PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Human beings develop at two levels. First, they develop as individuals, and then they develop as members of a society. They can be said to have developed as individuals when they begin to think for themselves. Similarly, they can be said to have developed into mature social individuals when they become capable of understanding and evaluating the world around them, and are able to take decisions independently and responsibly. Along our journey of becoming rational, social, and moral agents, one thing that comes most handy is critical thinking. Critical thinking is an area of study which has now been recognised as being relevant to students and scholars in all domains. The reason is that the ability to think clearly and rationally is important for everyone, no matter what she chooses to do in life. This is why we cannot restrict critical thinking skills to any specific area. It is relevant for those in education, especially research, and is equally relevant for people working in the field of finance, management, legal profession and also for people in politics. In a globalised world, the phenomenon of information explosion requires one to be intellectually flexible. Critical thinking skills bring in this flexibility. It also brings in the desired creativity of the mind that helps one to come up with new solutions to age- old problems. Above all, an unreflective life is not worth living. Anyone who engages in self-reflection is already a critical thinker. This book is just an introduction to this very fascinating area of study. The purpose of this book will be served if young thinkers find it relevant and realise the importance, the joys and the responsibilities of thinking for oneself.

Many people have assisted me in writing this book. I would like to first mention Debjani Dutta and Arani Banerjee of Pearson Education for asking me to write the book in the first place; special thanks to Preeta Priyamvada for her excellent editorial assistance. I must express my gratitude to my mother who has assisted me in every possible way so that I could meet the deadlines, and my sons Aban and Arka who have quite sportingly accepted the sheer neglect that I inflicted upon them for completing this book! Last but not the least, I must thank my husband Nirmalya for his encouragement and for providing research material for my work.

Madhucchanda Sen