Elements of Critical Thinking

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Elements of Critical Thinking
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P.O.R.E.D.

• Problem
• Options
• Reasons
• Evaluation
• Decision

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1. Problem

• Critical thinking begins with a problem, or
  with a puzzle, or with a question, or with the
  need to choose or to make a decision.

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Problem

• Your car wont start
• Your computer crashed
• Youre stuck on Level 12 of Halo

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Puzzle

• You dont like your job but you really need the
  money you earn there
• Youd really like to go to medical school but
  youre not very good at biology or at anatomy and
  physiology
• You need to get to CSUN 3 or 4 days a week but
  you dont own a car

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Question

• Whats the best way for me to find a date?
• Who is the best teacher of Accounting 220?
• Does Vons have better bargains than Ralphs?

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Choice/Decision

• Should I room with Mark or with Jason?
• Should I lease a Toyota 4Runner or a Nissan
  Pathfinder?
• What should I take in the Spring Semester?

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2. Options

• For each of these problems, there are options
  that you can consider. The next task, then, is
  to think of all the options for solving the
  problem. (The authors of our textbook call
  options claims. More on this later.)

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You dont like your job, but you really need the
money you earn there

• Quit your job, and dont look for another one.
• Quit your job, and do look for another one.
• Look for a different job while you continue to
  work at your current job.
• Keep your current job, and dont look for a
  different one.

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3. Reasons

• For each option that you list, you can think of
  reasons in favor of and against that option.

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Quit your job, and dont look for another one.

• Pro
• Ill no longer have a job that I dont enjoy
• Ill no longer have any job, and this might turn
  out to be pleasant
• Con
• I wouldnt be earning the money that I need,
  neither now nor for the foreseeable future

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Quit your job, and do look for another one.

• Pro
• I will no longer have a job that I dont enjoy
• At least until I find another job, I will have no
  job-related responsibilities, and this could be
  similar to a vacation
• Con
• In the meantime, I wont be earning the money
  that I need

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Look for a different job while you continue to
work at your current job.

• Pro
• I will still be earning the money that I need
• I would be taking steps to situate myself in a
  more pleasant working environment, and eventually
  I would be able to quit my current job, which I
  dont enjoy.
• Con
• It might be difficult to find the time to look
  for another job

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Keep your current job, and dont look for a
different one.

• Pro
• Ill be earning the money that I need
• Con
• Ill have a job that I dont enjoy

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4. Evaluation

• Determine which set of reasons is best
  or strongest. In logic, there are more or less
  strict methods that we can employ in order to
  determine whether one set of reasons is stronger
  than another (both for inductive reasons and for
  deductive reasons). In some everyday cases,
  though, these methods might be mitigated by,
  supplemented with, or perhaps even trumped by
  personal considerations and preferences.

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Since money is probably chief among all the
reasons provided, I should choose an option that
allows me to earn the money that I need. Option
1 is out. Moreover, it seems better not to
interrupt my income if I can avoid doing so.
Option 2 is out. Finally, I would
likeeventually, at leastto work in a more
pleasant environment. Option 4 is out, too.
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5. Decision

• Choose Option 3.
• Option 3 allows me to earn, without interruption,
  the money that I need and in that option, I will
  be taking steps to situate myself in a more
  pleasant working environment.
• Furthermore, Option 3s conthat it might be
  difficult to find the time to look for another
  jobis less onerous than any of the other cons.
  For Option 3s cons, unlike any of the others,
  involves neither giving up my income nor keeping
  a job that I dont enjoy and these are the
  weightiest of the reasons provided.