Understanding As The Basic Component Of Critical Thinking

This article reveals the role of understanding at the different levels of critical thinking. The analysis is based on the authors' study of the primary meanings of the category understanding, that of understanding separate propositions and conjunctions of natural language and up to revealing hidden presumptions of opponents' teachings. Authors consider Aristotelian teaching of overcoming logical fallacies as the basic level of critical thinking. A specific point is an issue of resolving paradoxes presented as a factor for developing students' competence in critical thinking. The authors suggest a universal method for resolving paradoxes by critical analysis. They show that the investigation of meta-argumentation and meta-theoretical issues has essential significance in humanitarian sciences. Finally, the article introduces new arguments for the Turing test related to the problem of computer capacity of understanding.