How to Think Critically: A Concise Guide - Second Edition
Description
How to Think Critically begins with the premise that we are all, every day, engaged in critical thinking. But just as we may develop bad habits in daily life if we don't scrutinize our practices, so are we apt to develop bad habits in critical thinking if we are careless in our reasoning. Readers are presented with a traditional step-by-step method for analysis that can be applied to all argument forms. Hundreds of exercises (with solutions) are included, as are several random statement generators that can be used to create thousands of additional examples. Truth tables, Venn diagrams, and other essential concepts are introduced not merely as objects for academic study but also as tools for better thinking and living. At a time when the value of critical thinking is recognized to be greater than ever, this book is an important resource both inside and outside the classroom.
More details
Person
Jeff McLaughlin is Professor of Philosophy at Thompson Rivers University.
Content
- 1.2 Critical Thinking and Reasoning
- 1.3 Arguments vs. Unsupported Claims
- 1.4 Premises and Conclusions: The Building Blocks of Arguments
- 1.5 Identifying Statements and Arguments
- Statement Generator: Moral Issues Statements
Chapter 2: The Use and Abuse of Language - 2.1 Meaning, Denotation, and Connotation
- 2.2 Defining Words
- 2.3 Vagueness and Ambiguity
- 2.4 Emotional Language & Prejudicial Language
- 2.5 Scope and Conviction
Chapter 3: Argument Structure and Assessment - 3.1 Standardizing Arguments
- 3.2 Editing Arguments
- 3.3 Complex Arguments
Chapter 4: Argument Evaluation - 4.1 The S-Test
- 4.2 Step 1: Satisfactory Premises
- 4.3 Step 2: Supporting Premises
- 4.4 Step 3: Sufficient Support
- 4.5 Passing the S-Test
- 4.6 Failing the S-Test
- Statement Generator: Moral Issues
- Statement Generator: Business Issues
Chapter 5: Argument Types - 5.1 Deductive Arguments
- 5.2 Inductive Arguments
- 5.3 Arguments from Analogy
Chapter 6: Fallacies - 6.1 List of Fallacies
- 6.2 Fallacies in Advertising
Chapter 7: Categorical Logic - 7.1 Categorical Logic and Categorical Statements
- 7.2 The Square of Opposition
- 7.3 Rules of Inference
- 7.4 Depicting Categorical Statements Using Venn Diagrams
- 7.5 Depicting Categorical Syllogisms Using Venn Diagrams
- 7.6 Using Rules to Evaluate Categorical Syllogisms
- 7.7 Missing/Implicit Statements in Categorical Syllogisms
Chapter 8: Propositional Logic Using Truth Tables - 8.1 Translating Propositions
- 8.2 Basic Truth Tables for And, Or, Not, and If, Then
- 8.3 Creating Long Truth Tables
- 8.4 Creating Short Truth Tables
Chapter 9: Critical Thinking Online - 9.1 Tools and Tips
- 9.2 Developing Safe Search Habits
- 9.3 How (not to) Argue Online
Glossary of Key Terms