The ABC’s of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking and problem-solving top the list of skills employers believe will grow in prominence in the next five years.

World Economic Forum

Introduction

🤔 Why should I care about this course?

Great question. We imagine you’re reading this because you’re looking to further develop yourself in one way or another. We presume you seek to be your best self and live your best life (or get yourself out of some challenging situations sooner.) If you’re nodding your head, you’re on the right track, and thinking critically can help you get there easier.

🧐 What can critical thinking skills do for me?

Another great question. Critical thinking is one of the soft skills you can take with you to all areas of your life. It serves you in any situation requiring thinking (and that’s almost every waking moment.) It can benefit you in any relationship and situation (with yourself, family, friends, colleagues, clients, customers, and even strangers on the Internet.)

Critical thinking is vital in today’s information and automation age, because it’s harder than ever to verify accurate information (thank you, Internet!) It’s becoming harder to make sense of information overload and to take the right action at the right time. Critical thinking assists you in deciphering information, gathering perspectives, and making choices with more reason and less rash. Lean on critical thinking to find out what is more likely to be true and what to do about it.

Honing critical thinking skills also strengthens your ability to express your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs more effectively. Get ready to put on your critical thinking hat and win more in life―with fair judgements, sound decisions, and smart negotiations.

🤩 Critical thinking skills you will gain:

• Understand what critical thinking is and how to apply it to everyday situations.
• Assess your current level of critical thinking and identify areas to strengthen, and how to measure your progress.
• Organize your thoughts and ideas into clear, concise, and sound arguments through 3 methods of reasoning.
• Engage with the arguments of others and judge their validity.
• Recognize common biases and understand how they influence the beliefs, positions, and attitudes of yours and others.
• Identify context behind information to gain a fuller picture of what’s being presented; not concluding or reacting before considering sufficient context.
• Draw the structure of an argument on paper, so that you see its logic clearly before accepting an opinion, sales pitch, claim, idea, or any of the numerous messages vying for your mind, action, and wallet in a day.
• Recognize and use the right evidence in support of your or others’ position, and how to apply it to better decision-making.
• Understand and spot common fallacies in arguments, ideas, and various forms of communication.
• Strengthen your other valuable soft skills such as diplomacy, open-mindedness, and fairness, enabling you to rise above emotional attachments or ideological loyalties in conversations and discussions.

🎓 Instructor

Dr Christopher DiCarlo
Critical Thinking Advisor and Educator

Dr Christopher DiCarlo, aka Dr D or simply Doc to many, is a Renaissance man. He’s a critical thinking advisor and philosopher, an award-winning professor and lecturer, an educator, author, writer, therapist, chef, drummer, basketball player and coach. After completing his postdoctoral work at Harvard, Doc has taught at a number of universities and been awarded “Best Professor” and “Best Lecturer”. He was “Canadian Humanist of the Year” in 2008. Doc has written many books on critical thinking, including a North American best-seller: How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass: A Critical Thinker’s Guide to Asking the Right Questions and the latest release So You Think You Can Think? Tools for Having Intelligent Conversations and Getting Along.

📔 Program curriculum

The ABC of Critical Thinking

This introductory course is both informative and entertaining. Spanning 8 weeks, each weekly session runs between 60 to 75 minutes. The first 2 weeks give you an overview and benchmark of your current critical thinking abilities. Each of the following 6 weeks will introduce you to one of the ABC (and DEF) of critical thinking, expand your understanding of it, and give you essential tools to continue honing your critical thinking abilities.

⏱ Critical Thinking Introduction
& Assessment

Get an essential overview before taking an assessment.
It is to estimate your current critical thinking skills and establish an initial benchmark to measure your progress.

🧭 Assessment Walkthrough
& Course Prep

Explore the result of your assessment and understand how it is evaluated.
Find out where you already shine and where you would do better with this course. Get any of your initial questions answered before the 6-lecture series begins.

🤼 A is for Argument

Learn how to organize thoughts into better arguments.
Get familiar with three types of reasoning. Explore the different ways we think about everyday experiences―through vivid examples such as Sherlock Holmes, the scientific method, and the unusual discovery of germs.

🙃 B is for Bias

Recognize common biases and understand how they influence our worldview.
All humans are biased in thinking, some more than others. Learn how to identify biases in both yourself and others, become more open-minded, and ultimately minimize any regrettable DUI― “Decisions Under the Influence”.

🖼 C is for Context

Learn the importance of gaining context behind any information.
Context provides vital background information for us to respond appropriately. Without context, we may judge and react unfairly and too quickly, potentially leading to regrets.

📐 D is for Diagram

See how diagramming an argument can improve our understanding of it.
Draw out the structure of an argument and see how it looks on paper. This practice helps us gain clarity into an argument before deciding if it’s acceptable.

⚖️ E is for Evidence

Learn how to use evidence in supporting a position.
Everyone makes numerous claims every day. Some claims don’t require much evidence to convince while others call for much more. It’s essential to know what counts as evidence, what doesn’t, and why.

🔬 F is for Fallacies

Spot the most common errors in reasoning.
Recognizing fallacies is one of the most essential in the critical thinking toolbox. With over 150 fallacies, every day everyone commits some without realizing it. It’s fun to spot common fallacies in conversations (especially when you hang out with open-minded people who can chuckle at themselves.) You will gain the capability to hold yourself and others to a higher standard of drawing conclusions.