Chapter 6 : critical thinking and reasoning

Slippery Slope

A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

critical thinking

Active thinking as active thinking in which we evaluate and analyze information in order too determine the best course of action.

Fallacies of Appeal

Appeal to Ignorance Appeal to People Appeal to Emotion Appeal to Authority Appeal to Tradition Appeal to Humor

black or white fallacy

False Dichotomy. The thrust of the fallacy occurs when we are only given the choice between two possible alternatives, when in fact more than two exist.

Strawman

Misrepresenting someone's argument to make it easier to attack

Studying fallacies provides

Studying fallacies also provides you with a foundation for evaluating and critiquing other arguments as well.

fallacy of quantitative logic

The focus is on the use of some sort of quantifying word such as "all" or "some."

self regulation part 2

The goal is to create distancebetween our opinions and the messageswe evaluate.

Masked Man Fallacy

The masked man fallacy involves a substitution of parties. If the two things we substitute are identical, then the argument is valid:

analysis

The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another.

inference and interpretation or explanation

We are continuing our evaluation by looking at the evidence, alternatives, and possible conclusions.

False Analogy

When two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them.

types of informal fallacies

accident (sweeping generalization) genetic fallacy (ad hominem) ambiguity (equivocation)

defining deduction

an argument in which the truth of its premises guarantees the truth of its conclusions

defining induction

analyze an inductive arguments for their strength or soundness

It is important to study fallacies

can avoid them in the arguments you make

evaluation

continue the process of analysis byassessing the various claims andarguments for validity.

Fallacies

defined as a flaw or errorin reasoning

division fallacy

division fallacy occurs when we think the parts of the whole contain the same quality as the whole

syllogism

major premise, minor premise, conclusion

informal fallacies

occurs becauseof an error in reasoning the premises fail to provideadequate reasons for believing the truthof the conclusion

accident (sweeping generalization)

occurs when a generally true statement is applied to a specific case that is somehow unusual or exceptional.

genetic fallacy (ad hominem)

occurs when we shift our focus from the premises and conclusions of the argument and focus instead on the individual making the argument.

Appeal to Emotion

occurs with the use of highly emotive or charged language.The force of the fallacy lies in its ability to motivate the audience to accept the truth of the proposition based solely on their visceral response to the words used

critical thinking traits and skills

open mindness Analytic nature Systematic by method inquisitive judicious Truth-seeking ethos confident in reasoning

Appeal to Pity

the appeal to pity, the argument attempts to win acceptance by pointing out the unfortunate consequences that will fall upon the speaker. In effect, the goal is to makeus feel sorry for the speaker and ignorecontradictory evidence

formal fallacies

the conclusion doesn't follow from the premises. All formal fallacies are specific types of non sequiturs, or arguments in which the conclusion do not follow from the premises.

Bad Reasons Fallacy

the conclusion is assumed to be bad because the arguments are bad

False Cause

this occurs when there exists a flawed causal connection between events. The fallacy is not just a bad inference about connection between cause and effect, but one that violates the cannons of reasoning about causation

Appeal to Ignorance

we argue that the proposition must be accepted unless someone can prove otherwise. The argument rests not onany evidence but on a lack of evidence.

Appeal to Authority

we claim the truth of a proposition is guaranteed because of the opinion of a famous person

self regulation

we consider our pre-existing thoughts on the subject and any biases we may have. We examine how what we think on an issue may have influenced the way we understand(or think we understand) the message and any conclusions we have drawn.

ambiguity (equivocation)

when some ambiguous term is used in the argument. An ambiguous term is one that has more than one meaning.

Composition Fallacy

when we assume that if all the parts have a given quality, then the whole of the parts will have it as well. We jump to a conclusion without concrete evidence.