Day 4 blog

According to scholar Robert Ennis, “Critical thinking is useful only in those situations where human beings need to solve problems, make decisions, or decide in a reasonable and reflective way what to believe or what to do. That is, just about everywhere and all the time.”
A “well cultivated critical thinker," writes Ennis,
raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions,
and practical consequences; and communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.


As a critical thinker, please read the late Senator Jesse Helms' obituary write-up from The Economist magazine and evaluate how Helms is presented. Is the obituary fair, based on what you know or can find out about the late senator. Would you have focused the article differently? How so? Please discuss.

http://www.economist.com/obituary/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11701805