answer yes to these questions, you can be more confident about the facts you use as a basis for your decisions.
Check the validity of your information. Information may be reliable but not valid. Validity has to do with the relevance of the information to the context in which it is being applied. It may be a reliable fact that when you strike a match, fire will result–unless you are underwater or in the vacuum of outer space! Context is important!
Cultivate listening skills. When it comes to conversation, what you hear is what you get. Listening is another skill we tend to take for granted, but it is rarely utilized as effectively as we think. How many times have you been in the middle of a conversation and suddenly realized that the other person had asked you a question that you didn’t even hear? How often are you so preoccupied with your own thoughts in class that you tune out the instructor? It happens to us all, which illustrates the difficulty of practicing this seemingly simple skill. The better you listen, the more correct information you will obtain; the more correct information you have, the better decisions you will make.
Be aware of illogical thinking. There are entire philosophy books devoted to logic and the manner in which it can be distorted. Stereotypes are often based on illogical thinking, applying specific characteristics in a universal manner without verifiable basis in fact, or assuming a causal connection between two unrelated events. Advertising commonly encourages illogical associations: beef is touted as “food for real people” (what do “unreal” people eat?), and white teeth or the right deodorant seem to guarantee a bevy of babes (or hunks) at your feet (Where’s the Crest?). It may seem obvious that such claims are ridiculous, but someone is paying big bucks for these commercials for a reason!
Heed your intuition. All of us have hunches about things at one time or another. These hunches are often the result of information that registers at a level other than conscious awareness. It’s like when you sense someone staring at you, only to look up and find it is true. There was no logical reason to believe someone was looking it you, but it somehow registered nevertheless. Intuition cannot take the place of logical thought, but it can be developed as a valuable supplement. By trying to be more aware of your intuitions, you can increase your sensitivity to this kind of information. As you learn to test it and to trust it, it can enhance your decision making skills.