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Applying Critical Thinking Reflection Te r r yWi l l i a ms HUM/ 1 1 5 February 18, 2019 Dr. Maggie Dominguez

2 Applying Critical Thinking Reflection When critical thinking is in a person’s arsenal, their ability to engage in independent and reflective thinking is enhanced. It is paramount that critical thinkers use their ability to reason in order to solve problems whether they are simple or complex. When a person thinks critically, they use a systematic approach to identify, analyze and solve problems as opposed to using intuition. In today’s information and technologically driven economy, critical thinking is a vital asset to have in your personal and professional life. Elements of Critical Thinking When the elements of critical thinking are applied to a situation, the outcome is usually positive because it means all issues have been identified and analyzed before reaching a logical conclusion. In this scenario there were barriers to critical thinking present. For example, Sally showed signs of conformity at the dinner with co-workers since she nodded in apparent agreement instead of voicing her disagreement with them. In this respect Sally did not portray herself as a critical thinker, in fact, she proved otherwise because she conformed to the will of her co-workers in order to avoid a confrontation. Later, she turned into a critical thinker when she took her argument to the manager backed by evidence. Even though the manager used fallacies to rebuff her, she persevered in the end by getting the warranty extended. Sally’s manager displayed a form of resistance to critical thinking when after hearing evidence that the printer warranty was inadequate, he dismissed her findings without providing a valid argument. In doing this, the manager showed ignorance because he avoided learning about the issue even with all the information available to him. Reason, Emotion, and Communication

3 Reason, emotions, and communication are all vital components to critical thinking. Being efficient in each of these areas enhances your ability to think critically. In this case, Sally presented a reason backed by evidence that the 1-year warranty for the printer was inadequate. Furthermore, she calculated how many of the customers with failed printers bought a replacement printer from the company. After work, Sally felt drained as well as agitated. In this emotional state, her ability to be think critically was impeded, which led to her not feeling confident enough to express her true thoughts to her co-workers. She was a passive communicator because even though she disagreed with her colleague’s viewpoint, she complied with them in order to avoid a confrontation. Fallacies and Argument When fallacies are introduced into arguments, the arguments often become deceptive and are filled with false or illogical reasonings. There were a couple of fallacies presented in this critical thinking scenario. First off, there was the fallacy of appeal to pity used by the customer on Sally. This was done by exploiting Sally’s feelings of pity by stating that his ability to print was the only way to ensure that his family has food on their table. Secondly, Sally’s manager used the fallacy of ad hominem when he resorted to attacking her because of her tardiness to work instead of dwelling on the root issues at hand. The main argument in this reading was deciding if the warranty of a printer made by the company was adequate because it did not provide customers with enough time to determine if the product would function properly. Since Sally showed evidence that many of the printers failed only one month after the 1-year warranty expired, the argument is a valid one. Conclusion

4 When critical thinking is used to circumvent an argument, the end process will most likely be a positive one. When barriers are presented in order to dissuade one’s ability to be think critically, these barriers can be over come by applying the elements needed to be a critical thinker. Using good reasoning skills coupled with strong communication will help in getting the upper hand in most situations even with the introduction of fallacies. Emotions can either help or hinder the ability to be a critical thinker. When emotions are involved, they cannot be the overruling factor in the decision-making process as logical reasoning may be ignored....