The Art of Critical Thinking: Unleashing the Power of Your Mind

1. Art of Leadership & Motivation HRM – 760 Lecture - 11 • FACILITATOR • Prof. Dr. Mohammad Majid Mahmood

2. Critical Thinking–a critical skill for effective leaders

3. A Necessary Condition to the Development of Critical Thinking is: A Questioning Mind!

4. The landscape of the mind. The software of the brain. Language

5. Words can have two kinds of meaning: Denotative Connotative What does each mean? Language

6. Denotative: Dictionary meaning: What is an apple? edible, usually rounded fruit. Language

7. Connotative: Suggestions beyond the dictionary meanings. What do you think of when you hear the word apple? Language

8. Food, Pie, a computer, keeps the doctor away, etc. Language

9. METACOGNITION “Until you KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW’ you do not own your knowledge, and so you do not know anything.”

10. Logical one thing at a time sequential operation writing & symbols mathematical spoken memory Emotional integrating inputs dreams holistic solutions intuition visualizing Classification of Brain Left Brain Thinking Right Brain Thinking Springer, S., & Deutsch, G. (1993). Left brain, right brain (4th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.

11. Brain Fitness • Like the body, the brain has its own form of fitness or excellence. • To achieve brain fitness, the brain must learn to: • take charge of itself, • energize itself, • press forward when difficulties emerge, • become attentive, and reflective Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder, The Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2010

12. Critical Thinking • Thinking is the hardest work, which is probably why so few engage in it. Henry Ford • Some people’s minds close up & they live on their intellectual fat. William Lyon

13. Critical Thinking Quotes • We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein • Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought. Unknown • The human mind once stretched by a new idea never goes back to its original dimensions. Oliver Wendell Homes

14. Thinking Errors • Denial • Refuse to accept reality. • Projection • We see in others what is really happening to us. • Rationalization • Lying to ourselves about the real reasons for our behaviors and feelings.

15. Thinking Errors • Personalization • Thinking in which the world revolves around an individual • Polarized Thinking • There is only black or white – no gray • Catastrophizing • Always consider the worst possible outcome (all the time)

16. Thinking Errors • Selective abstraction • Focusing on one detail of a situation and ignoring the larger picture • Overgeneralization • Drawing broad conclusions on the basis of a single incident.

17. COMPONENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING Critical Thinking Skills Dispositions Knowledge

18. The Power of Knowledge • We should have knowledge in an area to think critically about the area. • There is no substitute for information, facts, assumptions, and data in critical thinking

19. Critical Thinking Dispositions • Anticipating situations that require reasoning • Confident in reasoning ability • Curious • Wants to know the truth • Open to others point of views • Aware of biases

20. Developing Critical Thinking Skills • Interpretation –clarifying meaning

21. Developing Critical Thinking Skills • Analysis– examining ideas, identifying arguments, analyzing arguments

22. Developing Critical Thinking Skills • Evaluation– assessing claims, assessing arguments

23. Developing Critical Thinking Skills • Inference– drawing conclusions

24. Developing Critical Thinking Skills • Explanation – stating results, justifying procedures, presenting arguments

25. Developing Critical Thinking Skills • Self-regulation – self examination, self correction

26. Challenges/Barriers to Critical Thinking “It’s true because I believe it” (innate egocentrism) “It’s true because we believe it” (innate sociocentrism) “It’s true because I wantto believe it” (innate wish fulfillment) “It’s true because I have always believed it.” (innate self-validation) “It’s true because it is in my selfish interestto believe it.” (innate selfishness)

27. Your Mind is Your Most Important Weapon: With a good one, other weapons are more useful, sometimes unnecessary With a poor one, other weapons are useless to achieve victory Exercise your brain as well as your body Thinking & Winning

28. You are only as good as your mind--it is your best weapon for survival Knowledge is a force multiplier and the key to successful adaptation Learn how to learn for yourself Thinking & Winning

29. You must PRACTICE good thinking skills—they don’t happen by accident If you don’t do it, it won’t get done If not now, when? If not here where? If not you, who? So . . .

30. Strive for understanding Are honest with themselves Base judgment on evidence Are interested in other people’s ideas Control their feelings/emotions Characteristics of Critical Thinkers:

31. They keep an open mind They are highly observant Identify key issues and raise questions Obtain relevant facts Evaluate findings and form judgments Characteristics of Critical Thinkers:

32. Conclusion • In thinking critically, • we take command of the meanings we create.

33. “Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come from little things … I am tempted to think … there are no little things” Bruce Barton

34. Thank you for your kind attention! • FACILITATOR • Prof. Dr. Mohammad Majid Mahmood Bagram