Features of the use of critical thinking skills in countering manipulation in modern communication.

The subject of the study is critical thinking. The article is devoted to the study of the role of critical thinking in modern communication conditions. Particular attention is paid to the peculiarities of using critical thinking skills in countering manipulative influences both in the professional sphere and in personal communicative interaction. The article substantiates that critical thinking is one of the most important skills in the modern world; the importance of critical thinking skills for effectively processing large amounts of incoming information, as well as for building successful communication, is clarified; the specifics and features of the application of critical thinking skills in the context of communicative interaction are considered; the role of logical as well as rhetorical components in communication is substantiated; options for countering communicative manipulations and incorrect communicative influences are proposed. The article uses methods of comparative analysis, contextual analysis, synthesis, generalization, classification, as well as the logical method. The article proposes a division of communicative goals according to the type of statements. Particular attention is focused on analyzing the situation of the motivating communicative goal. The article clarifies the meaning of the following concepts: communication, 4K competencies, critical thinking, non-critical thinking, manipulation, logical, psychological and rhetorical argumentation strategies, communicative purpose, rhetoric, ad hominem arguments, ad rem arguments, deductive inferences, inductive inferences. The article proposes methods and tools for strengthening the skills of building effective communicative interaction. Methods of countering manipulative communicative influences are also analyzed both from the point of view of logical science and rhetorical skill. The article will be useful for both undergraduate and graduate students studying rhetoric, argumentation theory, communication techniques, and a wide range of readers.