(A Novice's Examination of The Relationship Between Critical Thinking and Decision Making).
"To be, or not to be: that is the question:- (William Shakespeare, Hamlet).
Not unlike Hamlet, we face difficult decisions everyday. I spent eight years as a police officer and my decisions affected many people and permanently changed their lives and their futures. Each decision required the use of the critical thinking process to make the right decisions and to uncover the truth. Each decision was an end to a case, an investigation, a radio call or process and critical thinking was the means to the end. .
Critical Thinking.
There are many different views and definitions of critical thinking. In my research I discovered the following two definitions of critical thinking by experts in the field.
"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome." Halpern (1996). .
"Broadly speaking, critical thinking is concerned with reason, intellectual honesty, and open-mindedness, as opposed too emotionalism, intellectual laziness, and closed-mindedness. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment.
