Awesome books for a critical thinking library?

JulesKorngold

Here are some highly-rated books that can help you develop critical thinking skills:

• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman: This Nobel laureate explores the two systems that drive our thinking - fast, intuitive thinking and slow, deliberate thinking. Understanding these systems can help you make better decisions and avoid cognitive biases.
• The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli: This book identifies 99 thinking errors (cognitive biases) that distort our judgment. By recognizing these biases, you can learn to think more effectively.
• Critical Thinking: Your Guide to Effective Argument, Successful Analysis and Independent Study by Tom Chatfield: This is a clear and concise introduction to critical thinking, covering essential concepts like identifying arguments, evaluating evidence, and avoiding logical fallacies.
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know by Adam Grant: This book challenges the idea that we should hold onto our beliefs rigidly. Instead, Grant argues that the ability to rethink and revise our opinions is essential for growth and success.
• Calling Bull$hit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West: This book equips you with the tools to detect misleading information and arguments. You'll learn how to spot logical fallacies, identify dubious data, and ask the right questions to arrive at sound conclusions.

Factfinder

@ZeusAres42

I would recommend books like The Vampire Iestat or Interview with a Vampire by Ann Rice. Yeah they're fiction but they delve deep into the human psyche. Also if you get a chance read some of Dean Koontz books. Again, deep human psyche but he was known for researching facts surrounding issues as well. They're not the informative texts I think you were asking for but they do offer settings for applying critical thinking to some of the most bizarre situations conceived of. Definitely thought provoking exercises. 

Bogan

1.    The Bell Curve
2.   A Mind to Crime
3.   Eastern Approaches

MayCaesar

Probably the most influential book in my life when it comes to developing critical thinking was "The Socratic Method: A Practitioner's Handbook". If you read this book with a fully opened mind, then it will break your mind multiple times and reassemble it. It will humble you many times, and if you do the exercises Socrates and Plato advocated for, you will realize just how deluded we all are most of the time.

In the modern world the "How to Lie with Statistics" should be a mandatory read. If you know a bit of mathematical statistics, it will not tell you much new - but it will raise your awareness of just how many fallacies people make when it comes to statistics-based arguments, and you will be able to spot these fallacies everywhere.

"The Road to Serfdom" by Hayek is a classic. Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, the general lesson of the book is that good intentions mean little when it comes to success of whatever journey you embark on. Only the intrinsic merit of your actions matters.

Finally, I cannot help but mention two Feynman's autobiographies: "Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman!" and "What do you care what other people think?" You do not have to be a physicist or be interested in physics to appreciate the value of being a contrarian in this world, and the benefits of that for one's critical thinking are immense.

Joeseph

@Factfinder

I would recommend books like The Vampire Iestat or Interview with a Vampire by Ann Rice