Practical Guide to Critical Thinking

A thoroughly updated introduction to the concepts, methods, and
standards of critical thinking, A Practical Guide to Critical
Thinking: Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second
Edition is a unique presentation of the formal strategies
used when thinking through reasons and arguments in many areas of
expertise. Pursuing an interdisciplinary approach to critical
thinking, the book offers a broad conception of critical thinking
and explores the practical relevance to conducting research across
fields such as, business, education, and the biological
sciences.
Applying rigor when necessary, the Second Edition maintains
an informal approach to the fundamental core concepts of critical
thinking. With practical strategies for defining, analyzing, and
evaluating reasons and arguments, the book illustrates how the
concept of an argument extends beyond philosophical roots into
experimentation, testing, measurement, and policy development and
assessment. Featuring plenty of updated exercises for a wide range
of subject areas, A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking
Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition also
includes:

• Numerous real-world examples from many fields of research,
  which reflect the applicability of critical thinking in everyday
  life

• New topical coverage, including the nature of reasons,
  assertion and supposing, narrow and broad definitions,
  circumstantial reasons, and reasoning about causal claims

• Selected answers to various exercises to provide readers with
  instantaneous feedback to support and extend the lessons

A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking Deciding What to Do
and Believe, Second Edition is an excellent textbook for
courses on critical thinking and logic at the undergraduate and
graduate levels as well as an appropriate reference for anyone with
a general interest in critical thinking skills.

Autorentext

David A. Hunter, PhD, is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ryerson University, Canada. He has published numerous journal articles in his areas of research interest, which include the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and critical thinking.

Zusammenfassung
A thoroughly updated introduction to the concepts, methods, and standards of critical thinking, A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking: Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition is a unique presentation of the formal strategies used when thinking through reasons and arguments in many areas of expertise. Pursuing an interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking, the book offers a broad conception of critical thinking and explores the practical relevance to conducting research across fields such as, business, education, and the biological sciences. Applying rigor when necessary, the Second Edition maintains an informal approach to the fundamental core concepts of critical thinking. With practical strategies for defining, analyzing, and evaluating reasons and arguments, the book illustrates how the concept of an argument extends beyond philosophical roots into experimentation, testing, measurement, and policy development and assessment. Featuring plenty of updated exercises for a wide range of subject areas, A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition also includes:

• Numerous real-world examples from many fields of research, which reflect the applicability of critical thinking in everyday life
• New topical coverage, including the nature of reasons, assertion and supposing, narrow and broad definitions, circumstantial reasons, and reasoning about causal claims
• Selected answers to various exercises to provide readers with instantaneous feedback to support and extend the lessons
  A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking Deciding What to Do and Believe, Second Edition is an excellent textbook for courses on critical thinking and logic at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as an appropriate reference for anyone with a general interest in critical thinking skills.

Inhalt

Preface xiii

Preface to First Edition xv

Note to Instructors xvii

1 The Nature and Value of Critical Thinking 1

1.1 The Nature of Critical Thinking 2

Exercise 1 5

1.2 Critical Thinking and Knowledge 6

Exercise 2 6

1.3 Knowledge and Truth 7

1.3.1 Realism Relativism and Nihilism 8

1.3.2 Relativism and the Argument from Disagreement 11

1.4 Knowledge and Belief 14

1.5 Knowledge and Justification 16

1.5.1 Emotional and Pragmatic Reasons 17

1.5.2 Epistemic Reasons 18

1.5.3 Emotions and Evidence 20

1.6 Good Reasons are Sufficient and Acceptable 22

1.7 When Evidence Conflicts 23

Exercise 3 26

1.8 Critical Thinking and Personal Autonomy 27

1.8.1 Belief and Prejudice 27

1.8.2 Making Up Your Own Mind 28

Chapter Exercises 30

1.9 Critical Thinking in Practice 32

1.9.1 Critical Thinking Mistakes 32

1.9.2 Critical Thinking Strategies 34

1.9.3 From Theory to Practice: Applying What We Have Learned 34

2 Clarifying Meaning 37

2.1 The Place of Definitions in Critical Thinking 37

2.2 Assertion 39

Exercise 1 41

2.3 The Assertion Test 41

Exercise 2 45

2.4 Constructing and Evaluating Definitions 46

2.5 Give a Slogan 48

Exercise 3 51

2.6 Expand on the Slogan 51

2.7 Give Examples 52

2.8 Identify Contrasting Ideas 52

Exercise 4 53

2.9 Thinking Critically about Frameworks 54

Exercise 5 56

2.10 Clarifying Beliefs and Problems 56

Exercise 6 60

2.11 Technical Definitions 60

2.12 Meaning in Advertisements 61

Exercise 7 63

2.13 Critical Thinking in Practice 64

2.13.1 Critical Thinking Mistakes 64

2.13.2 Critical Thinking Strategies 65

2.13.3 From Theory to Practice: Applying What We Have Learned 65

3 Sufficient Reasons 67

3.1 Critical Thinking and Arguments 67

Exercise 1 71

3.2 Identifying Premises and Conclusions 71

Exercise 2 76

3.3 Dependent and Independent Premises 78

3.3.1 The Words Test 78

3.3.2 The False Premise Test 79

Exercise 3 82

3.4 Sub-Arguments 83

Exercise 4 85

3.5 Evaluating Logical Support 86

Exercise 5 89

3.6 Missing Premises 90

Exercise 6 91

3.7 Piling on Independent Premises 92

3.8 Critical Thinking in Practice 94

3.8.1 Critical Thinking Strategies 94

3.8.2 From Theory to Practice: Applying What We Have Learned 94

4 Acceptable Reasons 97

4.1 Reliable Sources 99

4.2 Undermining and Overriding Evidence 101

Exercise 1 103

4.3 Observation 104

4.4 Memory 106

Exercise 2 107

4.5 Testimony 107

4.5.1 Appropriate Testimony 108

4.5.2 Trained Testimony 109

4.5.3 Informed Testimony 110

4.5.4 Unbiased Testimony 110

4.6 Advertising 112

4.7 News Reports 113

Exercise 3 116

4.8 Measurement 117

4.8.1 Measurement Consistency 119

4.8.2 Measurement Precision 120

4.9 Surveys 122

Exercise 4 126

4.10 Critical Thinking in Practice 127

4.10.1 Critical Thinking Mistakes 127

4.10.2 Critical Thinking Strategies 128

4.10.3 From Theory to Practice: Applying What We Have Learned 128

5 Reasoning about Alternatives and Necessary and Sufficient Conditions 131

5.1 Reasoning about Alternatives 132

5.2 The Meaning of Disjunctions 133

5.3 Reasoning by Denying a Disjunct 133

5.4 False Disjunctions 135 5.5 When ...