Critical Thinking and Logic

Sufficiency

-________________ has to do with whether or not the information given fulfills the instructions. -Proof leads into ______________ because if there is enough evidence to prove your case, the job is done.

Three interlinking dimensions of critical thinking:

1. Analyzing one's own thinking- breaking it down into its component parts. 2. Evaluating one's own thinking- identifying its weaknesses while recognizing its strengths. 3. Improving one's own thinking- reconstructing it to make it better.

fallacy

A _______________ is an error in reasoning.

faulty analogy

Drawing an invalid comparison between things for the purpose of either supporting or refuting some position. A faulty analogy suggests that because two things are alike in some respect, they must be alike in other respects.

Accuracy

Has the veracity or accuracy of the information been challenged? Does it match other sources of information on the same topic, or on the facts? How current is the information? Is it the most up-to-date?

Intellectual Integrity

Holding oneself to the same rigorous intellectual standards that one expects others to meet.

Scope and Depth

How broad and deep is the information? What questions can this information help answer? How much detail is offered? What is missing?

Transparency

How easy is it to trace the origins of the information? Are there citations or references? Can other researchers access the information (especially important with primary source documents)?

appeal to fear

Citing a threat or possibility of a frightening outcome as the reason for supporting an argument. This threat can be physical or emotional: the idea is to invoke fear. This is sometimes termed "scare tactics."

treating abstracts as reality

Citing abstract concepts (freedom, justice, science) to support an argument or to call for action.

appeal to popularity/ popular passions

Citing majority sentiment or popular opinion as the reason for supporting a claim. It assumes that any position favored by the larger crowd must be true or worthy.

appeal to experience

Claiming to speak with the "voice of experience" in support of an argument (even when that experience may not be relevant).

Standards of Critical Thinking:

Clarity Accuracy Precision Relevance Depth Breadth Logic Significance Fairness

Intellectual Humility

Commitment to discovering the extent of one's own ignorance on any issue. Recognition that one does not—and cannot—know everything.

Intellectual Courage

Confronting ideas, viewpoints, or beliefs with fairness, even when doing so is painful. Examining fairly beliefs which one has strong negative feelings and toward which one has previously been dismissive

two wrongs make a right

Defending or justifying our wrong position or conduct by pointing to a similar wrong done by someone else.

ad hominem

Dismissing an argument by attacking the person who offers it rather than by refuting its reasoning.

straw man

Distorting or exaggerating an opponent's argument so that it might be more easily attacked.

How the Elements of Reasoning Work

Our purpose affects how we ask questions → How we ask questions affects the information we gather → The information we gather affects the inferences we make from it → What we infer from the information affects how we conceptualize it → How we conceptualize the information affects the assumptions we make → The assumptions we make affect the implications that follow from our thinking → The implications affect how we see things—i.e., our point of view

Depth

Our reasoning is ________ when it: plumbs beneath the surface of an issue or problem to identify the underlying complexities; and addresses those complexities in an intellectually responsible way

Breadth

Our reasoning is broad when it considers the issue at hand from every relevant viewpoint. _________________ directs us to look around us, at alternative or opposing perspectives

Significance

Our reasoning should concentrate on the most important information relevant to the issue at hand.

Fairness

Our thinking is _____ when it is justified

Clarity

Our thinking is clear when it is easily understood. ___________ of thought enables us to see where our thinking is leading us.

Weak-Sense critical thinking

Thinking that does not consider viewpoints, that lacks fair-mindedness and that uses critical thinking skills simply to defend current beliefs.

strong-sense critical thinking

Thinking that uses critical thinking skills to evaluate all beliefs, especially one's own, and that pursues what is intellectually fair and just.

attacking evidence

This approach focuses on discrediting the underlying evidence for an argument and thereby questioning its validity.

Accuracy

To be _________ is to represent something as it actually is. We think ___________ when our reasoning expresses how things actually are

appeal to authority

To justify support for a position by citing an esteemed or well-known figure who supports it. An appeal to authority does not address the merit of the position.

slippery slope

To suggest that a step or action, once taken, will lead inevitably to similar steps or actions with presumably undesirable consequences

Implications

____________ are what follow from our reasoning.

Authority

Who stands behind the information? Is it from a primary or secondary source? What expertise do authors or editors have, if any? What are their credentials, academic or professional?

Intellectual Perseverance

Working one's way through intellectual complexities despite frustrations inherent in doing so

assumption

An _________________ is something we presuppose. We take its truth for granted. Because we do, we don't question it.

inference

An __________________ is a mental step by which one concludes that something is true based on something else being true or appearing to be so.

evading questions

Avoiding direct and truthful answers to difficult questions through diversionary tactics, vagueness, or deliberately confusing or complex responses.

five key factors in establishing the accuracy and validity of information:

Authority Point-of-View Transparency Scope and Depth Accuracy

Logic

Thinking is _____________ when thoughts and the order in which they are organized are mutually supportive and make sense in combination

Three types of questions in critical thinking:

1. Questions of fact - Who wrote the Harry Potter books? 2. Questions of preference - Who is your favorite actor? 3. Questions of judgment - How can we deal with global warming?

begging the question

Asserting a conclusion that is assumed in the reasoning. The reason given to support the conclusion restates the conclusion.

search for perfect solution

Asserting that a solution is not worth adopting because it does not fix the problem completely.

either-or

Assuming only two alternatives when, in reality, there are more than two. It implies that one of two outcomes is inevitable—either x or y.

Feeling

Feeling monitors the meanings created by thinking. It evaluates the degree to which life's events are either positive or negative, given the meaning we assign to them.

Dimensions of Problem-Solving:

Figure out and regularly reevaluate your goals, purposes, and needs. Identify your problems explicitly, then analyze them. Figure out the information you need, and actively seek that information. Carefully analyze, interpret, and evaluate the information you collect. Figure out your options for action and evaluate them. Adopt a strategic approach to the problem, and follow through on that strategy. When you act, monitor the implications of your action as they begin to emerge.

Dimensions of Decision-Making:

Figure out, and regularly re-articulate, your most fundamental goals, purposes, and needs. Take problems and decisions one-by-one. Figure out the implications of alternatives. Figure out the information you need and seek it. Draw reasonable inferences from the information you analyze and interpret. Figure out long- and short-term options and limitations (time, money, power). Consider pros and cons of options. Be strategic in your decision-making. Monitor the implications of your actions and shift strategy if need be.

Second-order thinking(critical thinking)

First-order thinking that is consciously realized (i.e., analyzed, assessed, and reconstructed)

two components in strategic thinking:

Identification. Recognizing when your thinking is irrational or flawed. Intellectual action. Engaging and challenging your own thinking.

Single difference(Mill's Methods of Determining Causation)

In analyzing causation, looking for a causal factor that is present in one situation but absent in another, similar, situation

Concomitant variation(Mill's Methods of Determining Causation)

In analyzing causation, looking for a pattern of variation between a possible cause and a possible effect

Common factor(Mill's Methods of Determining Causation)

In analyzing causation, looking for a single shared factor

Process of elimination(Mill's Methods of Determining Causation)

In analyzing causation, successively ruling out non-causal factors until one correct causal factor remains

Inferences/Assumptions

In reasoning, we make __________ based on ___________.

hasty generalization

Inferring a general proposition about something based on too small a sample or an unrepresentative sample.

Intellectual Empathy

Inhabiting the perspectives of others in order to genuinely understand them.

Uncritical Persons

Intellectually unskilled thinkers

red herring

Introducing an irrelevant point or topic to divert attention from the issue at hand. It is a tactic for confusing the point under debate.

hard-cruel-world argument

Justifying illegal or unethical practices by arguing that they are necessary to confront a greater evil or threat.

bad habits of thinking

Making generalizations unsupported by evidence Letting a stereotype* shape our thinking Viewing the world from one fixed vantage point Forming false beliefs Dismissing or attacking viewpoints that conflict with our own Thinking deceptively about our own experiences

Confidence in Reason

Proceeds from the belief that both the individual's and society's higher interests are best served by unfettered reason.

The universal elements of reasoning:

Purposes Information Questions Concepts Assumptions Inferences Implications Points of View

Characteristics of a well-cultivated critical thinker:

Raises vital questions Gathers and assesses relevant information Reaches well-reasoned conclusions and solutions Thinks open-mindedly Communicates effectively with others

Precision

Reasoning is ___________ when it is specific, exact, and sufficiently detailed

denying inconsistencies

Refusing to admit contradictions or inconsistencies when making an argument or defending a position.

As critical thinkers, we must assess information:

Seek trustworthy information sources Be vigilant about information sources we use Be alert to the use we make of our own experience, which could be biased, distorted, or self-deluded.

Relevance

Something is _____________ when it pertains to the problem we seek to solve.

First-order thinking(ordinary thinking)-

Spontaneous and non-reflective Contains insight, prejudice, good and bad reasoning Indiscriminately combined

Fair-Minded Critical Persons

Strong-sense critical thinkers

intellectual relativity

The claim that nothing is provable because everything is relative.

possible, probable, and necessary.

The three kinds of implications that that may be involved in any situation are _________________,____________ and ___________________

fair-mindedness*

The traits of a critical thinker all relate fundamentally to ___________________ .

thrown-in statistics

The use of irrelevant, misleading, or questionable statistics to support an argument or defend a position.

Concepts

Theories are examples of _____________.

Three Functions of the Mind:

Thinking Feeling Wanting

Thinking

Thinking creates meaning. It sorts events in our lives into categories. It finds patterns in the world around us. Thinking informs us what is going on.

Intellectual Autonomy

Thinking for oneself while adhering to standards of rationality

Wanting

Wanting allocates energy into action. It does so consistent with how we define what is desirable and possible. Wanting continually tells us what is (or is not) worth seeking or getting.

Activated Knowledge

We bring significant ideas and knowledge into the mind and are able to apply them, systematically, to new situations.

Activated Ignorance

We mislearn or partially learn information or accept illogical beliefs and then act on them.

Implications also follow from the words we use. Our words always carry implications. Therefore, as thinkers, we want to:

We should say what we mean and mean what we say.

Inert Information

We think we understand this information, but we don't and can't use it.

Skilled Manipulators

Weak-sense critical thinkers

Point-of-View

What are the biases or prejudices of the creator(s) of any given information? Are they neutral or partisan? Are they looking to advance a cause or ideology? Do they try to pass off opinions as facts?

To take command of your thinking, you must:

become master of your own conceptualizations; and not become trapped in one set of concepts

Critical thinking also demands a commitment to surmounting two barriers native to everyone:

egocentrism*, or the tendency to view everything in relationship to oneself; and sociocentrism*, or the assumption that one's own social group is inherently superior to all others

Characteristics of critical thinking

self-directed self-disciplined self-monitored self-corrective

our mind continually communicates three kinds of messages to us:

what's happening in our life feelings (positive or negative) about what's happening things to pursue or direct our energy toward

As a critical thinker, never assume that:

your purposes are consistent with one another; or your announced purposes are your actual purposes