A Personal Word to Students ix
Preface xi
Chapter 1 Introduction to Critical Thinking 1
What Is Critical Thinking? 1
Critical Thinking Standards 2
Clarity 2
Precision 3
Accuracy 3
Relevance 4
Consistency 4
Logical Correctness 6
Completeness 6
Fairness 7
The Benefits of Critical Thinking 8
Critical Thinking in the Classroom 8
Critical Thinking in the Workplace 8
Critical Thinking in Life 9
Common Barriers to Critical Thinking 9
Egocentrism 12
Sociocentrism 13
Unwarranted Assumptions and Stereotypes 16
Relativistic Thinking 19
Wishful Thinking 24
Qualities of a Critical Thinker 25
Page iv
Chapter 2 Recognizing Arguments 31
What Is an Argument? 31
Identifying Premises and Conclusions 36
What Is Not an Argument? 42
Reports 42
Unsupported Assertions 43
Conditional Statements 44
Illustrations 45
Explanations 46
Chapter 3 Basic Logical Concepts 56
Deduction and Induction 56
How Can We Tell Whether an Argument Is Deductive or Inductive? 59
The Indicator Word Test 60
The Strict Necessity Test 60
The Common Pattern Test 61
The Principle of Charity Test 62
Exceptions to the Strict Necessity Test 63
Common Patterns of Deductive Reasoning 65
Hypothetical Syllogism 65
Categorical Syllogism 68
Argument by Elimination 68
Argument Based on Mathematics 69
Argument from Definition 69
Common Patterns of Inductive Reasoning 70
Inductive Generalization 70
Predictive Argument 71
Argument from Authority 71
Causal Argument 72
Statistical Argument 72
Argument from Analogy 73
Deductive Validity 75
Inductive Strength 80
Chapter 4 Language 90
Finding the Right Words: The Need for Precision 90
Vagueness 91
Overgenerality 92
Ambiguity 93
Page v
The Importance of Precise Definitions 97
Types of Definitions 98
Strategies for Defining 100
Rules for Constructing Good Lexical Definitions 103
Emotive Language: Slanting the Truth 109
The Emotive Power of Words 110
Test for Emotive Language 113
Euphemisms and Political Correctness 116
Chapter 5 Logical Fallacies—I 122
The Concept of Relevance 122
Fallacies of Relevance 125
Personal Attack (Ad Hominem) 125
Attacking the Motive 126
Look Who’s Talking (Tu Quoque) 127
Two Wrongs Make a Right 128
Scare Tactics 129
Appeal to Pity 130
Bandwagon Argument 131
Straw Man 132
Red Herring 132
Equivocation 134
Begging the Question 135
Chapter 6 Logical Fallacies—II 143
Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence 143
Inappropriate Appeal to Authority 143
Appeal to Ignorance 147
False Alternatives 148
Loaded Question 149
Questionable Cause 150
Hasty Generalization 152
Slippery Slope 152
Weak Analogy 154
Inconsistency 156
Composition 156
Division 157
Chapter 7 Analyzing Arguments 169
Diagramming Short Arguments 169
Tips on Diagramming Arguments 175
Page vi
Summarizing Longer Arguments 180
Paraphrasing 180
Finding Missing Premises and Conclusions 184
Summarizing Extended Arguments 186
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Standardizing Arguments 190
Chapter 8 Evaluating Arguments and Truth Claims 197
When Is An Argument a Good One? 197
What “Good Argument” Does Not Mean 197
What “Good Argument” Does Mean 198
When Is It Reasonable to Accept a Premise? 200
Refuting Arguments 205
Appendix: Sample Critical Essay 228
Joe Kribs, “In Defense of Cheating” 228
Sample Critical Essay 229
Chapter 9 A Little Categorical Logic 234
Categorical Statements 235
Translating into Standard Categorical Form 239
Categorical Syllogisms 248
Chapter 10 A Little Propositional Logic 263
Conjunction 264
Conjunction and Validity 267
Negation 272
Deeper Analysis of Negation and Conjunction 277
Disjunction 282
Conditional Statements 287
Chapter 11 Inductive Reasoning 298
Introduction to Induction 298
Inductive Generalizations 299
Evaluating Inductive Generalizations 301
Opinion Polls and Inductive Generalizations 305
Statistical Arguments 309
Reference Class 312
Page vii
Induction and Analogy 315
What Is an Analogy? 315
How Can We Argue by Analogy? 315
Evaluating Arguments from Analogy 316
Arguing by Analogy 323
Induction and Causal Arguments 324
Correlation and Cause 328
A Few Words about Probability 330
A Closer Look at a Priori Probability 332
Chapter 12 Finding, Evaluating, and Using Sources 339
Finding Sources 341
Refining Your Search: Questions and Keywords 342
Directional Sources 344
Informational Sources 346
Evaluating Informational Sources 350
Content: Facts and Everything Else 350
The Author and the Publisher 354
The Audience 359
Evaluating Internet Sources 360
Taking Notes 366
Bibliographical Information 366
Content Notes: Quotes, Summaries, and Paraphrases 367
Using Sources 376
Acknowledging Sources 376
Incorporating Sources 379
Chapter 13 Writing Argumentative Essays 386
Writing a Successful Argument 387
Preparing to Write 388
Know Yourself 389
Know Your Audience 389
Choose and Narrow Your Topic 390
Write a Sentence That Expresses Your Claim 393
Gather Ideas: Brainstorm and Research 393
Organize Your Ideas 400
Writing the First Draft 406
Provide an Interesting Opening 406
Include a Thesis Statement 407
Develop Your Body Paragraphs 408
Page viii
Provide a Satisfying Conclusion 409
Revising Your Argument 411
Critically Read What You Have Written 411
Look For What Is Missing 411
Show Your Work 412
Edit Your Work 412
Hand It In 412
Sample Argumentative Essay 413
Chapter 14 Thinking Critically about the Media 421
Mass Media and Social Media 421
The News 426
Critically Analyzing News Sources 428
Social Media and the Rise of Fake News 432
News Media Bias 438
Bias Toward Business Interests 439
Bias Toward Entertainment 442
Political Bias 446
Media Literacy 450
Advertising 451
What Ads Do 452
Defenses of Advertising 453
Criticisms of Advertising 454
Common Advertising Ploys 455
Chapter 15 Science and Pseudoscience 467
The Basic Pattern of Scientific Reasoning 467
The Limitations of Science 473
How to Distinguish Science from Pseudoscience 476
A Case Study in Pseudoscientific Thinking: Astrology 485
Appendix A: The Six Habits of Effective Problem Solvers A-1
Appendix B: Some Key Critical Thinking Concepts A-3
Answers to Selected Exercises ANS-1
Index I-1