Critical reading is a process in which you read and understand a text at a deeper level, where one is aware that the words that are being taken in is only one person’s viewpoint on the subject at hand, and that it may not be completely objective. Critical reading is a process – one where various questions need to be asked to oneself before forming an opinion on the matter.
What are points are the words being read trying to make – what feelings are they attempting to inspire? Is the author arguing for a point? Against? Is the author is trying to make the reader feel inspired? Discouraged? Once the reader has figured out what the information in the text is and how it’s being portrayed, the goal is to understand the meaning of the text.
Critical thinking has a bunch of parts, and if they are not all working, it is not critical thinking. Those parts are – objectiveness, looking at all areas of proof, being aware that the author may not be objective on the matter, and recognizing that not everything is black and white (there are grey areas). Thinking critically opens us a massive door – one where humans as a species can recognize and respect the opinions of others, while also taking in objective points on the matter. In turn, one can have a better understanding of the world and how things work.
The two interact with each other when new information is presented to someone. To think or to read critically, one needs to looks at the information presented them objectively, while also recognizing that the presenter of the information may not be objective. The most important qualities in both (in my opinion) are objectivity and self-awareness.
The two collaborate especially well when one is doing something like research. This involves interviews, reading, videos…really covering any aspect of human communication. In both critical thinking and reading, one takes in information, looks are the presented information objectively, does further research on the topic and forms an objective conclusion coming from the information at hand.
The preference for the information that we as a species take in is that it is reliable, understandable, and objective. Both critical reading and critical thinking help us do that, but the two do not necessarily do it in the same way. Critical reading is a tool for finding out information on a text and forming an opinion on the matter. Critical thinking is a tool that one uses for everyday life, without even realizing it at times.
In order to think critically, one has to absorb information, evaluate it through research on all points of the spectrum, find what is valid (whether it supports one’s original viewpoint or not), and then finally making a decision on if they would like to accept or believe the information or not. Critical reading can certainly play a part in critical thinking, but critical thinking appears to be more complex.
Both of the two are something that humans do not do well at times, and if we all worked at zoning in on our critical thinking and reading skills, we wouldn’t be at each other’s throats all of the time. I understand why one does not do it though – it takes effort to take those skills and make something out of it. However, if everyone on earth took a class explaining this concept and process, they would be a whole lot more open-minded people that did not act so impulsively.
