Critical thinking as a use of a set of dispositions can be both problematic and valuable. According to Ritchhart some of the most valuable sets of dispositions having an open-mind, been curious, meta-cognitive, truth-seeking, being strategic and skepticism. Dispositions such as meta-cognitive thinking, having an open-mind and truth-seeking are valuable in the sense that it may rule out biases. It is also valuable in using valid research and evidence to further prove a point. To be a good critical thinker I believe is a very complex task. You have to be disciplined in many ways one in which is to know what dispositions are your strong suit and to illustrate them though practice. In this way critical thinking as a set of dispositions can then become problematic. Some may not know what their strong sets of dispositions are and may not use them properly. This can then lead to complications such as not staying on topic, using biases in stating a position and also not having the proper research or evidence for the topic. Furthermore I am guilty of not activating my dispositions properly while dealing with the research topic. This made it difficult to find research on the topics and also not being able to properly stand firm in my position. Dispositions that come naturally to me include curiosity, self awareness of cognitive activities and also having an open- mind. Although these are my strongest set of dispositions, improvements can still be made. The one disposition that I need to work on developing the most is having an open-mind. While it is easy to weight out all the possible positions in your head, it is hard to keep your own biases out. Not being biased is an important part of critical thinking. When an individual is biased, it directly makes everything else unbalanced. This includes research, evidence and the constant possibility of participation in conformation bias. In the future to further develop my CT dispositions. I will practice them in the appropriate settings and learn how to pinpoint which ones to used at a particular time.
