critical thinking

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critical thinking (uncountable)

1. The application of logical principles, rigorous standards of evidence, and careful reasoning to the analysis and discussion of claims, beliefs, and issues.
   • 1898, Josiah Royce, “Review of In Tune with the Infinite; or, Fulness of Peace, Power, and Plenty by Ralph Waldo Trine”, in International Journal of Ethics, volume 9, number 1, page 126:

     The new mysticism, very prevalent at this time in America, is thus, indeed, not ill represented by this very pleasant book. Critical thinking there is none, of course, from one end of the volume to the other.

   • 1990, Kerry S. Walters, “Critical Thinking, Rationality, and the Vulcanization of Students”, in Journal of Higher Education, volume 61, number 4, page 450:

     As any educator knows, the training of students in critical thinking, analytic skills, and problem solving has become a top educational priority in recent years.

   • 2006 June 4, David Pease, “Teenage Wasteland”, in New York Times, retrieved 16 June 2009:

     Recent studies of adolescents' brain scans show that the consumption of alcohol by young adults can cause long-lasting damage, particularly in areas related to learning, memory and critical thinking.

   • 2020, Gordon G. Chang, The Great U.S.-China Tech War, New York: Encounter Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 24:

     Moreover, Xi's demand for absolute political obedience suffocates society. Suffocation can only inhibit critical thinking, an essential element of research, even in areas far removed from Xi's Maost-like ideology.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:critical thinking.

• “critical thinking”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.