ТЕМА: Some people think that we should use critical thinking rather than trust intuition.

Конкурсное эссе Денисовой Марии Васильевны,
ученицы 10 класса МОУ Болтинской СОШ Рыбинского р-на, Ярославской области,
учитель Жаркова Наталья Леонидовна.


Some people think that we should use critical thinking rather than trust intuition. Indeed, intuition is the direct apprehension of the truth without logical analysis based on imagination or in other words «the sixth sense». Sometimes it can damage a person seriously, so we must learn to think critically and to assess situations based on facts and personal experience.

For example, in the modern world there are a lot of people who have the ability to manipulate and mesmerize others, often with an unlawful purpose. It can lead to unpleasant consequences. And many people follow their intuition, believing these deceivers. I have a very significant example. Very often the Internet scammers make people buy advertising goods of famous brands. A man in a hurry guides by his desires. We can say that this is a simple trust. A person has a choice, he can either rely on his intuition or on his mind. In such situations, I think we should trust not our inner voice, but critical thinking.


But some people believe that intuition can play the role of a helper. For example, during the exam the student by intuition chose the answer which was correct. Or a person based on the sixth sense and won the lottery.

But, in my opinion, it is all coincidence or accident. After all, some day you could be wrong.


Think about it, maybe you should use critical thinking and not trust our emotions and gut?! Critical thinking can't be mistaken, unlike intuition.

Конкурсное эссе Леухиной Анастасии Андреевны ,
ученицы 11 класса МОУ Красногорской СОШ №1 Республики Марий Эл,
учитель Леухина Надежда Ивановна.

People make various decisions in their life and to come to the best results they use different kinds of thinking. Some of them use logic and their knowledge while others rely on intuitive thinking. Let us speculate what stands behind it.

I am convinced that critical thinking is more effective than intuition. First of all, if a person owns necessary information he will come to the true conclusion easily and nothing can lead him astray. A further convincing argument is that a man, who can analyze all information obtained during his life, can arrive at a direct decision avoiding adverse consequences. Moreover, scholars have no right to trust intuition and believe only reasoning.

However, there is another side to the issue. It is said that people cannot always make a clear solution using logic and then they must trust their own inner mind. A major benefit is that intuition like an internal voice helps us with the right choice. Besides, this kind of thinking is perfect when we are in an extreme situation and have to make a decision quickly.

To a certain extent, it can be right but we should not forget that people who have critical thinking skills are really callable on the labor market. In addition such skills also allow them to make the most important judgements without making a mistake.

All in all, I guess that everyone uses his own method of thinking but I strongly feel that logic and thought are the best advisers.

Конкурсное эссе Цветковой Елены Владимировны,
ученицы 11 класса ГБОУ СОШ №35 Василеостровского р-на, г. Санкт-Петербург,
учитель Фаддеева Екатерина Анатольевна.


Critical thinking and intuition are two ways of prediction and problem solving. Knowing so much about the advantages of critical thinking, some people regard it as the most effective method of finding the optimal solution while others take action without weighing all pros and cons, hearing their intuition only.

In my opinion, critical thinking is a skill that has considerable benefits in comparison with intuition. Firstly, a person gets along well with others because he evaluates a situation in advance and avoids social conflicts. Secondly, critical thinking can also enhance one’s academic success. Considering ideas gives an opportunity to sort out essential information and gain a better understanding of the content.

Nevertheless, the opponents prefer trusting intuition. They believe intuition enables people to use the resources of their subconscious mind and allows them to make decisions taking account of the most indiscernible circumstances. Moreover, the opponents claim that critical thinking presupposes dealing only with a very limited quantity of information people can clearly understand.

I cannot agree with the latter argument because people are likely to deceive themselves when relying solely on intuition. However, if a person processes data analytically, he can see alternative viewpoints and their practical consequences. This is the reason why I can be sure that thinking logically and rationally saves a great amount of time and effort.

In conclusion, people tend to use two different intellectual styles in decision-making process. To my mind, critical thinking is more constructive and trustworthy than intuition because only the former permits people to understand why they act one way or another and develops their intelligence, making life more comprehensible and manageable.

Конкурсное эссе Карабаевой Эллы Ханатовны,
ученицы 11 класса МБОУ "ЭМГ города Элисты,
учитель Гуспанова Лариса Леонидовна.

Critical thinking is the identification and evaluation of evidence to guide decision making. There is such an opinion that people need to use it in their actions and deeds. However, others believe they ought to follow their intuition. But who is right?

In my opinion, the former is. Firstly, it helps critical thinkers to use broad in-depth analysis of evidence to make right decisions. Analyzing and assessing the situation, they calculate all the possible outcomes of events and are never mistaken in their actions. Secondly, critical analysis develops people’s thinking and makes them all-rounded. When a person thinks critically, he or she always formulates hypotheses, gathers information and identifies conclusions, reasons, and assumptions. Thereby the brain is always in the active state and evolves the powers of the mind.

On the contrary, others say that people should trust intuition in their actions. It is worth mentioning that it is a good assistant in taking important decision. Many people have well-developed instinct and it really helps them in difficult situations.

But I do not agree with this point of view completely because intuition can fail people whereas using critical thinking a person thoroughly studies a situation, integrates all items in this list when deciding what to believe or do. So all of these give them confidence that they do a right thing.

In conclusion I would like to stress out again that it is definitely better to use critical thinking in our lives.