What are the rules of Critical Thinking?

[betts]

There are five rules which critical thinkers use to examine their beliefs and understanding of themselves, others and their world.

These rules or criteria are:

1) consistency--the critical thinker attempts to discover and eliminate contradictions in thinking;

2) coherency--the critical thinker attempts to connect all of the various dimensions of thinking;

3) applicability--the critical thinker attempts to ensure that the model of understanding really fits human experiences;

4) adequacy--the critical thinker attempts to ensure that the model of understanding is flexible enough to incorporate new experiences and data;

5) communicability--the critical thinker recognizes that thinking, knowing, and learning occur in a community of human beings and thereby the critical thinker attempts to ensure that the model of understanding is understandable to others.