Critical Thinking is an integrated set of sophisticated cognitive abilities and that are used to organize experience, construct knowledge, and develop a philosophy of life. Becoming a Critical Thinker changes qualitatively the way a person views the world, processes information, and makes decisions. These abilities and dispositions enable critical thinkers to:

• view issues and situations from many different perspectives
• solve challenging problems and make informed decisions
• analyze complex issues and arrive at reasoned conclusions
• establish appropriate goals and design effective plans of action
• analyze complex bodies of information and reach well-supported conclusions
• communicate effectively through speaking, discussion, writing
• critically evaluate the logic, relevance and validity of information
• ask penetrating at every cognitive level of complexity
• engage in Socratic analysis through the systematic exchange of ideas with others