What is critical thinking, why is it important, and how is it accomplished? In the book, "Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life", Richard W. Paul and Linda Elder present a definition, a reasoned argument for its necessity, and a series of exercises designed to allow the reader to internalize concepts of the book's central themes. Major themes touch on the reformation of our worldview, the apprehension of the extent of our ignorance, and the assessment of the quality of our thinking.

The authors posit critical thinkers embrace the notion that beliefs are subject to change as a function of new evidence or better reasoning; change in the quality of this reasoning reveals inconsistencies between objective and subjective data that produce healthy skepticism rather than cynicism. Incremental movement away from egocentric thinking and prejudicial beliefs empowers the "ethical reasoner" with a more empathic understanding of alternative views unencumbered by self-delusion. The take home message here is that the lack of self-absorption and ego-centrism allows the critical thinker to examine questions from multiple perspectives. This examination can reveal that not all information is equal in content or origination; biased or misreported data can skew interpretation and affect thinking from the onset. Reliably vetting data is an invaluable function of the critical thinking process.

My one negative assessment of the book rests with the authors' use of statements supportive of their views that are too generalized or without consistent citations, e.g. "All of us, for example, make generalizations when we don't have the evidence to back them up, allow stereotypes to influence our thinking, form false beliefs, tend to look at the world from one fixed point of view, ignore or attack points of view that conflict with our own, fabricate illusions and myths that we subconsciously confuse with our own, and think deceptively about many aspects of our experience". In a book on critical thinking that the authors hope will produce individuals willing to become more critical in their assessment of data, the use of comprehensive citations would give more credence to their position. This said, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to learners of any discipline with the aspiration of becoming "critical thinkers".

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