Critical Thinking

I’m going to ask you something deeply ironic. What are the fundamental tenets of applying critical thinking to a piece of writing?

I appreciate the self-awareness in your question! Here are the fundamental tenets:

Question assumptions and claims. Don’t accept statements at face value just because they’re presented confidently. Ask: what evidence supports this? What’s being taken for granted?

Examine the evidence. Is it relevant, sufficient, and reliable? Are sources credible? Is data being cherry-picked or misrepresented?

Consider alternative explanations. Could the facts be interpreted differently? What other perspectives exist? Am I only seeing one side?

Look for logical fallacies. Watch for weak reasoning like false dichotomies, appeals to emotion, ad hominem attacks, or circular arguments.

Identify bias and motivated reasoning. What might the author’s incentives or blind spots be? Am I bringing my own biases to the reading?

Distinguish facts from opinions. What can be verified versus what’s interpretation or judgment?

Evaluate the structure of the argument. Do the premises actually support the conclusion? Are there logical gaps?

Consider what’s omitted. Sometimes what’s not said is as important as what is. What context or counterarguments are missing?

Check your own comprehension. Am I understanding the actual argument being made, or responding to a strawman version?

The irony, of course, is that you should apply all of these to what I just wrote. Did I oversimplify? Are these really “fundamental”? What frameworks am I leaving out? The critical thinking never stops!