Understanding of Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking
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Critical thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate a situation while forming a judgment objectively. It involves an intellectually disciplined routine for applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information. An individual can achieve the skill of conceptualization by observing and reflecting on experiences and instances of communication. Consequently, they are capable of listening to information, apply reason, and repackage it in a way that maintains its clarity and accuracy. This essay analyzes information from videos and readings that emphasize Alan Jacobs's thoughts and views on critical thinking.
Thinking is the process of reasoning and making considerations of something. Alan Jacob likens the process of thinking to treat one's responses against the available evidence. He uses the example of an individual caught up in a different train of thought while buying a car. After making a purchase decision, he argues with the wife over the decision. According to her, the husband should have bought the car, which first appealed to him. Jacob's view is that thinking is not the decision itself but what goes into it CITATION Adr17 \l 1033 (Chen 2017). Therefore, buying a car because it appeals to one's interests is not considered thinking.
He argues that in today's society, most people don't think and act only on impulse. While it might not be deliberate, there is an increasing tendency to conform to one's environment and desires. From birth, an individual will develop compromise thinking through the academic system. Good grades are the ultimate goal for every student with reasons such as pleasing parents and professors. Professors or workmates will also conform by often wanting the approval of their peers. This tendency is understandable as people seek a sense of belonging; however, independent thinking comes at a cost. A case in point is that individuals will unfairly demonize another group because other group members hate them. There is a collective eagerness to disparage information or other people without knowledge for the reward of social approval. By reasoning, an individual can get more details on the groups' hatred of other groups and deduce whether it is justified.
Instincts as humans are to pledge alliance to a tribe and gather around bubbles of like-minded people. This cultivates the concept of groupthink, which Jacobs refers to as the degradation of thinking. Therefore, quality thinking can only be achieved with a tremendous effort of commonality, sympathy, and empathy. It includes killing personal and group biases, which is a hard feat to accomplish without willing participation. Jacob uses the analogy of dieting, where losing pounds depends on consistency in diligent training. Sadly, not everyone is capable or disciplined enough to stick to a helpful routine. The same idea can describe shedding off biases that individuals have picked up and developed throughout their lives. Critical thinking goes against an individual's default setting for bias and acceptance. Maintaining such a state of thought requires great effort to avoid bias tenancies, arrogance, and self-righteousness.
To become better thinkers, Jacobs argues that one must d...