This essay about the meaning and importance of critical thinking was written by Dr. Peter Facione for students and the general public. It invites readers to think about critical thinking, and in so doing, it provides a sound and research-based conceptual synthesis describing critical thinking skills and dispositions. The emphasis in the essay, beyond the definition developed, is on the personally and socially significant uses of critical thinking. Civic engagement without critical thinking may be nothing but noise, polemics, and political deception. This essay is based on the expert consensus conceptualization of "critical thinking" articulated in the APA Delphi Research Report.

This updated edition expands the discussion of critical thinking by connecting it with recent work in cognitive science. It includes a discussion of several heuristic thinking strategies humans commonly use, including their potential advantages and their inherent potential biases. The essay talks about our two human problem-solving systems which appear to operate in parallel; one being our more intuitive, reactive, and holistic decision-making, and the other being more reflective, procedural and rule-governed.

Copyright, educational fair use, and resale reprint information is provided on first page of essay.
For Academic Permissions Service contact the Copyright Clearance Center.

                                     ISBN13: 978-1-891557-07-1          ISBN 1-891557-07-6