Critical Thinking

The first week of Critical Thinking has enlighten me on the relationship between arguments and thinking. According to Anthony Weston, an argument is defined as "evidence in support of a conclusion" (Weston, 1992). Keeping this in mind, in order to make apparent the premise of an argument, you must think clearly. Questions such as what, when and why can be answer in a quick response. However, thinking extensively enable the mind to ponder in a whole new directions. Therefore, this course will equip me with the knowledge of making decisions and expressing my viewpoint in my personal as well as my professional life.

Activity 1 posed the question "Is anything more important than thinking?" (Kirby, G. & Goodpaster, J., 2007). As I was trying to come up with four answers to the question, I realize I did not have anything. However , as I read on, it gave a lists of words. The lists demonstrated the connection between the words and thinking. For instance, one of the words was breathing. The example illustrate the importance of breathing to thinking. So, at that moment, I realized I was giving more thought to the question without realizing it. Now I understand how thinking is a vital part of our everyday life.

In addition to learning about thinking, the discussion for this week about the rules of arguments was very interesting. Many times during the course of my life, I have been in argument. True, my first thought of argument or debate entailed who was right and who was wrong. After discussing and interacting with my classmate, I realize my assumption was incorrect. In fact, an argument is really a neutral way to articulate your standpoint from a reliable premise by specifically researching the issue (Weston, 1992).

The personal action plan for thinking introduce me to another strategy in accomplishing my goal of obtaining viable employment. As I pondered and answered the three questions: what, when and check, I created a visual plan to implement. I admit, before doing the assignment, my job search was not going as I had anticipated. However, now I can concentrate on a particular area for my job search. Thus, my action plan can be a pilot to generate other plans for my future goals.

Consequently, Critical Thinking course will provide me in the future with better decision making ability. Why? The course has brought to my attention the lack of my listening skills as well as my thinking skills. Admittedly, my argument skills are also in need of some fine tuning. The seven rules of argument, especially the rule about loaded language, capture my total hesitation to not "preach to the choir" when talking passionately about my favorite cause or my lack of trust with the education system (Weston, 1992). Instead, the rules has given me an understanding how to present my point of view without clustering it with unnecessary words or terms. Hopefully,