Critical Thinking and Language Essay

I passed by an acquaintance who I have known for maybe three years already but had not actually become a friend. When we meet, we would throw few words just to get ourselves updated with the happenings of each other. That day we had a conversation longer than what we usually had. I’ve learned that he likes compiling episodes of several TV series which he saves and keep as soft copies so he could watch it with no interruptions from TV commercials. I asked for what he had that he could lend me. And he gave me Dexter. I watched the whole season one of TV series non-stop. Except of course when nature calls or when my stomach growls which signals me to take a few supplies from my mother’s chiller. Her chiller, not ours! She has made it her territory. She knows all of the contents of that cold box and she could easily notice if I took some of those cookies and brownies from it, the only content of it. She wouldn’t suspect anyone else but me. I’m the grinch who stole and will always steal her Christmas! Cookies and brownies are her happiness. It’s difficult for me to understand her addiction to it. My mom is a dog with her cookies and brownies the bones. Anyways, Dexter was a great watch! My mother finds it disturbing and morbid, but I like it. It actually started my addiction to TV series. Now, it became my midnight snack. And though it gives me extra luggage beneath my eyes, I’m still going to watch and watch more and more. What role does language and language diversity play in the critical thinking process? Critical thinking involves the input of information, the processing of this information, then, the analysis to come up with a conclusion. It is never always that critical thinking ends its phase when analysis is presented. Oftentimes, people use the result of the analysis to process new information and to come with more analyses leading to the best opinions and interpretation. This makes critical thinking a cycle. Language plays an important role in critical thinking. Because critical thinking involves input of information, the language used in the input of information becomes a critical factor in coming out the result of the analysis. The information can be fully understood, partly understood or completely misinterpreted. Input of information means understanding information before accepting it as a fact or a consideration for further analysis of the idea. That is the role of language. Sometimes, the exact set of words used can mean different things to different people. In the same way, some too different or inexact set of words can mean the same to a lot of people. It is when language diversity steps in. People associate different events, people and things to a word that sometimes, when a word is simple for one person, it becomes a strong word for another. We have different understanding of a language and we also have different use of that is why it becomes difficult for us to convey our messages to other people. What they have understood from what we said isn’t exactly what we meant although for us we said it right because of language diversity. In critical thinking, it is important to understand the context of a statement to ensure that one will arrive at the best conclusion and to prevent misinterpretation. Critical thinking is employed to come out with the best conclusion that is the nearest to the truth or the best interpretation and understanding of what the information or facts contain. If the input information isn’t what it is supposed to be, one will arrive with not good analysis of things. Language really gets in the way of understanding. How does language empower or limit the expression of our thoughts? Language is a powerful tool in expressing thoughts because it is the easiest way to express oneself aside from actions. It can become an art because we can find and select ways to effectively express ourselves the way we want it. It can empower the expression of our thoughts simply because it is our way of expressing it. It can further empower the expression of our thoughts when we choose appropriate words to present our thoughts the way we wanted. Language can put emphasis to our thoughts. A statement becomes a strong and powerful statement when the right words are used. This has made many great men in our history memorable—their statements and we quote them. Our thoughts are best expressed when people agree that there is no other way to bring that idea we had than how we had expressed it. Language makes a thought powerful. It can also limit the expression of our thoughts in several ways. One way is when we couldn’t find the right words to say to make our thoughts safe for other people to hear. It is when we opt not to say anything, but that is a matter of personal choice. Language diversity also limits the expression of our thoughts. When we couldn’t understand statements, it becomes difficult for us to exchange thoughts. Another way that language limits the expression of our thoughts is when people use a foreign language or a language that is unfamiliar for them. Because of the unfamiliarity with the language, it becomes difficult for the person to select words that will express his thoughts exactly how he has thought it. Unfamiliarity with the language makes people experience difficulty in clarifying themselves. What is the role of critical thinking in persuasion? Persuading people is one of the most difficult things to do. The person who is trying to persuade must have good communication skills to make him believable and to produce statements that are believable. Persuading involves presenting ideas and information to people and make these ideas and information seem the best to make people adapt to that idea or accept the information. Critical thinking is usually employed by those people who are being persuaded. Of course, not all information that is presented to us is true and not all ideas other people tell us are good that is why we have to be skeptical. To know if what the persuading person is telling us is worth believing and adapting, we use critical thinking. We analyze the ideas and information based on many more information other than what is presented on to us. Because we want to protect ourselves and our best interest, we need to discern every information and ideas before accepting them and be persuaded.