rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page i Beyond Feelings A Guide to Critical Thinking NINTH EDITION Vincent Ryan Ruggiero Professor Emeritus of Humanities State University of New York, Delhi rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page ii BEYOND FEELINGS: A GUIDE TO CRITICAL THINKING, NINTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2007 and 2004. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-0-07-803818-1 MHID: 0-07-803818-9 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Editorial Director: Beth Mejia Senior Managing Editor: Meghan Campbell Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Senior Project Manager: Joyce Watters Buyer: Nicole Baumgartner Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Media Project Manager: Sridevi Palani Compositor: Glyph International Typeface: 10/13 Palatino Printer: R. R. Donnelley All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan. Beyond feelings: a guide to critical thinking / Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. —9th ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-07-803818-1 (alk. paper) 1. Critical thinking. I. Title. BF441.R85 2011 153.4’2—dc22 2010042000 www.mhhe.com rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page iii To the memory of Howard Trumble, whose quiet practice of the skills detailed in this book was an inspiration to me, to his family, and to all who knew him. rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page iv rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page v Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 PART ONE The Context 3 Chapter 1 Who Are You? 4 The Influence of Time and Place 4 The Influence of Ideas 6 The Influence of Mass Culture 7 The “Science” of Manipulation 9 The Influence of Psychology 11 Becoming an Individual 13 Chapter 2 What Is Critical Thinking? 16 Mind, Brain, or Both? 17 Critical Thinking Defined 18 Characteristics of Critical Thinkers 20 The Role of Intuition 22 Basic Activities in Critical Thinking 24 Critical Thinking and Writing 24 Critical Thinking and Discussion 25 Avoiding Plagiarism 27 Chapter 3 What Is Truth? 32 Where Does It All Begin? 33 Imperfect Perception 34 v rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page vi vi CONTENTS Imperfect Memory 35 Deficient Information 35 Even the Wisest Can Err 36 Truth Is Discovered, Not Created 37 Understanding Cause and Effect 38 Chapter 4 What Does It Mean to Know? 47 Requirements of Knowing 47 Testing Your Own Knowledge 48 How We Come to Know 50 Why Knowing Is Difficult 51 A Cautionary Tale 53 Is Faith a Form of Knowledge? 54 Obstacles to Knowledge 55 Chapter 5 How Good Are Your Opinions? 59 Opinions Can Be Mistaken 61 Opinions on Moral Issues 61 Even Experts Can Be Wrong 63 Kinds of Errors 65 Informed Versus Uninformed Opinion 65 Forming Opinions Responsibly 67 Chapter 6 What Is Evidence? 72 Kinds of Evidence 73 Evaluating Evidence 79 What Constitutes Sufficient Evidence? 80 Chapter 7 What Is Argument? 83 The Parts of an Argument 84 Evaluating Arguments 85 More Difficult Arguments 87 PART TWO The Pitfalls 93 Chapter 8 The Basic Problem: “Mine Is Better” 94 Egocentric People 95 Ethnocentric People 96 Controlling “Mine-Is-Better” Thinking 97 Chapter 9 Errors of Perspective 102 Poverty of Aspect 102 rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page vii CONTENTS vii Unwarranted Assumptions 104 The Either/Or Outlook 106 Mindless Conformity 107 Absolutism 108 Relativism 108 Bias for or Against Change 109 Chapter 10 Errors of Procedure 115 Biased Consideration of Evidence 115 Double Standard 117 Hasty Conclusion 117 Overgeneralization and Stereotyping 118 Oversimplification 120 The Post Hoc Fallacy 121 Chapter 11 Errors of Expression 126 Contradiction 126 Arguing in a Circle 127 Meaningless Statement 128 Mistaken Authority 129 False Analogy 129 Irrational Appeal 130 Chapter 12 Errors of Reaction 135 Automatic Rejection 137 Changing the Subject 138 Shifting the Burden of Proof 139 Straw Man 139 Attacking the Critic 140 Chapter 13 The Errors in Combination 144 Errors of Perspective 144 Errors of Procedure 146 Errors of Expression 147 Errors of Reaction 149 Sample Combinations of Errors 150 A Sensible View of Terminology 152 PART THREE A Strategy 157 Chapter 14 Knowing Yourself 158 Critical Thinking Inventory 159 rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page viii viii CONTENTS Using Your Inventory 160 Challenge and Reward 161 Chapter 15 Being Observant 164 Observing People 164 Observation in Science and Medicine 165 The Range of Application 166 Becoming More Observant 168 Reflecting on Your Observations 168 Chapter 16 Selecting an Issue 171 The Basic Rule: Less Is More 171 How to Limit an Issue 172 Sample Issue: Pornography 172 Sample Issue: Boxing 174 Sample Issue: Juvenile Crime 174 Narrowing the Issue Further 176 Chapter 17 Conducting Inquiry 178 Working with Inconclusive Results 178 Where to Look for Information 179 Keeping Focused 187 How Much Inquiry Is Enough? 187 Managing Lengthy Material 190 Chapter 18 Forming a Judgment 192 Evaluating Evidence 193 Evaluating Your Sources’ Arguments 194 Making Important Distinctions 198 Expressing Judgments 199 Chapter 19 Persuading Others 206 Guidelines for Persuasion 206 An Unpersuasive Presentation 215 A Persuasive Presentation 217 Notes 224 Index 233 rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page ix Preface When the first edition of this book appeared in 1975, the dominant intel- lectual focus was still subjectivity, feelings. That focus, the legacy of the 1960s, was originally a necessary reaction to the rationalism and behav- iorism that preceded it. It declared, in effect: “People are not robots. They are more than the sum total of their physiology. They have hopes, dreams, emotions. No two humans are alike—each has a special perspec- tive, a unique way of perceiving the world. And any view of humanity that ignores this subjective side is a distortion.” Yet, despite its value, the focus on feelings went too far. Like many other movements, what began as a reaction against an extreme view became an extreme view itself. The result of that extremism was the neg- lect of thinking. This book was designed to answer that neglect. The introduction to the first edition explained its rationale as follows: The emphasis on subjectivity served to correct a dangerous oversimplifi- cation. But it is the kind of reaction that cannot be sustained for long without causing an even worse situation—the neglect of thinking. Worse for two reasons. First, because we live in an age of manipulation. Armies of hucksters and demagogues stand ready with the rich resources of psy- chology to play upon our emotions and subconscious needs to persuade us that superficial is profound, harmful is beneficial, evil is virtuous. And feelings are especially vulnerable to such manipulation. Secondly, because in virtually every important area of modern life— law, medicine, government, education, science, business, and community affairs—we are beset with serious problems and complex issues that demand careful gathering and weighing of facts and informed opinions, thoughtful consideration of various conclusions or actions, and judi- cious selection of the best conclusion or most appropriate action. [Today’s college student] has been conditioned not to undervalue subjectivity, but to overvalue it. And so he does not need to have his feel- ings indulged. Rather, he needs to be taught how to sort out his feelings, decide to what extent they have been shaped by external influences, and ix rug38189_FM_i-xii.qxd 1/3/11 4:32 PM Page x x PRFACE evaluate them carefully when they conflict among themselves or with the feelings of others. In short, he needs to be taught to think critically.* There is an unfortunate tendency among many to view feeling and thought as mutually exclusive, to force a choice between them. If we focus on one, then in their view we must reject the other. But this is mis- taken. Feeling and thought are perfectly complementary. Feeling, being more spontaneous, is an excellent beginning to the development of con- clusions. And thought, being more deliberate, provides a way to identify the best and most appropriate feeling. Both are natural. Thinking, however, is less automatic than feeling. To do it well demands a systematic approach and guided practice. The general attitude toward thinking has changed considerably since the mid-1970s. The view that critical thinking is an important skill to which education should give prominence is no longer a minority view. Hundreds of voices have joined the chorus calling for the addition of crit- ical thinking objectives to existing courses and even the creation of spe- cial courses in thinking. There is little disagreement that the challenges of the new millennium demand minds that can move beyond feelings to clear, impartial, critical problem solving and decision making.