This chapter focuses on the role of thinking as a tool for critical thinking. System 1 thinking (fast thinking) is instinctive and automatic, while System 2 thinking (slow thinking) is deliberate and reasoned. System 1 thinking dominates (and should dominate) your daily life, linked to survival instincts and heuristics (rules of thumb). System 2, on the other hand, responds when System 1 does not or cannot because you face an unexpected or unfamiliar situation; to monitor System 1 thoughts and responses and intervene to modify them if necessary; and when you intentionally put yourself in unfamiliar situations in order to improve it—like undertaking a university degree. University is a key opportunity to improve thinking which requires appropriate motivation, faith, and ongoing practice. The PURR acronym can guide you in structured thinking sessions: prepare, undertake, record, return, and distract-to-focus activities can be useful during these sessions. Time and distraction are the most common obstacles to dedicated thinking. Cognitive bias, in particular subconscious bias, can also influence your thinking and understanding, and uncovering this is essential to reveal its impact.
Chapter
Thinking
Chapter
Why go to university?
This chapter discusses the importance of university education. Knowledge comes from humans. University education helps people transition from being knowledge consumers, to having the skills to be knowledge creators. Increasing foundational knowledge on a topic is important, but you must go beyond this to be able to do something with such knowledge. It is impossible to achieve ‘complete knowledge’ but even if this were possible, knowledge constantly changes and expands. Therefore, you need to be able to understand, interpret, and evaluate new knowledge in your life beyond university. Indeed, thinking is essential not just for success at university studies. It defines us as humans, citizens, and people in the workplace. The chapter then outlines the reasons for attending university, which can be broadly divided into reactive, deferring, and proactive categories.
Book
Sarah Birrell Ivory
Becoming a Critical Thinker starts by considering what it is that makes someone a critical thinker and why critical thinking skills are worth developing. The text argues that there are many benefits to looking at the world through a critical lens. The book first defines critical thinking in direct relation to the university experience before proceeding to discuss the ways in which a learner can become more of a critical thinker. The second part of the book looks at the three aims of critical thinking: quality of argument, strength of evidence, and clarity of communication. The final part is about mastering the tools of critical thinking. There are five major tools that a good critical thinker should use: writing, reading, listening, speaking, and—perhaps obviously—thinking.
