Critical Thinking and Decision Making Defined

Which is better, fats or carbohydrates? Will drug use and crime drop if we legalize marijuana use? Is this country in a recession, a recovery, or a depression? Should I refinance the house? There are many questions and issues that bombard us everyday. Everyone has an opinion, whether it is the news media, your doctor, your priest, a subject matter expert, or your mother. Who should we believe? This is where critical thinking and decision making come in. This paper will define critical thinking and decision-making.
Critical Thinking
Browne and Keeley (2001) define critical thinking as consisting "of an awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, plus the ability and willingness to ask and answer them at appropriate times." Critical thinking can, and should, be used each day. Living in the information age, we are under a constant barrage of opinions, facts, and information. The first critical thinking question we should ask is "Who cares?" Our time is very valuable and is an irreplaceable commodity. …