Scholarly Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scholarly Writing - Essay Example In science, any decision made has to rely on tested evidence and factual data, for example psychology. As discussed in (â€Å"Psychology as a Science†, 2013), this is because it involves systematic observation, data collection, and data analysis (empiricism), the examination of testable problems, and the falsifiability of result. Information in science should be testable, and people can refer the decision as a fact. A scientific decision goes through different stages such as data collection, data analysis and testing to ensure its authenticity. Scientific decisions only factor in factual data (Pope, 1998). On the other hand, however, common sense does not rely in any form of data or tested information. An individual, basing his or her reasoning on what he believes to be true or as "intuitively obvious" makes a decision about a particular issue. Such a decision lacks any form of data or evidence. Therefore, the decision arrived at could be either true or false. According to (â €Å"Psychology as a Science†, 2013), the problem with common sense ideas about behavior is that much of it is contradictory, leaving one to wonder still about the actual answer to some of life’s questions. Common sense involves critical thinking. According to Douglas (2000), critical thinking puts into consideration the importance of beliefs. Since people find it easier to believe than to disbelieve, critical thinking helps them back their reasoning to believe in any decision they come up with. As discussed in (â€Å"Psychology as a Science†, 2013), a good critical thinker uses scientific inquiry to discover that both cliches in each dichotomy are unsupported, that only one is supported, or that both are actually supported. Personally, critical thinking helps me in believing what I have learnt or read. It is possible to differentiate between something that is true and one that is untrue by critically analyzing a text by use of prior information. Belief persevera nce is the tendency of an individual o hold on to his or her initial belief, even when provided with new information that contradicts the present belief. Paul & Elder (2003) assert that critical thinking involves focusing on the purpose of thinking, questions the thinking is pursuing, the information in use, the assumptions and inferences made, concepts and point of view guiding the thinking and the implications of the thinking. Belief perseverance acts in ignorance with this argument, as here is no way of solving an individual’s decision, despite being acquainted with this knowledge. Personally, I try to use common sense to allow for critical thinking in place of personal belief. With common sense, I know when something is wrong and when right. I cannot interchange these two, to make something right wrong and something wrong right using common sense. References Douglas, N. L. (2000). Enemies of critical thinking: Lessons from social psychology research. Reading Psychology, 2 1(2), 129–144. Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2003). Critical thinking: Teaching students how to study and learn (Part III). Journal of Developmental Education, 26(3), 36-37. Pope, K. S. (1998). Pseudoscience, cross-examination, and scientific evidence in the recovered memory controversy. Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 4(4), 1160-1181. Psychology as a Science. (2013). [Study notes] Scholarly Writing The author had a good topic of discussion; the personal computer. The author, while introducing the topic, digs a little background