CRITICAL THINKING AS A PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL ISSUE OF THE EDUCATION PROCESS

Abstract

Critical thinking is an inseparable part of our lives. It is a part of learning “how to live”. The differences in opinions enrich each individual if three preconditions are met: mutual respect, mutual trust and if there is a benefit an individual receives from it. If these differences are used to compensate our weaknesses, than they represent the strength, and not the danger. The differences enrich every individual if one can learn from those differences. The article points to ten educationally important dimensions of critical thinking (thinking habits and emotions accompanying cognitive process, influence of emotions on cognitive process and vice versa, differentiating between important and unimportant, critically examining relations between facts, establishing assumptions, establishing implicit ideas and absurd situations, collecting those facts that do not support our hypotheses, claims, ideas or views, interdisciplinary connectivity and dialog readiness, establishing evaluating criteria, abstaining from quick judgments and conclusions and critical thinking as criticizing all cognitive processes).