Pemikiran kritis

Pemikiran kritis ialah analisis bermatlamat yang dilakukan terhadap fakta untuk membentuk suatu penaakulan.^[1] Tindak balas ini melibatkan kemampuan untuk menilai secara sistematik,^[2] yakin menentukan sama ada sesuatu dakwaan itu benar, palsu, kadangkala kedua-duanya (sometimes true and sometimes false), mahupun ada yang betul dan salah bagi kedua-dua bahagiannya (partly true and partly false). Ia juga boleh difahamkan sebagai "pemikiran mengenai tindakan berfikir".

Pentakrifan

Secara tradisinya, pemikiran kritis banyak ditakrifkan seperti berikut:

• "Proses mengkonsepkan. mengaplikasikan, menganalisakan, mensintesiskan serta menilai maklumat demi memperolehi suatu jawaban atau kesimpulan" ("The process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion")^[3]
• "Pemikiran berdisplin yang jelas, rasional, terbuka serta didasarkan bukti" ("Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence")^[3]
• "Pemikiran bercerminan dan munasabah yang ditumpukan apa yang ingin dipercayai atau dibuat" ("Reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do")^[4]
• "Purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based"^[5]
• "Termasuk komitmen menggunakan taakul untuk membentuk kepercayaan sendiri" ("includes a commitment to using reason in the formulation of our beliefs")^[6]
• Kebolehan dan kecenderungan terlibat dalam suatu aktiviti dengan skeptisisme yang bercerminan (The skill and propensity to engage in an activity with reflective scepticism - McPeck, 1981)^[7]
• Thinking about one's thinking in a manner designed to organize and clarify, raise the efficiency of, and recognize errors and biases in one's own thinking. Critical thinking is not 'hard' thinking nor is it directed at solving problems (other than 'improving' one's own thinking). Critical thinking is inward-directed with the intent of maximizing the rationality of the thinker. One does not use critical thinking to solve problems—one uses critical thinking to improve one's process of thinking.^[8]
• "Penilaian berdasarkan analisis yang berhati-hati" ("An appraisal based on careful analytical evaluation")^[9]

Takrifan-takrifan ini telah dikembangkan sesetengah (tidak semua) cendekiawan kontemporari untuk melibatkan mutu, konsep, dan proses seperti daya kreatif, imaginasi, penemuan. cerminan, empati, penghubungan pengetahuan, teori feminisme, kesubjektifan, kekaburan makna dan ketiadksimpulan.^[10]