Why is Critical Thinking Important?

We are almost constantly bombarded with erroneous conclusions and even blatant propaganda. We hear it from all corners of the news, advertising, entertainment and even scholarly articles claiming to be unbiased. Sometimes it is simply caused by honest error and sometimes it is intentional. People often have a need or desire to get others to believe what they believe, vote for who they want us to vote for or buy what they have to sell. This is not always a bad thing, for example, Louis Pasteur said (rough translation) 'it is not enough to know the truth, we must also proclaim it'.  Louis Pasteur knew some truths that were extremely important to share with others. Critical thinking helps us discern and discover what is truth and what is not.

How do I know if I'm a good critical thinker?

"The Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal assesses the individual's capability for critical thinking - a discrete skill distinct from, but not independent of, overall intelligence. Critical thinking is the ability to recognize that a problem exists and to look for evidence to solve it. It is the ability to assess this evidence in a logical way in order to determine new knowledge and direction. But far more than that, it is seen as a great skill required of all leaders today. As such this makes an ideal assessment at the manager / senior manager level".

"The CAAP Critical Thinking Test is a 32-item, 40-minute test that measures students' skills in clarifying, analyzing, evaluating, and extending arguments. An argument is defined as a sequence of statements that includes a claim that one of the statements, the conclusion, follows from the other statements. The Critical Thinking Test consists of four passages that are representative of the kinds of issues commonly encountered in a postsecondary curriculum.
A passage typically presents a series of sub-arguments in support of a more general conclusion or conclusions. Each passage presents one or more arguments using a variety of formats, including case studies, debates, dialogues, overlapping positions, statistical arguments, experimental results, or editorials. Each passage is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice test items. A total score is provided for the Critical Thinking Test; no sub-cores are provided".

What is Critical Thinking?

What is Critical Thinking?
It is possible to think critically without being critical?