“Is Critical Thinking Epistemically Responsible?”, 2005-07-06 (; similar):
There are at least three strategies we might take in approaching controversial issues: (1) we might accept the conclusions of experts on their authority, (2) we might evaluate the relevant evidence and arguments for ourselves, or (3) we might give up on finding the answers.
Students of “critical thinking” are regularly advised to follow strategy (2).
But strategies (1) and (3) are usually superior to (2), from the standpoint of the goal of gaining true beliefs and avoiding false ones.