f which of these intellectual standards is in trouble, maybe, today in June 2020 due to the pandemic and the riots in all major cities?
Dr H
Critical thinking is pivoted on elements supported in a five-step process. The steps include: the putting up of questions; research; inquisitions; review of the implications; and review of available options (Conway & McMillan, 2018). Asking of the initial questions helps with contextualization. It also points to the kind of information that should be integrated into the study. Research then helps with the gathering of information, the objective being to understand the problem and the related important theoretical frameworks. Inquisitions should then come with questions that explore the concepts, their relevance, related assumptions, and the sensibility of every idea that relates to the problem. In the review of implications, researchers should try to understand the effects of the decisions that they are bound to make. In the final step, they should consider any available alternatives, and how, if at all, they can improve the quality of the decisions arrived at in the first place.
The above processes are meant to support intellectual standards (which include clarity, accuracy, significance, fairness, breadth, sufficiency, logic, depth, precision) and intellectual traits . The standards and traits contribute to good reasoning, but the guide to achieving them is based on the understanding that all processes of reasoning have a purpose, are triggered to solve problems, are originally based on assumptions, are executed based on points of view, are shaped by ideas and concepts, are characterized by inferences from which conclusions are drawn, and ultimately have implications/consequences. These points of consideration are also the elements of reasoning, and, together with the habitual practicing of the intellectual traits, can ultimately make it easier to critically interpret and apply information (Hyytinen, Toom, & Shavelson, 2019).
