human nature: The common qualities of all human beings. People have both a primary and a secondary nature. Our primary nature is spontaneous, egocentric, and strongly prone to irrational belief formation. It is the basis for our instinctual thought. People need no training to believe what they want to believe: what serves their immediate interests, what preserves their sense of personal comfort and righteousness, what minimizes their sense of inconsistency, and what presupposes their own correctness. People need no special training to believe what those around them believe: what their parents and friends believe, what is taught to them by religious and school authorities, what is repeated often by the media, and what is commonly believed in the nation in which they are raised. People need no training to think that those who disagree with them are wrong and probably prejudiced. People need no training to assume that their own most fundamental beliefs are self-evidently true or easily justified by evidence. People naturally and spontaneously identify with their own beliefs. They experience most disagreement as personal attack. The resulting defensiveness interferes with their capacity to empathize with or enter into other points of view. On the other hand, people need extensive and systematic practice to develop their secondary nature, their implicit capacity to function as rational persons. They need extensive and systematic practice to recognize the tendencies they have to form irrational beliefs. They need extensive practice to develop a dislike of inconsistency, a love of clarity, a passion to seek reasons and evidence and to be fair to points of view other than their own. People need extensive practice to recognize that they indeed have a point of view, that they live inferentially, that they do not have a direct pipeline to reality, that it is perfectly possible to have an overwhelming inner sense of the correctness of oneÕs views and still be wrong. See intellectual virtues.
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some Critical Thinking elements Here are important elements of Critical Thinking. One can't be an expert in these over night. They need to be cultivated and practiced and eventually internalized. The "Inquisitiveness" scale on the CCTDI measures one's intellectual curiosity and one's desire for learning even when the application of the knowledge is not readily apparent. Intellectual curiosity and a desire to know are among the defining characteristics of the liberally educated person. Considering that the knowledge base for competent engineering (psychology, nursing, teacher education, journalism) practice continues to expand, a deficit in inquisitiveness would signal a fundamental limitation of one's potential to develop expert knowledge and professional practice ability. In general an inquisitive person can be predicted to agree with: "No matter what the topic, I am eager to know more about it." "Learn everything you can, you never know when it could come in handy." And, "Studying new things all my life would be wonderful." Those inclined away from inquisitiveness might say, "most college courses are uninteresting and not worth taking." The "Open-mindedness" scale addresses being tolerant of divergent views and sensitive to the possibility of one's own bias. Open-mindedness is crucial for citizens of a pluralistic, multi-cultural society which values tolerance and understanding of the beliefs and lifestyles of others. Conversely, dispositional intolerance of divergent views might preclude effective client services, clinical practice interventions, or educational efforts in such varied populations as those with substance abuse problems, those in the criminal justice system, and those enmeshed in urban violence. Persons who are intolerant toward divergent views might be expected to agree with: "Open-mindedness has limits when it comes to right and wrong." And, "You are not entitled to your opinion if you are obviously mistaken." In contrast, persons inclined toward open-mindedness could be predicted in general to agree with: "It's important to me to understand what other people think about things." And, "It concerns me that I might have biases of which I am not aware." The "Systematicity" scale measures being organized, orderly, focused, and diligent in inquiry. No particular kind of organization, e.g. linear or non-linear, is given priority on the CCTDI. Organized approaches to problem-solving and decision-making are hallmarks of a thoughtful person regardless of the problem domain being addressed. The inclination to approach problems in an orderly and focused way is an indispensable part of competent clinical (accountancy, managerial, psychological, scientific) practice, and deficits in systematicity might particularly predispose a nurse (CPA, pharmacist, attorney, physician) to the possibility of negligence in practice. One would expect persons disposed toward systematicity to generally agree with "I always focus the question before I attempt to answer it." However, in general, one would expect them to disagree with: "My opinion about controversial topics depends a lot on who I talked to last." "My problem is I'm easily distracted." And, "People say I rush into decisions too quickly." The "Analyticity" scale targets prizing the application of reasoning and the use of evidence to resolve problems, anticipating potential conceptual or practical difficulties, and consistently being alert to the need to intervene. Analyticity is a core disposition for the inquiring mind. Persons with this characteristic are inclined to want to anticipate the consequences of events and ideas, and to use reason, rather than some other strategy to address serious problems as well as entertaining puzzles. Analyticity is a virtue for the psychologist (scientist, educator, humanist, jurist, economist) as a scholar and researcher; but it is no less important to the nurse (teacher, attorney, journalist, physician, psychologist, pharmacist, journalist, manager) as a working professional. Being analytical disposes the person in professional practice to connect observations with her/his theoretical knowledge base, and to anticipate events likely to threaten the safety or limit potential or create an advantage for a given client. Persons with a positive inclination toward analyticity can, in general, be predicted to disagree with: "I pretend to be logical, but I'm not." And, "There is no way to know whether one solution is better than another." But, we can predict they would tend to agree with, "It bothers me when people rely on weak arguments to defend good ideas." And, "People need reasons if they are going to disagree with another's opinion." The "Truth-seeking" scale targets the disposition of being eager to seek the best knowledge in a given context, courageous about asking questions, and honest and objective about pursuing inquiry even if the findings do not support one's self-interests or one's preconceived opinions. Once a liberally educated person acknowledges a given set of facts to be the case or a given set of reasons to be relevant and forceful, that person is inclined to adjust his or her beliefs in accord with those facts and reasons. The truth-seeker is one who remains receptive to giving serious consideration to additional facts, reasons, or perspectives even if this should necessitate changing one's mind on some issue. The truth-seeking professional (student, faculty member, scholar) continually evaluates new information and evidence. In contrast, being un-attuned to counter-evidence perpetuates professional practice which is unreflective and unresponsive to changes in its theory-base. Deficits in truth-seeking may subject a client to malpractice resulting from the practitioner's inattention to evidence of a missed diagnosis or the changing status of their case. Persons positively disposed toward truth-seeking can be predicted in general to disagree if prompted with: "Everyone always argues from their own self-interest, including me." "If there are four reasons in favor and one against, I'll go with the four." And, "To get people to agree with me I'd give any reason that worked." The "CT Self-Confidence" scale measures the trust one places in one's own reasoning processes. CT self-confidence allows one to trust the soundness of one's own reasoned judgments and to lead others in the rational resolution of problems. An appropriate level of CT self-confidence, increasing in relation to one's maturity and in relation to one's mastery of CT skills, would be the desired developmental trajectory for all students. Rises and falls in CT self-confidence might suggest the progress of a person through developmental levels, with a rise of CT self-confidence indicating comfort at a given level of cognitive development and a fall in CT self-confidence resulting from the same cognitive dissonance which gives impetus to an upward movement. Whether an individual's level of CT self-confidence is warranted is another matter, however. Some under-estimate their ability to think critically, while others over-rate their CT ability. Practicing professionals who over-rate their CT abilities may act with inadequate caution, while those whose CT self-confidence is lower than their actual CT skills level might be expected to demonstrate a lack of leadership in both intimate client contacts and larger group settings. Students who display confidence in their reasoning would be expected to agree with prompts such as "Tests that require thinking, not just memorization, are better for me." And, "I take pride in my ability to understand the opinions of others." The "Maturity" scale targets the disposition to be judicious in one's decision-making. The CT-mature person can be characterized as one who approaches problems, inquiry, and decision making with a sense that some problems are necessarily ill-structured, some situations admit of more than one plausible option, and many times judgments must be made based on standards, contexts and evidence which preclude certainty. This dispositional attribute has particular implications for responding to ill-structured problems and making complex decisions involving multiple stakeholders, such as policy-oriented and ethical decision-making, particularly in time-pressured environments. Cognitive maturity in CT would appear to be critical to the development of expertise as a clinician, administrator, educator, attorney, or a policy-maker in any venue.

CT in brief RITICAL THINKING IS: calm, clear, logical, rational, explainable, reproduceable, CRITICAL THINKING IS NOT: whatever the book\newspaper\radio\tv\internet said, opinion, emotional, made up of logical falicies, EXAMPLES OF LOGICAL FALICIES: emotional appeal, gerber baby, argumentative, (over)-generalizing, metaphoric, syallgistic, TYPES OF LOGIC: deductive inductive intuitive HINTS: believe in YOURSELF, trust OTHERS, learn from everyone & everything, question everything, not to challenge, but to learn, if it does not make sense to you, it may not make sense, spend your money once, measure twice, cut once, absolute truths are VERY rare, always look for a win-win situation, zero-sum situations are dangerous, look for the very best answer to a problem, when you have found it, find another, everyone learns in different ways, things are often more complex than they appear, fear is the greatest enemy of communication, you can't help someone who does not wish to be helped, you won't learn, if you think you know it all, children may have more to teach than adults do, spend time learning from the natural world, humans are animals, rational thinking is the rarest of human attributes, curiosity is the most precious of human attributes, CAUTION: you never know WHEN you are going to learn, if you did the very opposite of what the majority of the population, did, you would probably be better off,

On concentration CONCENTRATION The first and most basic mental tool in the process of becoming conscious is learning how to concentrate. If your mind is often unfocused, or constantly skips from subject to subject like a flat stone skipping across still water, then you will never be able to understand anything in enough detail to actually develop real consciousness. Surprisingly, by simply listening to normal conversation (which is normal consciousness verbalized), it becomes apparent that most people actually prefer to be superficial: As opposed to consciously identifying real facts and honest feelings that would lead to a meaningful connection. In fact, our usual experience with conversation is to mindlessly follow the socially accepted purpose to keep it light, so that everyone can have fun! This normal purpose requires that we bounce lightly from subject to subject, and never give any one topic more than a sentence or two. In addition, we generally abide by the unwritten rules that say it is socially correct to avoid topics that might confront significant life experiences; such as real needs, pain, death, joy, purpose, or the details about anything toward which we experience a deep and passionate caring. Learning how to concentrate with the clear purpose of becoming conscious is the first step away from what is normally seen as socially correct, light, or fun. At the same time, it is also the first step toward mental development. If your choice is to take a step toward developing your own mind, then you must learn to concentrate. One way to begin is by focusing your attention on just one subject at a time until all the critical details become identifiable and clear. Of course, every routine event of daily life offers an opportunity to practice. For example, in everyday conversation you can practice listening to what other people say, and then test yourself on what you remember. It is important to notice that you will remember whatever has received your whole-hearted attention, and you will tend to forget that which has not. This means that if your memory is poor it is a clear indication that your attention is either divided, or simply absent. Another way to use daily conversations to practice concentration and expand consciousness is to ask questions that reveal the details of another person’s mind or experience. For instance, asking questions that encourage other people to express their pain, pleasure, needs, external experiences or point of view, all provide the opportunity to practice your concentration. Also, just asking questions teaches you how to give someone else the spotlight of attention, while you take the opportunity to learn from their responses and experience. So, if someone you know says they had a wonderful vacation, then it would be appropriate to explore the details by asking, "What made your vacation wonderful?" In addition, you could go a little deeper and ask if there was anything that was not wonderful! Other avenues of inquiry include asking; "What motivated the person to choose this particular vacation? What was their purpose?" And, "What did they learn from their experience?" Do the details of someone else’s vacation seem insignificant to you? On one level they are, but on another can you see that just asking the questions provides practice in concentrating the full light of your attention on someone else? (A skill everyone really needs!) Can you also see that asking these questions may teach you what other people care about, help you see more clearly what you care about, and also help you understand the consequences of that caring in both your own life and the lives of other people? One way to practice concentration all day is to give whole-hearted attention to everything you experience, every moment: Whether doing the dishes, washing the car, on the job, playing sports, watching TV, or teasing your mate. With any and all tasks or activities simply use each moment to practice focusing your mind’s attention with undivided energy and whole-hearted interest. You may notice that this practice is contrary to normal training, which usually teaches us to judge each moment in terms of whether or not the activity deserves, or is considered worthy of our full and undivided attention! Normally, we go through life with the expectation that only a few critical moments truly deserve all our energy and attention. As a result, we tend to believe that only those activities judged to be spectacularly dangerous, or pleasant, are truly worth our total, wholehearted, and undivided attention. This is how sex, war, and making money have come to be held in such high esteem. That is, we have collectively decided they are spectacular enough to deserve our undivided attention. One consequence of this collective decision is that we often obsess over sex, war, or making money; and at the same time, mentally reduce the ordinary activities of daily life to valueless burdens. Since ordinary activities consume the majority of our life’s time and energy, the devaluation of these activities, and the subsequent withdrawal of our attention, becomes one way we put ourselves to sleep through a significant portion of everyday life. Is it any wonder that as we age our lives keep slipping away, faster and faster? Learning to concentrate on each moment of every day has the effect of slowing down the experience of life, simply because we are paying conscious attention to all of it! As a result, if you want to slow the passage of time, and also expand your experience of being alive; then you must acknowledge that whatever the activity it is still life, and being alive is always fragile and passes quickly. A clear understanding of these simple facts reveals that each moment of existence is important, and each one requires whole-hearted attention; that is, if you want to consciously experience being fully alive before you die. Of course, the most famous concentration technique of all is that of meditation. Usually associated with mystics, or the mysterious process of enlightenment, meditation is really a basic method for learning how to keep our mind’s attention on one thing. By itself, meditation will not develop real consciousness, but it does help immensely in teaching us how to concentrate. In fact, if meditation is used in conjunction with ideas and feelings it may actually retard the growth of your understanding. On the other hand, if meditation is used in conjunction with perceptions, memory, and reason, then it is one of the most effective tools in creating the capacity to quiet your mind until you clearly see what is true. For instance, in the practice of meditation your task is to sit still and do one thing: Watch your breath, silently repeat a mantra, focus your eyes on a physical object, or your ears on a sound. The simple act of sitting still and concentrating all your attention on one subject will provide rest to your entire nervous system. In addition, you can also use the time to observe your mind and perhaps notice that it continues to be active, with or without your consent! Unfortunately, it is normal to be so busy with multiple tasks, thoughts, and feelings that we rarely have an empty moment to observe our own minds. This is how a whole lifetime can pass while we remain forever strangers, to ourselves! Initially there are three reasons to meditate: One, to give your mind, body, and emotions a rest; two, to observe the undirected activity of your mind and learn how it works; and three, to develop the ability to quiet your mind and consciously focus your attention on just one thing at a time. It is important to notice that it is only from the experience of a quiet mind and focused attention that you will eventually develop the mental receptiveness necessary to perceive reality accurately. This means that by continuously observing the activity in your mind you will acquire a much needed experience with your own internal reality; and perhaps for the first time begin to acquire an accurate self-awareness. What you have seen is that that the first mental tool has been defined as the experience of focusing the full light of your mind’s attention on just one thing at a time. Various ways to practice this tool have been presented: Including normal conversation, ordinary daily activity, and the one activity specifically designed to develop a consciously focused attention, meditation.