Why is Critical Thinking Important

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Why is critical thinking important:

if they are unchecked or--* All actions, decisions and judgments spring from assumptions

inappropriate, we will make poor decisions and wrong judgments.

we avoid uncritically-communications open* In personal relationships we learn to keep our lines of

reproducing patterns of the modeled interactions we learned from our parental interaction.

* In the workplace we avoid stagnation and atrophy and are willing to challenge the current paradigms

y accepted and may have come down in the workplace from a time and thinkingwhich are uncriticall

which is no longer relevant to our current reality.

Thinking?CriticalIsWhat

Critical thinking consists of three steps:

* 1. Becoming aware that assumptions exist

assumptions explicit* 2. Making

* 3. Assessing their accuracy

The Functions of Language (i.e., its purpose; what it does; its

uses)

1. Informative language function: essentially, the communication of

information.

a. The informative function affirms or denies

propositions, as in science or the statement of a fact..

b. This function is used to describe the world or

reason about it (e.g.., whether a state of affairs hasoccurred or not or what might have led to it).

c. These sentences have a truth value; that is, the

sentences are either true or false (recognizing, of

course, that we might not know what that truth value

is). Hence, they are important for logic.

2. Expressive language function: reports feelings or attitudes of the writer

(or speaker), or of the subject, or evokes feelings in the reader (or listener).

a. Poetry and literature are among the best examples,

but much of, perhaps most of, ordinary language

discourse is the expression of emotions, feelings or

attitudes.

b. Two main aspects of this function are generally

noted: (1) evoking certain feelings and (2)

expressing feelings.

c. Expressive discourse, qua expressive discourse, is

best regarded as neither true or false. E.g.,

Shakespeare's King Lear's lament, "Ripeness is all!"

or Dickens' "It was the best of times, it was the worst


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of times; it was the age of wisdom; it was the age of

foolishness" Even so, the "logic" of "fictional

statements" is an interesting area of inquiry.

3. Directive language function: language used for the purpose of causing

(or preventing) overt action.

a. The directive function is most commonly found in

commands and requests.

b. Directive language is not normally considered

true or false (although various logics of commands

have been developed).

c. Example of this function: "Close the

windows." The sentence "You're smoking in a

nonsmoking area," although declarative, can beused to mean "Do not smoke in this area."

Three Primary Uses of Language We use language everyday in many ways and to meet countless different ends. We use verbal

and non-verbal forms of language and our language is full of subtle nuances that change themeaning of words and phrases. Language is the most common way to communicate with othersand our communications can be categorized into three primary purposes for language:informative, expressive and directive.

Informative

The informative use of language is to communicate some sort of content that involvesinformation. The general assumption is that the content is true. We use language to tell someonesomething, to ask a question, and to make notes to ourselves. For example, "today is mybirthday" offers information. When we ask, "What time is it?" we are using language to attempt toreceive information.

Expressive

We use language to express our ideas and emotions. An expressive use of language "intendsonly to vent some feeling, or ... to evoke some feeling from other people," according toPhilosophy Pages. Expressive language may or may not include any real information as thepurpose of an expressive use of language is to convey a feeling. Information may be assumed,

but not expressed. For example, if someone says "Yuck", the word is used to express dislike.The information received tells that the object is not favorable, but the word "yuck" is notnecessarily used to inform.

Directive

We use language to direct the world around us. A directive use of language aims to tell others orourselves how to act or behave in certain situations. "Be careful" is an example of a directive useof language. You may use directive language in self talk as in "stay away from chocolate for oneweek."

Multiple Uses

Language usage is much more sophisticated than the above simple explanations, however. Inmany cases, we mix our use of language. For example, the statement "Stop that" is both


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directive and expressive. To say "I'm tired" is informative, expressive, and could even bedirective if it is used to direct another person to end an activity so you can go to bed.

Importance Of Language

The significance of language in our lives is incomparable. It is not just restrained to being a means of

communicating ones thoughts and ideas to the rest, but has also become a tool for forging

friendships, cultural ties as well as economic relationships. Throughout history, learned men have

reflected on the importance of language in our lives. Scholar Benjamin Whorf has noted that language

shapes our thoughts and emotions and determines our perception of reality, whereas John Stuart Mill

has referred language to be the light of the mind. For linguist Edward Sapir, language is not just a

vehicle for carrying out expressions of thoughts, perceptions, sentiments, and values characteristic of

a community, but is a representation of a fundamental expression of social identity. He also believes

that language helps in maintaining the feelings of cultural kinship. This article stresses on thesignificance of language in our day-to-day living.

Significance Of Language

Language aids in developing and grooming ones personality as a whole. Since learning a

language is part of our knowledge, it becomes one of the key factors in competitiveness. In

the advanced industrial society of today, the basic knowledge of a single or more language

has become indispensable.

With the advent of the concept of globalization, people all over the globe communicate with

each other and exchange ideas. Though technological advances have served as a mediumfor communication, you cannot deny the role played by language. Understanding of a

common language has helped people to communicate, despite being from varied parts of the

world.

Language has become a major tool of communication between countries, cultural groups,

various companies and organizations, communities and friends.

Language is one of the key factors of our human developmental process, which sets us apart

from the rest of the animal kingdom and knits a strong feeling of kinship amongst us. A baby

is born without language, but even without formal training, by the age of five, the child knows

several hundred words and grammar of a particular language. This is an inherent human

tendency, which is extremely important for further growth. Any discrepancy seen in learning a

language at such early stage might indicate certain illness in a child. In the developmental trajectory of a child, language plays an important role since it is

connected with various aspects of a childs growth. Learning a language is directly related to

emotional development. For instance, a baby gazing at his parents face is responded by

cooing and few words of love by his parents. This retains in the babys mind and when he is a

little older, he begins using language to express his emotions as well.

Language is also connected to the moral development in a child. The process begins when

the child is about 18 months old. The child learns the right and wrong by listening to what his

parents or other adult authorities tell him. Imagine teaching the child the difference of right or

wrong without the tool of language!

Learning a language within the first five years of ones life is important. It is one of the best

predictors of a childs later performance in school. A child who has significant speech or


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language delays has a high likelihood of eventually having trouble with reading, which may

continue throughout school.

Fallacies

A fallacy is a kind of error in reasoning. The alphabetical list below contains 207 names of themost common fallacies, and it provides brief explanations and examples of each of them.Fallacies should not be persuasive, but they often are. Fallacies may be created unintentionally,or they may be created intentionally in order to deceive other people. The vast majority of thecommonly identified fallacies involve arguments, although some involve explanations, ordefinitions, or other products of reasoning. Sometimes the term fallacy is used even morebroadly to indicate any false belief or cause of a false belief. The list below includes some fallaciesof these sorts, but most are fallacies that involve kinds of errors made while arguing informally innatural language.

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Why is Critical Thinking Important