Critical thinking, as the name suggests is the act of thinking in a critical manner. We start to think in a critical manner whenever we start questioning the reasons behind something, or when we question the methods used to persuade or convince us to believe or do something. Being skeptical, reasonable, and rational are virtues of a mature critical mind (Sen, 2010).  

We need to cultivate the ability to weigh up our options in order to judge our best course of action or to provide most apt explanation in specific situations. Objective evaluation of the situation is called for. In critical thinking judgements are devoid of emotional bias and should be based on reason and/or evidence, evaluated with fairness and open-mindedness. “In order to ensure our own judgements are objective, we need to be self-aware, that is, capable of understanding our own assumptions, prejudices, perspectives and biases” (Sen, 2010).  

Critical thinking can therefore be defined as a wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed to effectively identify, analyse, and evaluate arguments and truth claims.