Just about the complex “Why is critical thinking so important?”
1 (4), 2021
Yuriy Holynskyi
PhD in Economics
Associate Professor of Financial Management
Better critical thinking skills are the cause of significant positive changes in your life.
Apparently, everyone will agree that the quality of our lives depends very much on the quality of our decisions. Surprisingly, according to some studies, an adult makes about 35,000 conscious decisions every day! So one can only imagine how much better our lives would be if there was a mechanism by which we could make the best possible decisions every day. In fact, such a mechanism exists and is called critical thinking. Learning these skills will definitely have an impact on all aspects of your life.
What is critical thinking?
According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, critical thinking is an intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully comprehending, analyzing, synthesizing and / or evaluating information gathered through observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to beliefs and actions.
But if it’s just about complex, then critical thinking is “smart, reflective thinking that focuses on deciding what to believe or do,” or “decide what’s true and what you should do,” and if super-short, “Think about thinking”
What are the key benefits of good critical thinking skills?
- Career success
In many professions, critical thinking is an integral part. Financiers, managers, analysts, accountants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, reporters and scientists must often apply critical thinking. The range of these professions is growing every year. Critical thinking will come in handy when you need to analyze information, solve problems systematically, generate innovative solutions, plan strategically, think creatively, present your work or ideas to others so that they can be easily understood. According to the World Economic Forum in Davos, critical thinking is always one of the top skills you will need to work in the future. In addition, developing your critical thinking can help you find a job, as many employers will ask you questions in an interview or even give you a test to determine how well you can think critically.
2. The best life decisions
Every day you make thousands of decisions, some of which (such as choosing clothes) do not require much thought. But the most important decisions are always difficult and require a lot of thought. Here you will find such skills useful.
3. The path to happiness
The quality of your life largely depends on the quality of your decisions, but no less important is the quality of your thoughts. Critical thinking is a great tool to help you better understand yourself and learn to control your thoughts. You can use critical thinking to get rid of cognitive biases, negative thinking, and limiting beliefs that hold you back in any area of your life. Critical thinking can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses so that you know what you can offer others and what you can improve yourself on. Critical thinking will also allow you to better express your thoughts, ideas and beliefs. Better communication helps others understand you better, leading to less conflict and misunderstanding for everyone.
4. Informational security
With each passing day, information becomes more and more, access to it is better and better, and the value of its perception becomes more important. Critical thinking can help you get over the noise. A good quote from American politician Daniel Patrick Moynihan – “You have the right to your opinion. But you don’t have the right to your own facts. “Critical thinking ensures that your opinions are well-informed and based on the best available scientific evidence. In addition, you become more confident when you realize that others trust your thoughts. All this especially important today – the time of mass fakes about the pandemic, the spread of the virus and vaccination.
5. Better relationship
Critical thinking makes you more open, you better understand the point of view of others. He who thinks critically is always more empathetic and knows how to get along better with people of different temperaments. At the same time, you will be better able to detect moments when others behave insincerely, do not take into account your interests or try to manipulate you.
6. The best citizens
Let me remind you of the inscription that adorns the facade of the main building of our university – “Patriae decori civibus educandis” (“Educated citizens – the decoration of the Motherland”). Those who think critically are less likely to be struck by hostile propaganda or by mass hysteria. They notice fake news better when they see it. A critical thinker is able to see both sides of any issue and is likely to be able to generate quality bilateral solutions.
So how do you improve your critical thinking skills?
There is a lot of work to be done on this – as we can see, it is worth it. And you can start with great advice, me can be found on the TED platform – 5 tips to improve your critical thinking – Samantha Agoos – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw