Describe a situation in which critical and creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations.
In some schools especially in nursery and lower schools, teachers think that by forcing and punishing poor students in class will motivate them to improve on their performance. As a critical and a creative thinker, this is not a good solution, partly because it’s unethical and partly because it affects the student’s psychological health. Teachers with such behavior can improve on the outcomes of their actions by; giving the poor performers much attention and support and also by motivating them through encouragements.
A creative and critical thinker will not confront a problem emotionally the way some teachers in lower classes do. In such situation, a critical thinker will be able to find excellent ideas in bad solutions, instead of punishing the students; a critical thinker will ask himself or herself the question “Is there anything better regarding this problem?" by asking yourself such questions will lead you to a better solution excluding punishing and psychologically tormenting students.
Evident from the poor and negative outcomes of not thinking critically, one can draw from it the various importance of critical and creative thinking. It is important for people to think critically and creatively in such situations because it enables one to analyze the outcomes and the consequences of an action before doing it. This reduces instances of false belief. Critical and creative thinking is also important in such situations because it helps people to understand and discover the negative consequences of the action before doing it.
Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts.
Free will-is the ability of an individual to make his or her own decisions with no restriction, it’s the liberty that one has to choose whatever pleases him or her. Freewill in permits one to create his or her own thought because he or she has the liberty to believe whether the information is true or false based on his or her own judgment (Rescher, 2009)
Truth-it’s the compliance to facts or the definite state of the matter. Truth is also a universally acceptable principle. People use truth in thinking to delineate what they believe in.
Knowledge-it is the acquaintance with something or somebody that includes skills and information. People use knowledge in thinking in order to them to distinguish the good from the bad and the realistic from the unrealistic; it also allows people to discover what they actually believe in.
Opinion- it is a personal belief, and it is normally the outcome of emotion and reasoned out facts. Opinion allows people to add other peoples reasoning to their system hence discovering what they belief in. Identify three hindrances to the critical thinking process. Determine methods for overcoming these hindrances. Identify a time in which you experienced a hindrance in critical thinking. Describe a method you could use to overcome the hindrance.
Egocentrism-it’s a self centered and biased thinking
Sociocentrism- it is mob centered thinking, thinking that is defined by the group beliefs (Wilson & Kolander, 2011, p.142).
Wishful thinking-this occurs when a person thinks that something is true with no valid reason but because they wish it was true.
In order to overcome such hindrances someone has to consider the surrounding and also the situation of others in order to get a critical idea on what others consider being true. Weighing situations will create a conducive environment for the parties involved to intervene without misconceptions. It is also advisable to expect all the possible outcomes in such situations so that emotional thinking can be evaded.
I once engaged in a civil rights demonstration, the demonstration at one point turned violent following the opposition from the police. In reaction to this, the group that I was in started looting people’s property an action that is unethical and unacceptable. The hindrance in this case was sociocentrism; the group was unable to weigh the outcome of the violent protest. I could have avoided such hindrance by thinking alone and weighing the outcomes and the consequences attached in reaching to my harmony.
Identify a message in advertising. Describe how you perceive the message of the advertisement. Try to determine the reality of the advertisement. Distinguish between your perception and the reality of the message.
One of the most popular beer advertisements is the one where a man drinks alcohol and he becomes brave more than ever. In one of the commercials, a man is shown walking in the jungle surrounded by lions; he then walks with ease holding a bottle of beer. Based on the message from the advertisement, beer makes one brave. The beer brand in reality does not make one brave. The difference between what I got from the advertisement and reality, is that no one really gets courageous to an extend of walking in the jungle of lions while drunk unlike the message brought out by the advert. This difference can only be discovered by a critical thinker.
References
Rescher, N. (2009). Free will: A philosophical reappraisal. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Publishers.
Wilson, R. W., & Kolander, C. A. (2011). Drug abuse prevention: A school and community
partnership. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
