Resources to improve Critical Thinking

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teaman
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Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by teaman »

I'm looking for some beginner/mid-level resources to develop/improve critical thinking. What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
Zubs
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Zubs »

Maxims for Thinking Analytically by Levy

I recently read this and it has some good stories and general advice. I think it covers a lot of tools that would help with critical thinking.
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Beensabu
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Beensabu »

Have you played Monument Valley?
"The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next." ~Ursula LeGuin
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vanbogle59
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by vanbogle59 »

Thinking Fast and Slow
Great intro to decision making under uncertainty (you know, every decision you will ever make :D )
Cruise
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Cruise »

These courses might help:

Logic
Statistics
Scientific Method.
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Sandtrap
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Sandtrap »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm I'm looking for some beginner/mid-level resources to develop/improve critical thinking. What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
I'll take a stab at this.

Considerations:
1. You mention "big picture" and "comprehensive solutions", "in depth", "speed and dissection", "long term fix/modify/improve/etc".
2. AFAIK, not knowing of a single book, it takes a number of books/courses/talks with mentors, each addressing various ways or points of view and/or methods/processes to look at something. And, then sum that up in a larger broader context.
3. There's have to be some self knowledge as to how you naturally, or now, look at situations and things and dynamics, and process and internalize that, and how you arrive at solutions to problems, etc.
4. Many or most problems involve human dynamics, inter-relationships, flow, etc. So, there's have to be an understanding of behavioral psychology, congnition, etc. (many problems, especially large problems that need a long term strategy, are not all "nuts and bolts" but involve human dynamics per se.
5. A lot of books and resources offer more conceptual approaches rather than practical and intuitive aspects. So, be sure to include that.
6. etc.
7. (dis laimer) not a comprehensive list above. Not sure of your applications and fields involved.

While not specific book/course suggestions, I hope this has helped.
j :D
PM me as you wish.
(apologies for bad grammar or spelling: Good English is my second language).

Note: examples: I know some business owners of large companies that are great analytically but lack intuition and "big picture" people dynamics skills and analyzation of that, so fall short.
OTOH, there are some that are strong in the latter, and not so in the former, and also fall short.
Depending on application and position of responsibility, critical thinking and so forth involves all of the above to do really well.
Last edited by Sandtrap on Fri Sep 24, 2021 6:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by livesoft »

Perhaps not what you are thinking, but the book "Decisive" by Heath and Heath is worth reading.

Perspective and experience are helpful, too, so get older, but don't rush it.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by markjk »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm ... learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Rumelt.
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Ba ... 200&sr=8-1

I'll echo Sandtrap. You are asking about a lot of skills and there won't be a single book that covers everything. But, the one I list above will help you with the big picture aspect of your question. The book provides a nice roadmap and framework for creating a strategy which if followed, really helps.
Ramjet
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Ramjet »

Work sponsored Lean Continuous Improvement classes have improved some of the skills for me you have described. The methodology is based on DMAIC, i.e., defining the problem, measuring your goals, analyzing the problem, improvement plan creation, and control (make sure your improvements are working)
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by palaheel »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm I'm looking for some beginner/mid-level resources to develop/improve critical thinking. What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
What's your background--interests, activities, hobbies, education, work?
Nothing to say, really.
Impatience
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Impatience »

IMO reading a book or sitting through a lecture can only be marginally helpful unless it’s accompanied by hands on practice. The way to develop those skills is through frequent exercise of them. And you need to punch above your weight too. Challenging, frustrating problems. Learning to code and building a few projects from scratch is a good way to get started. Computers are just big logic boxes anyway.
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Kagord
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Kagord »

More on point to attacking problems, which I think is a component of critical thinking:
Algorithms to Live By, https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Live- ... 1250118360
tm3
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by tm3 »

Especially in the current day and age when so much information is manipulated for effect, I think that the strongest approach to critical thinking is going to be look with your own eyes, listen with your own ears, and apply rational thought and logic -- i.e. don't accept "person X said Y," instead listen for yourself ...... and be especially skeptical when instead of a quote you hear "person X meant Y."

Beyond that enough statistics to understand the concepts of correlation and causation, and most importantly the differences, along with enough basic logic to have a handle on things like converse, inverse, and contrapositive.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by arcticpineapplecorp. »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.
first we have to remember:
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a_rotator
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by a_rotator »

I've taught critical thinking in the past, but this is in the context of reading and analyzing informal arguments of the kind you'd find in newspapers or editorials. The text I use also has a lengthy discussion of diagnostic arguments (basically, reasoning by explaining, eg, why did the plane crash?). It sounds like you're more interested in applications in the mathematics or engineering--way out of my area of expertise! Anyway, if you're interested, the text I use is Critical Thinking by Larry Wright.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by a_rotator »

Sry, double post
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Shallowpockets »

Critical thinking in and of itself is no panacea. There are all kinds of bad outcomes due to critical thinking. I am not sure it can be distilled and taught. Once you read your books on critical thinking what will you do with it. Hopefully you will not become a know it all, but will employ critical thinking to the problem itself and not to your own understanding of what critical thinking is.
Critical thinking will ultimately end in various decisions. That is a whole different ball game.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by gatorking »

Farnam Street Blog
https://fs.blog/blog/
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by gubernaculum »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm I'm looking for some beginner/mid-level resources to develop/improve critical thinking. What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
Write out your thoughts and problems you want to solve and write down the solutions. The process in itself will improve your critical thinking because you will have to think it thru as you write it out.
CorradoJr
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by CorradoJr »

One thing that comes to my mind is prep courses for something like the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). My wife received good marks on the LSAT and is a great critical thinker. Me not so much. You can find used prep books on ebay or Amazon for cheap.

Here is a blurb-

There are two sections on reasoning:

Analytical Reasoning Section
Analytical reasoning questions measure your ability to understand a structure of relationships and draw conclusions about that structure.

Analytical Reasoning (AR) questions are designed to assess your ability to consider a group of facts and rules, and, given those facts and rules, determine what could or must be true. AR questions appear in sets, with each set based on a single passage. The passage used for each set of questions describes a scenario involving ordering relationships or grouping relationships, or a combination of both types of relationships. Examples might include scheduling employees for work shifts, assigning instructors to class sections, ordering tasks according to priority, and distributing grants for projects.

The specific scenarios associated with these questions are usually unrelated to law, since they are intended to be accessible to a wide range of test takers. However, AR questions test skills that closely parallel those involved in determining what could or must be the case given a set of regulations, the terms of a contract, or the facts of a legal case in relation to the law.

In this sense, AR questions reflect the kinds of detailed analyses of relationships and sets of constraints that a law student must perform in legal problem solving. For example, an AR passage might describe six diplomats being seated around a table, following certain rules of protocol as to who can sit where. You might then be asked to answer questions about the logical implications of the rules as they apply to the scenario. For example, you might be asked who can sit between diplomats X and Y, or who cannot sit next to X if W sits next to Y.

Similarly, in law school you might be asked to analyze a scenario involving a set of particular circumstances and a set of rules that apply to the scenario—rules such as constitutional provisions, statutes, administrative codes, or prior rulings that have been upheld. You might then be asked to determine the legal options in the scenario: what is required given the scenario, what is permissible given the scenario, and what is prohibited given the scenario. Or you might be asked to develop a “theory” for the case: when faced with an incomplete set of facts about the case, you must fill in the picture based on what is implied by the facts that are known. Sometimes you will be asked to assess the impact of hypotheticals that add new information (as in the example above: If W sits next to Y, then who cannot sit next to X.).

AR questions test a range of deductive reasoning skills:

Comprehending the basic structure of a set of relationships by determining a complete solution to the problem posed (for example, an acceptable seating arrangement of all six diplomats around a table)
Reasoning with conditional (“if-then”) statements
Inferring what could be true or must be true from given facts and rules
Inferring what could be true or must be true from given facts and rules together with new information presented in hypotheticals
Recognizing when two statements are logically equivalent in context

Logical Reasoning Section
Logical reasoning questions assess your ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments.

As you may know, arguments are a fundamental part of the law, and analyzing arguments is a key element of legal analysis. The training provided in law school builds on a foundation of critical reasoning skills. As a law student, you will need to draw on the skills of analyzing, evaluating, constructing, and refuting arguments. You will need to be able to identify what information is relevant to an issue or argument and what impact further evidence might have. And you will need to be able to reconcile opposing positions and use arguments to persuade others.

The LSAT’s Logical Reasoning questions are designed to evaluate your ability to examine, analyze, and critically evaluate arguments as they occur in ordinary language. These questions are based on short arguments drawn from a wide variety of sources, including newspapers, general interest magazines, scholarly publications, advertisements, and informal discourse. These arguments mirror legal reasoning in the types of arguments presented and in their complexity, though few of the arguments actually have law as a subject matter.

Each Logical Reasoning question requires you to read and comprehend a short passage, then answer one question (or, rarely, two questions) about it. The questions are designed to assess a wide range of skills involved in thinking critically, with an emphasis on skills that have proven to be central to legal reasoning.

These skills include:

Recognizing the parts of an argument and their relationships
Recognizing similarities and differences between patterns of reasoning
Drawing well-supported conclusions
Reasoning by analogy
Recognizing misunderstandings or points of disagreement
Determining how additional evidence affects an argument
Detecting assumptions made by particular arguments
Identifying and applying principles or rules
Identifying flaws in arguments
Identifying explanations
Logical Reasoning questions do not require specialized knowledge of logical terminology. For example, you will not need to know the meaning of specialized terms such as “ad hominem” or “syllogism.” On the other hand, you will be asked to understand and critique the reasoning contained in arguments. To do so, it is important to have a university-level understanding of concepts such as argument, premise, assumption, and conclusion. If you are not familiar with these concepts, it would be a good idea to get better acquainted with them. You can find explanations of these concepts and how they are used in Logical Reasoning questions in SuperPrep and SuperPrep II.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by KlangFool »

Google "general system thinking"

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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by backpacker61 »

When I was an undergraduate, I took an introductory course in Philosophy for my required humanity elective.

I enjoyed it; still have the textbook, and plan to re-read it at some point.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Linux »

Do you exercise regularly? Cardio and weight lifting? Do you get enough sleep? How is your sleep hygiene?

Improving exercise and sleep habits will guarantee better executive functioning and critical thinking. This is step one in my opinion. Start with a strong foundation.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Frugal Al »

The Kepner-Tregoe Problem Solving and Decision making workshops have been around for years and used by many leading companies as part of their corporate training. I've seen their techniques used successfully in quite a few situations. While some of it might seem to be common sense--the rigorous adherence to the process ensures better and quicker outcomes. Besides, common sense is a rare commodity these days--doubtful it ever was a commodity.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by stan1 »

Are you asking this because you want to improve and grow, or did a supervisor or mentor tell you it is a specific area of improvement?

I might give very different advice in the two situations (with look for a new job being at the top of the list if it came from a supervisor in a performance review along the lines of "critical thinking skills need improvement").
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Fallible »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm I'm looking for some beginner/mid-level resources to develop/improve critical thinking. What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
Try this from “Harvard Business Review,” which I like because it emphasizes questioning, to which I would add curiosity. I do question :happy the author when she says “critical thinking is a learned skill.” Is it entirely learning or could it be both nature and nurture? I suspect both. Anyway, here’s how the article begins and the link:
The good news is that critical thinking is a learned skill. To help people get better at it, I recently started the nonprofit Reboot Foundation. Based on my personal experience as well some of the work of our researchers, I’ve pulled together three simple things that you can do to improve your critical thinking skills:

1. Question assumptions
2. Reason through logic
3. Diversify thought
https://hbr.org/2019/05/3-simple-habits ... l-thinking

Speaking of questioning: do you already ask many questions when reading something? Are you curious about almost everything, always wanting to know more and then taking time to learn more? Do you already wonder about the Big Picture or do you usually see the forest versus just the trees? When you read about the trees, do you at some point find yourself backing off to consider the larger picture? When you doubt something you've read, do you form an opinion of it right then or does it lead to researching for answers? Do you like researching, really enjoy it? These questions, I think, can help you know what and how much you need to learn about critical thinking.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by wfrobinette »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm I'm looking for some beginner/mid-level resources to develop/improve critical thinking. What I'm looking for is to gain really good skills to analyze a complex problem (not necessarily subject specific) in depth and quickly, dissect it, learn to look at the big picture and come up with long term/comprehensive solutions instead of small/temporary fixes.

I know I might be sounding vague here but I hope y'all understand at a high level what I'm trying to learn. Any good books/videos you recommend? I'd like to start with something small before reading thick books.
Problem Solving Lesson #1- Don't go at it alone. Get others involved.

Here are a couple places to start.

https://asq.org/quality-resources/problem-solving

https://asq.org/quality-resources/six-sigma/tools
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by VictoriaF »

gatorking wrote: Fri Sep 24, 2021 3:36 pm Farnam Street Blog
https://fs.blog/blog/
You beat me to it; I was going to suggest it together with the podcast.

Farnam Street is also publishing a series of books called "The Great Mental Models." The 3rd volume came out in mid-September. Mental models help analyzing situations and decisions from multiple perspectives and eliminating blind spots of a single analysis.

Victoria
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Mr. Rumples »

Exercise and learning a foreign language.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

There’s a book called Making Good Decisions.

Also, try speedbag boxing. It’s as much mental as physical and improves confidence, reflexes and decisiveness.

Try meditation if you don’t do it already.
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teaman
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by teaman »

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply! Appreciate it. I am going through the comments and the linked resources as and when I get some time.
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teaman
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by teaman »

stan1 wrote: Sun Sep 26, 2021 1:49 pm Are you asking this because you want to improve and grow, or did a supervisor or mentor tell you it is a specific area of improvement?

I might give very different advice in the two situations (with look for a new job being at the top of the list if it came from a supervisor in a performance review along the lines of "critical thinking skills need improvement").
It's because I'd like to improve and grow.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by AnEngineer »

teaman wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 9:48 pm in depth and quickly
You are likely to be disappointed, because these are directly opposed. If you want it to be in depth, it cannot be done quickly. The only shortcut is if you've essentially thought about the same thing already and can apply that to the present situation (which may work mostly, but is bound to itself fail sometimes, as it's probably not actually the same).
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by VictoriaF »

I am taking a psychology course, and yesterday the instructor had a slide as follows:

The foundation of psychology is critical thinking:
- ask questions
- define terms
- examine the evidence
- analyze assumptions and biases
- avoid emotional reasoning
- don't oversimplify
- consider other interpretations
- tolerate uncertainties.

Every item on this list requires extensive analysis, and I'd reserve it for the most important decisions.

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cashboy
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by cashboy »

search for 'mindful living'.

you will find things like this:

https://declutterthemind.com/blog/mindful-living/

the above is just some examples of the concept - I am not endorsing all of the practices suggested in this particular item.

as one pays attention to their 'living', and can look at things with clarity and concentration, the ability to think critically increases.

feel free to pm me
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Lucien786
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Lucien786 »

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for -- there must be some reason why you want to improve your critical thinking, and I think the best way is probably to develop higher-level thinking about some particular subject matter. The best of the best ways is to do that up to a decent level in several different areas. But you need to pick some things that you care about.

In the absence of that, the best place to go is philosophy. You could start with a book on informal logic. Informal logic is probably what you're looking for here, as opposed to formal logic (which is going to feel more like a math subject, rather than something applicable to everyday life). A book I've had in the past is Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach by Douglas Walton.

https://www.amazon.com/Informal-Logic-P ... 0521713803

The goal is to learn about logical reasoning as used in everyday life, and especially about common logical fallacies. I've also been assigned a book called Arguing Well by John Shand, which is decent (although honestly I wasn't blown away, I think there can/should be better ones out there. But I would check it out.)

https://www.amazon.com/Arguing-Well-Joh ... oks&sr=1-1

Logic (especially informal logic) is the normative subject applicable to your question, but you also need a "positive" or empirical study of everyday reasoning. Here, I echo the recommendation someone made above: Kahneman and Tversky's Thinking Fast and Slow. The goal of reading this book would be to learn about biases, fallacies, and other pitfalls that afflict us because of how we are, the natural limits on our ability to reason well. Knowing those in detail and being reflective about them is a huge part of being a good thinker.

After that, reading actual philosophy, especially classic works, on a variety of subjects is the best way to get a feel for how the principles of good reasoning are applied to real questions.

Learning some basic formal logic will also probably be really helpful. You don't need to go too deep, but going through an intro textbook would probably be a good idea. I've used Goldfarb's textbook, I don't know if there's something more current/updated out there (not too many recent breakthroughs in this subject though).

https://www.amazon.com/Deductive-Logic- ... oks&sr=1-3

Finally, if you want to go beyond this, it would be interesting to get into decision theory and philosophy of action. The former is more of an economics/political science way of thinking about decisionmaking (rational choice theory), and the latter is a more philosophical branch of the same subject. Learning some basic economic concepts is probably worthwhile, since a lot of the basic ideas are applicable to all kinds of "instrumental reasoning." If you want to learn to think more critically about normative subjects, that's gonna take you into a different direction -- moral and political philosophy. I would start by trying to read some classic works in those subjects, and learning about metaethics.
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Lucien786 »

My last post had a lot of recommendations, but . . . maybe it's also worth trying to just say what you have to do to improve your critical thinking, since it can probably be summed up pretty quickly.

Ultimately, I think "critical thinking" about subject X amounts to this process:
  • State your beliefs about X. These beliefs are your "conclusions."

    State all your reasons for having each belief. These are your "premises."

    Check whether your premises imply your conclusions. This is the "validity" of your arguments for your beliefs.

    Check whether your premises are true. This (plus the previous step) is the "soundness" of your arguments for your beliefs.

    Fix all the errors that you find.

    As you acquire new beliefs and abandon old ones, re-do this process.
The hardest parts of this process are:
  • Knowing what you actually believe, and being able to state it -- or put it -- in some roughly propositional form that is amenable to criticism in the first place. (I.e., self-awareness and reflection).

    Actually updating your beliefs to accept things you don't want to accept, and abandoning beliefs that are irrational and unfounded (overcoming your own psychology).

    Figuring out what is actually true or false about the world . . . and whether, and how, you know what is true or not (acquiring knowledge).
learner112
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Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by learner112 »

Very interesting question.
I agree with Klangfool, systems thinking is a good start. I have also gotten a lot of value from Dr. Goldratt’s thinking processes philosophy. A few books to reference this philosophy/methodology:

It’s Not Luck by Eliyahu Goldratt
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/157385

Thinking for a Change by Scheinkopf
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/732158

Management Dilemmas by Schragenheim
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1892970
Big Heart
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Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2021 8:42 pm

Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Big Heart »

Meditation, and compassion.

Both have proven value to the use of our full human intelligence.
Second Round
Posts: 230
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 8:16 am

Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by Second Round »

The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
It's a weekly podcast (regarding science, tech, and critical thinking) as well as a book.
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VictoriaF
Posts: 20122
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 6:27 am
Location: Black Swan Lake

Re: Resources to improve Critical Thinking

Post by VictoriaF »

Second Round wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 8:16 pm The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
It's a weekly podcast (regarding science, tech, and critical thinking) as well as a book.
Thank you, it looks interesting,

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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