Critical Thinking Made Simple

Critical thinking isn’t optional; it’s Survival

What you'll learn

Develop the courage to question everything, including cherished beliefs.

Navigate the journey from dogma through meaninglessness to the clarity and comfort of critical thinking.

Practice critical thinking consistently until it becomes second nature: done quickly, smoothly and automatically.

Understanding the importance of critical thinking in everyday life.

Explore how humans acquire knowledge, focusing on the psychological basis of pattern recognition versus logical reasoning.

Recognize cognitive biases, understand their roots, and examine how they distort our thinking.

Apply principles of logic, identify common logical fallacies, and connect them to underlying cognitive biases.

Use critical thinking to analyze real-world issues, and examine problematic phenomena such as pseudoscience and conspiracy theories.

Requirements

No requirements are needed, just your mind and attention.

Description

In a world saturated with information, some of it true, a lot of it false, and even more dangerously, misleading, critical thinking has never been more essential. This course is designed to equip you with the tools to think clearly, question deeply, and reason effectively in the face of overwhelming data, conflicting narratives, and global challenges.We begin by exploring what critical thinking truly means and how to cultivate the right mindset, including the intellectual courage to challenge assumptions, especially our own. You'll learn how to set your intention as a thinker and navigate the different stages and processes of critical thinking.The course then examines the foundations of knowledge itself. Is knowledge just information or logic? Or is there more to it? We’ll investigate the psychological and rational components of how we come to know, revealing the often-hidden forces that shape our beliefs.From there, we’ll explore the two major threats to sound reasoning: cognitive biases and logical fallacies. You’ll learn to recognize how our minds mislead us, how poor reasoning spreads in society, and how to avoid these pitfalls yourself.Finally, we turn to the high-stakes consequences of flawed thinking. In a special section, we explore widespread cultural and intellectual issues, examples of which include pseudo-intellectualism, pseudoscience, and conspiracy theories, and how they impact public discourse, scientific literacy, and even global stability!Whether you're a student, educator, professional, or global citizen, this course will hopefully sharpen your thinking, deepen your understanding, and prepare you to meet today’s challenges with clarity, integrity, and insight. Critical thinking isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Welcome

Lecture 2 Course Outline

Section 2: Module A: Understanding Critical Thinking

Lecture 3 Truth or Comfort

Lecture 4 Sapere Aude

Lecture 5 Escaping the Cave

Lecture 6 Disturbing your Peace

Lecture 7 Question Everything; The Antidote to Bigotry

Lecture 8 Question Everything; The Nomic Progress of Science

Lecture 9 Question Everything; Paradigm Shifts

Lecture 10 Question Everything; The Socratic Method

Lecture 11 Stages of Critical Thinking

Lecture 12 The Process; Overview

Lecture 13 The Process; Checking the Source

Lecture 14 The Process; Types of Topics

Lecture 15 The Process; Misclassifying Topics

Lecture 16 The Process; Premises and Conclusion

Lecture 17 The Process; Underlying Assumptions

Lecture 18 The Process; Assumptions, more examples

Lecture 19 The Process; Vagueness and Ambiguity

Lecture 20 The Process; Evidence

Lecture 21 The Process; The Other

Lecture 22 Traits of the Critical Thinker

Lecture 23 More Traits of the Critical Thinker

Lecture 24 The Importance of CT; Authoritarianism

Lecture 25 The Importance of CT; Autocrats vs Creative Destruction

Lecture 26 The Importance of CT; Democracy

Lecture 27 The Importance of CT; Media

Lecture 28 The Importance of CT; Media, more problems

Lecture 29 The Importance of CT; Social Media

Lecture 30 The Importance of CT; Economics

Lecture 31 The Importance of CT; More on Economics

Lecture 32 The Importance of CT; Health

Lecture 33 The Importance of CT; More on Health

Lecture 34 The Importance of CT; Extremism

This course is for everyone. Critical thinking is simply proper thinking. So whether you're a student, professional, or just a citizen, the ability to think clearly, question effectively, and reason logically is essential in every area of life.