Critical Thinking in Controversial Topics

Critical thinking is a notion that has evolved over time and is regarded as crucial because it keeps a person open-minded and imaginative. Understanding, independent reasoning, evaluating arguments, and recognizing the applicability of other people's views and values to any issue, issue, or piece of content are all aspects of critical thinking. (Noddings and Laurie 27). This ability directs one to think with the best possible judgment and quality. Controversial subjects and issues, which frequently tend to interfere with our identity and our deeply held beliefs, can easily derail our capacity for critical thought. Controversial issues are matters that cause a state of prolonged debate and conflict since different members of the society hold differing points of view on the subject. The most common global issues of controversy revolve around religion, race, politics, sex, philosophy, and parenting. The following paper is a reflective essay on critical thinking about abortion which a common controversial issue. The assignment explores why abortion challenges my ability to be an open-minded critical thinker. A critical thinking plan will be created to ensure that future controversial issues are handled with open-mindedness hence putting critical thinking skills into practice.

Abortion is the act of ending a pregnancy through the removal of an embryo or fetus. Requests to terminate a pregnancy are sought when the fetus dies in the womb or when the mother wants to put an end to it. Abortion is a controversial topic because of differing opinions that vary extensively in the globe due to legal, moral, religious and cultural status in addition to the frequency of occurrence per woman. Abortion as a controversial topic polarises opinion. Some individuals have strong feelings against it and others in the society believe that it is their right to practice it; this has resulted in the emergence of violence and protests against and for abortion especially in America (Yarber and Bryan 36).

Abortion has been in existence for centuries, and the supporters of the act identify themselves as ‘pro-choice’ while those against abortion are known as the ‘pro-life.' The Pro-choice movement believes that women have the right to decide for themselves on the reasons to terminate their pregnancies (Lamphere and Patricia 373). The pro-life movement emphasizes that the fetus or embryo has the right to go through the full gestation period until its birth.

The primary cause of this controversy is the question of whether the embryo is a human or not. This question leads people to another argument regarding innocent’s embryo has the right to life. However, research has not pointed out at what point in the gestation period the embryo becomes a human being (Weingarten 11). The rights of the mother also magnify the scope of this controversy; pro-choice advocates argue that a mother has the right to terminate the pregnancy if it puts her life at risk. Based on this argument, abortion may seem like an issue that revolves around the choice of women rights, life, and morals. However, countries such as America, Britain, and Canada have manipulated the arguments for and against abortion over the last four decades to further political interests (Francome 7). In essence, abortion is a controversial topic because it touches on personal opinions and value systems and is also related to moral, ethical, biological, social, philosophical and legal values.

In the contemporary world, the primary challenge to critical thinking on the issue of abortion is our inability to become more objective rather than subjective in our thinking. It is a tremendous challenge because abortion is a provocative topic in which individuals believe that their perspective is better than another’s. It becomes even more challenging to apply critical thinking when handling this issue because the thinking processes of an individual are often easily affected by the emotions and subjective perspectives which interfere with the clarity of the critical thinking process. Emotional state is one of the most common challenges to critical thinking because they bar the process of being open-minded.

The issue of abortion as a controversial topic affects critical thinking because the information shared from generation to generation has been filtered subjectively. An individual or society passes down opinions regarding abortion according to their perspective. In turn, this affects the currents generation’s ability and motivation to engage in critical thinking on the issue. This challenge is known as enculturation where the mentality of an individual is shaped depending on the culture that surrounds him or her. Beliefs that are passed down from media, family, peers, religion or culture determine the context of the life of society (Alfaro-LeFevre 41). However, it is necessary for people to apply critical thinking by realizing the need to challenge public opinion and instead rely on self-discipline and self-understanding without criticizing the views of others. Logical scrutiny purifies the values and ideas that are passed on from the general worldview orientation. Another challenge to critical thinking on abortion is the negative contribution of mass media on the topic. The media does poorly in leading people to the process of critical thinking on controversial topics, yet it is the source that easily influences the society.

In the current generation, it is crucial for people to embrace independent critical thinking in the context of abortion so that they can be of value to the next generation. To deal with the challenges of critical thinking in abortion, we need to think beyond the superficial information that we receive from our surrounding. We also need to create awareness of how other people’s perspectives can be framed by the media and directly affect our identity and our value systems. When applying critical thinking in the topic of abortion, the society should recognize that the controversy goes beyond the terms pro-life and pro-choice (Weingarten 11). Critical thinkers ought to acknowledge the fact that everyone’s view is protected and the process of critical thinking does not require one to choose sides (Stanovich and Maggie 295).

Critical thinking does not involve competition or undermining the ideas of opposing groups; it instead consists of the process of reasoning and evaluating the validity of arguments from each side. Critical thinkers can, for instance, consider the argument that the fathers involved also claim that they have the right to make choices for the fetus. Such a situation pushes critical thinkers to consider valuing the opinions of each concerned member in the scenario.

It is important to understand the different perspectives of all members involved in this controversial issue in order to handle it reasonably for all opponents. The factors that lead to the process should be minimized to prevent abortion and hence favor those who are against it (Beckman 103). For instance, hospitals can create awareness regarding birth control and other methods that prevent unwanted pregnancies. Also, hospitals can use pre-abortion counseling as a measure to discourage women from going through with the controversial issue. People in support of abortion will be favored by the implementation of policies to Curb unsafe abortion which results from restrictive laws, lack of finances and access to clinics that practice safe abortion. Such policies will ensure that those who are in support of abortion are protected from its harmful effects.

Why it is hard for me to be open-minded about abortion

As a critical thinker, my ability to apply this skill in the controversial issue of abortion has often been derailed due to my personal beliefs, values, and ideas that I strongly uphold. In my situation, having been brought up in a religious background, applying the critical thinking skills is often a challenge because religion played a significant role in shaping my perspective on abortion. My faith emphasizes on using ethics as a guide for one’s lifestyle; it is considered unethical to terminate the life of a fetus because it is believed to be an actual human being. My family background has also played a significant role in shaping my perception of abortion where my parents insisted on the need to treasure life by all means with or without financial stability.

The value system we nurture will directly determine our choices, experiences, and results. Having gone through the training on critical thinking, I have realized that it is difficult for me to be open-minded about abortion because of my egocentric thinking tendencies. Egocentric thinking occurs because people naturally consider their rights and choices to be better than those of their opponents. We can only get rid of egocentric thinking when trained on the skills of critical thinking which enables us to recognize our assumptions and identify our self-serving perspective (Beckman 112).

Critical thinkers lead lives reasonably, empathetically and rationally having in mind that the nature of human reasoning is profoundly flawed; they, therefore, strive to overcome their socio-centric and egocentric tendencies in topics of controversy. The topic of abortion challenges me to make use of critical thinking because most individuals confidently assume that they know the right way to handle this issue through the use of self-centered psychological skills, however, intellectual standards of critical thinking should be used to come up with the most reasonable solutions. It is crucial to have a critical thinking plan which will guide individuals to be open-minded about controversial topics and put the skill of critical thinking actual practice.

Critical Thinking Plan

No matter how skilled scholars are in critical thinking, there is always room to improve the ability to become more open-minded in controversial topics since it is easy to become a victim of irrationality, self-interest, and social rules which are uncritically accepted (Facione and Carol 12). A critical thinking plan is a guide used to engage individuals in the self-propagated, self-motivated and self-corrective mode of reasoning to challenge our socio-centric and egocentric nature. The first step in the critical thinking plan is to point out the dispositions. In this step, one is required to distinguish between truths and personal opinions; one should recognize that truths are well thought of and also researched while people create opinions. This step pushes critical thinkers to become creative questioners who are curious about the world and are considerate of the feelings, background, level of education and the lifestyle of others when sharing their perspective on a controversial issue (Paul and Linda 24).

The second step in the critical thinking plan is to identify the most trusted source of information. Critical thinkers should only be interested in information that comes from a credible and reliable source. In this stage, after discovering the topic in consideration, the different arguments presented by the sources should be criticized and evaluated. Critical thinkers in this step realize the need to lay their emphasis on the issue instead of their opinions. The central question that should be asked here is the expected response of people who have been brought up in different religious, social, economic, ethnic and moral backgrounds.

The third step is to engage in logical reasoning which serves as the most fundamental step in the process of critical thinking because it involves making a series of rational and sound statements to arrive at a convincing solution. In this step, deductive reasoning can be used because it dictates whether a critical thinker can arrive at a conclusion based solely on the truth. Inductive reasoning can also be applied in this step which dictates whether the determination of a rule should be supported based on numerous hypotheses (Paul and Linda 37). This step is crucial in separating reasonable and unreasonable beliefs based on the society, and it should therefore not be taken lightly.

The fourth step in the critical thinking plan is to conduct a detailed analysis based on the first three steps. The analysis process includes breaking down complex ideas and beliefs into simpler components and then connecting these ideas to others. Critical thinkers categorize ideas and make note of comparisons that may arise in controversial topics. The fifth and final step in the critical thinking plan is to evaluate what has already been analyzed and the reasons behind every reason offered by either side. The analyzed information can then be appraised to determine what action to take on the controversial topic. Evaluation should be the final step in the critical thinking plan to avoid jumping to conclusions on issues (Honey 59). The step also involves putting together different perspectives of the society and using that information to come up with an authentic idea and belief.

Importance of Critical Thinking Plan in Controversial Issues

It is essential to make use of the critical thinking plan because it provides the benefit of foresight. The plan ensures that all possible outcomes are assessed before concluding. In this way, negative outcomes can be avoided or their impacts reduced especially in issues that raise controversy (Honey 52). Also, the critical thinking plan ensures that the beliefs and ideas of all people based on their background are put into consideration and therefore making use of this plan ensures that there is no favoritism for specific groups of people. For example in the case of abortion as a controversial topic, critical thinkers ought to realize that the issue should be considered as an interesting problem that needs to be solved and not as a competition where each side deserves to win. Solutions should, therefore, be developed in support of everyone in the society. Another importance of the critical thinking plan is that it leads to a meaningful life for individuals who engage in self-reflection. One learns to consider others and structure their lives in a way that accommodates others who have different beliefs in the society.

Conclusion

In such a structured world, the process of critical thinking is essential to ensure that there is a balanced representation of every individual. Critical thinking skills in controversial issues enable us to understand the logical connections between different perspectives of people based on their background. The process of critical thinking especially on the controversial issue of abortion allows us to divert our attention from the justification of our personal beliefs and instead engage in a constructive evaluation of information from reliable sources. Through the process of critical thinking, irrational and false beliefs that have been passed down from other generations can also be identified and replaced with relevant information (Bowell and Gary 24). Overall, critical thinking prepares us to have an open mind when dealing with issues rather than merely basing our arguments on personal convictions.

Works cited

Alfaro-LeFevre, Rosalinda. Critical Thinking, Clinical Reasoning, and Clinical Judgment E- Book: A Practical Approach. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2015.

Beckman, Linda J. "Abortion in the United States: The continuing controversy." Feminism & Psychology 27.1 (2017): 101-113.

Bowell, Tracy, and Gary Kemp. Critical thinking: A concise guide. Routledge, 2014.

Facione, Peter, and Carol Ann Gittens. Think critically. Pearson, 2015.

Francome, Colin. Abortion in the USA and the UK. Routledge, 2017.

Honey, P. Lynne. "Why I teach the controversy: using creationism to teach critical thinking." Frontiers in psychology6 (2015).

Lamphere, Louise, Helena Ragoné, and Patricia Zavella. Situated Lives: Gender and culture in everyday life. Routledge, 2014.

Noddings, Nel, and Laurie Brooks. Teaching Controversial Issues: The Case for Critical Thinking and Moral Commitment in the Classroom. Teachers College Press, 2016.

Paul, Richard, and Linda Elder. Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and personal life. Pearson Education, 2013.

Stanovich, Keith E., Richard F. West, and Maggie E. Toplak. "Myside bias, rational thinking, and intelligence." Current Directions in Psychological Science 22.4 (2013): 259-264.

Weingarten, Karen. Abortion in the American Imagination: Before Life and Choice, 1880- 1940. Rutgers University Press, 2014.

Yarber, William Lee, Barbara Werner Sayad, and Bryan Strong. Human sexuality: Diversity in contemporary America. McGraw-Hill, 2013.