Critical Thinking Exercises You Can Do Today

You don't need a philosophy degree to get better at critical thinking. You need practice. Here are five exercises you can do in the next half hour. Each one targets a different habit: seeing the other side, testing your own reasons, and spotting weak links in an argument.

1. Argue the other side

Pick something you believe—a policy, a moral claim, or "this product is overrated." Write three reasons someone who disagrees would give. Not straw-man reasons; the strongest version of the opposite view. You don't have to change your mind. The point is to make the other side vivid. If you can't state it fairly, you don't understand it yet. This exercise alone will improve how you argue and how you listen. Do it once a week on a different belief and you'll notice the difference. It's also a good warm-up before a Socratic dialogue: if you've already articulated the strongest objection, you're less likely to be thrown when the dialogue pushes back. The exercise doesn't require any tool—just a few minutes and a view you hold. You can do it in your head, but writing the three reasons down usually makes the opposite view clearer. If you find you can't state the other side fairly, that's useful information: it means you need to listen or read more before you're really ready to argue.

2. Map one claim

Take a single claim you care about (from the news, a book, or a conversation). Write it at the top of a page. Under it, list the reasons you or someone else would give for it. Under each reason, ask: what would need to be true for this to hold? You're building a tiny argument map on paper. Where does the support run out? That's where you need more evidence or a different reason. If you like doing this on paper, try the Argument Cartographer—same idea, but you can add premises, link them, and run a logic linter on the result.

3. Question one assumption

Think of something you take for granted in your job, your politics, or your daily routine. Write it down. Then ask: what would have to be true for this to be right? What would count as evidence against it? You're not trying to debunk it. You're making the assumption visible so you can stress-test it. Philosophy does this all the time; learning paths and Socratic dialogues are built around it.

4. Spot the move in someone else's argument

Next time you read an op-ed, a thread, or a pitch, pause at one paragraph. Name the move: "This is a causal claim." "This is an appeal to authority." "This is defining the problem in a way that already assumes the solution." You're not scoring points; you're training yourself to see structure. Once you see the move, you can ask whether the support is there. Logical fallacies are just named moves that usually don't work. The more you name them, the faster you'll spot them in your own writing.

5. Explain it in one sentence

Take a concept you use often—"justice," "bias," "evidence," "rational." Explain it in one clear sentence as if to someone who has never heard the word. If you can't, you're not alone; philosophy has spent centuries refining these. Doing it forces you to see where your understanding is fuzzy. Socratic dialogue is basically someone asking you to do this again and again until the fuzziness shrinks.

What you get on schrodingers.cat

• Learning paths that guide you through texts and prompt reflection.
• Socratic dialogues where a philosopher questions your assumptions until you reach clarity.
• Argument Cartographer to map arguments and catch circular reasoning and gaps.
• Forum to discuss and debate with others.

No signup required to browse. Create an account to save progress, post, and build maps. If you want more structure, read How to learn critical thinking online (free) for a longer roadmap. The five exercises above are enough to build a habit; the real gain comes from doing them regularly and then layering in paths, dialogue, and argument mapping so you're applying the same skills to real philosophy. Start with one exercise today, then add one more when it feels natural. None of them require a course or a teacher—just a few minutes and something you care about. If you want to go deeper, pair them with learning paths (so you're reasoning about real texts) and Socratic dialogue (so your views get pushed back on). Where to go from here. Do one exercise today, then add learning paths or Socratic dialogue so you're applying the same habits to real texts and real pushback. For a longer guide to learning critical thinking online for free, see How to learn critical thinking online (free). How often should I do these? Even once a week helps. Pick one exercise and do it on a different topic each time; over a few months you'll notice you're spotting assumptions and mapping arguments more easily. Summary: Five critical thinking exercises you can do now: argue the other side, map one claim, question one assumption, spot the move in someone else's argument, and explain one concept in one sentence. Then use paths, dialogue, and the Cartographer to keep building the habit. The exercises are deliberately short so you can do them without signing up or committing to a course; once you see the value, you can add paths and dialogue for deeper practice. No single exercise will transform your thinking overnight, but doing a few of them regularly will. You can do all five in one sitting or spread them over a week; the important thing is to do them on real beliefs and real arguments, not hypotheticals. When you're ready for more structure, add a learning path or a Socratic dialogue so you're applying the same habits to philosophy.

Browse learning paths →

Key takeaway: Critical thinking improves with practice. Five exercises you can do today: argue the other side, map one claim, question one assumption, name the move in someone else's argument, and explain one concept in one sentence. Then deepen the habit with learning paths, Socratic dialogue, and argument mapping.