Critical Thinking and Decision Making
...ion” (Scriven, 1996). · “Critical thinking is thinking that assesses itself” (Center for Critical Thinking, 1996b) What is decision making? “Decision making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker (Harris, 1998).” Making a decision implies that there are alternative choices to be considered, and in such a case we want not only to identify as many of these alternatives as possible but to choose the one that best fits with our goals, desires, lifestyle, values, and so on. Another definition: “Decision making is the process of sufficiently reducing uncertainty and doubt about alternatives to allow a reasonable choice to be made from among them (Harris, 1998).” This definition stresses the information gathering function of decision-making. It should be noted here that uncertainty is reduced rather than eliminated. Very few decisions are made with absolute certainty because complete knowledge about all the alternatives is seldom possible. Thus, every decision involves a certain amount risk. The authors of the e-text for this course said that “Critical thinking consists of an awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, plus the ability and willingness to ask and answer them at appropriate times.” The authors talk about “listening and reading critically and how that requires a set of skills and attitudes.” They said, “These skills and attitudes are built around a series of critical questions.” In the book, Critical Thinking, Beyer (1995) elaborately explains what he sees as essential aspects of “critical thinking: dispositions, criteria, argument, reasoning, and point of view.” Beyer said, critical thinking makes use of many procedures. “These procedures include asking questions, making judgments, and identifying assumptions.” “Every decision is made within a decision environment, which is defined as the collection of information, alternatives, values, and preferences available at the time of the decision (Harris, 1998).” An ideal decision environment would include all possible information, all of it accurate, and every possible alternative. However, both information and alternatives are constrained because time and effort to gain information or identify alternatives are limited. Many decision makers have a tendency to seek more information than required to make a good decision. “When too much information is sought and obtained, one or more of several problems ...