What Does Critical Thinking Mean To You?

To me, critical thinking means following evidence rather than beliefs, especially when evidence contradicts beliefs.Perhaps it could be said that critical thinking is the opposite of faith?Critical thinking also implies examining the evidence rather than just accepting it blindly.

I agree with what you posted above, but don't go getting all pedantic on us again!;-)

Of course you were. You were presenting your personal belief, which is pretty much the opposite of critical thinking. Or any thinking at all.You have told us repeatedly that your belief stems from the bible (or your interpretation of it) and that evidence will not change your mind. There is no critical thinking involved there--just religious apologetics. The bible says it, you believe it. No thinking needed! That's true. Words (and phrases) already have meanings. You don't get to come along and change the meanings or the definitions of them because you disagree with where they lead. Now, that's not true. You have every right to comment here, just as we have every right to agree or disagree with you.Who would a lot of us disagree with if you weren't here?

Here are some of the other sources of "knowledge." Let me know which ones you prefer:

Magic, superstition, wishful thinking, old wives tales, folklore, what the stars foretell and what the neighbors think, omens, public opinion, astromancy, spells, Ouija boards, anecdotes, Da Vinci codes, tarot cards, sorcery, seances, reading entrails, sore bunions, black cats, divine revelation, table tipping, witch doctors, crystals and crystal balls, numerology, divination, faith healing, miracles, palm reading, the unguessable verdict of history, magic tea leaves, new age mumbo-jumbo, hoodoo, voodoo and all that other weird stuff.

Me, I'll stick to evidence.

Shamans of various kinds have been claiming spirits and gods for as long as mankind has existed. Just pay them and they'll smooth the way!You'd think that, just once, they would come up with some evidence!But with the lack of evidence, this seems to be the biggest scam ever perpetrated on mankind, and mankind is willing to accept it as it promises something everyone wants! Who won't bet long odds on everlasting life!???(P.T. Barnum was a piker compared to our shaman class!)

Agreed.And as the old quote says, "Logic is an organized way of going wrong with confidence." This is known as Ketterings Law, after Charles F. Kettering.The problem with logic is that it has no common sense. Faith uses logic to reach conclusions absolutely contradicted by the evidence. RAZD uses logic in an attempt to bludgeon the ideas of others into submission, and to hold out that faint smidgeon of hope that deities exist.I would suggest that critical thinking would have a large helping of common sense, realizing that common sense is far from common, and that logic, when taken to extremes, can become counterproductive.

Belief overrules evidence when you really, really believe.We have seen quite a few examples of this on these very threads.

See the flood and young earth arguments in our other threads.