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Rule 1: Engage in active information acquisition. Do
not be a passive acquirer of information. Critical thinking
requires questioning most information that is offered.
(Examples: Is the information correct? Where was it attained
from? etc.)
Rule 2: Be suspicious of individuals' self-reports of
their own attitudes. Individuals' self-reports about their
attitudes usually do not reflect accurately how they really
feel because these feelings represent subjective desires
or expectations rather thin objective evaluations based
upon impartial examination.
Rule 3. Do not jump to conclusions. Three elements are
important in this directive: 1) Examine the evidence -
all issues demand evidence or an awareness that you may
not know all the evidence. 2) Specify the argument - avoid
simplifications or generalizations that try to explain
broad outcomes. 3) Look for alternative explanations -
scientific methodology recognizes that when a situation
occurs there are observationally equivalent hypotheses.
Rule 4: Beware of tautologies or truisms. Beware of statements
that are always true or correct. This includes statements
that can never be disproved by any data. These statements
are used a lot in casual conversations where disagreement
is not desired.
Rule 5: Correlation is not the same as causation. Correlation
means that two or more things are closely related, but
it does not mean that one was the cause of the other. Conclusions
cannot be drawn from information that is simply correlational.
Rule 6: Avoid over-simplification by considering alternative
explanations. Oversimplifications result from brief examinations
of findings that are correlational and then are applied
as the rule rather than the exception.
Rule 7: Look at errors in all arguments - even your own.
The role of the critical thinker is to constantly question
arguments, data, causal theories, correlations, generalizations,
and all encompassing statements that explain how things
work.
Rule 8: Realize what your value judgments are. Each person
has a set of values and therefore a set of value judgments
about everything considered. The many variables that have
influenced these values cannot be changed, but each person
can be aware that these values are being used with respect
to the given subject.
Rule 9. Attempt to conquer your biases. Biases and values
are closely linked and are a result of our values. Biases
can many times blind us to the truth and keep us from truly
understanding a situation.
Rule 10: Define your terms. Many arguments are carried
on with both sides not talking about the same thing. Items
such as defining key words and setting limits on the discussion
need to be taken care of prior to the debate.
Rule 11: Go beyond the obvious. Find out what variables
created the observed phenomenon. To truly understand am
situation additional inquiry is always necessary.
Rule 12: Beware of conclusions that are not derived from
the stated premises.
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