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CRITICAL THINKING BOOK ONE ANITA HARNADEK © 1998, 1981, 1976 THE CRITICAL THINKING CO.’ (BRIGHT MINDS”) www.CrilicalThinking.com I P.O. Box 1610 Seaside CA 93955-1610 Phone 800-458-4849 • FAX 831-393-3277 ISBN 978-0-89455-641-8 Reproduction rights granted for single-classroom use only. --....-i-.--- Printed in the United States of America ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following people and organizations have my sincere appreciation for their helpful information and suggestions for material for this book: Joseph Rohrig; Delores Lobdell; Frank Sasso, Jr.; Ru-Mei and Lila Kung; Joy Tellefsen; Diane Heussner; Winona Shingler; police departments of St. Clair Shores, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; the public library and the public elementary school on Drummond Island, Michigan. Also, many ideas for material for this book came from various advertisements and from newspaper and magazine articles, editorials, and letters to the editors. TOTHESTUDENT Former students are often heard to say that school did not prepare them for the real world. They say that they had to learn things in school that they’ve never used after school. They say that they had to learn a lot of facts or figures or rules that don’t matter in everyday life. One of the most valuable things a school today can teach its students is how to think critically. Although every normal human being does some thinking, he isn’t exactly a champion at critical thinking. Maybe that’s one of the reasons the world is in such a mess today. Thinking critically is a skill, just as skating, driving, and carpentry are skills. And like any other skill, it can be taught, it can be learned, and it can improve with practice and daily use. The purpose of this book is to get you started in developing the skill of thinking critically. How to develop your ability to think critically is one thing you’ll learn in school which wfll be of use to you in the real world! TO THE TEACHER As mentioned above, skating, driving, and carpentry are skills. The student does not learn to do these things by sitting in a classroom and being told how to do them. Although he can be given classroom lessons in techniques, we know he must practice these techniques in order to acquire the skill. We also know that when a student keeps getting wrong results, it is not enough to tell him how to get correct results — we must also show him what he is doing wrong and why his method is wrong. Critical thinking is a skill which must be practiced in order to develop effectively. It follows that it is not enough to tell the student about techniques, then have him do exercises, and then simply tell him the “right” answers. He must also be given the chance to examine both his reasons for choosing his answers and the reasons other students chose their “right” answers. This will not be done by using this textbook as a workbook. The most effective way to achieve the desired results is to center the course around class discussion. The students will learn to think critically not only by expressing their opinions and hearing rebuttals from their classmates, but by listening to the discussions among their classmates. III TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THINKING 1.1 WHATCRITICALTHINKING 2 1.2 WHO CAN LEARN TO THINK CRITICALLY’? 3 1.3 WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTED TO LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER’? 4 1.4 DISCUSSIONS, DISAGREEMENTS, ARGUMENTS, ANDFIGHTS 5 1.5 WHEN IS ITSTUPIDTOARGUE’? 7 1.6 GENERALSTATEMENTS 10 1.7 COUNTEREXAMPLES 12 1.8 “PROOF” BY FAILURE TO FIND A COUNTER- EXAMPLE 14 1.9 IS YOUR THINKING STUCK IN A RUT’? 15 1.10 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS 22 CHAPTER 2—INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC 2.1 SYMBOLSUSEDINTHISCHAPTER 26 2.2 “OR” SENTENCES AND THEIR TRUTH VALUES 28 2.3 “AND” SENTENCES AND THEIR TRUTH VALUES 30 2.4 DOUBLE NEGATIVES AND MULTIPLE “.—“ SIGNS 32 2.5 NECESSARY AND SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS 34 2.6 “IF-THEN” SENTENCES 36 2.7 TRUTH VALUES OF “IF-THEN” SENTENCES 37 2.8 PROPOSITION, CONVERSE, INVERSE, CONTRAPOSITIVE 42 2.9 SUBSTITUTION OF CONVERSE OR INVERSE FOR ITS PROPOSITION 46 2.10 “ONLY IF” SENTENCES AND THEIR TRUTH VALUES 47 2.11 ARGUMENTS, PREMISES, AND CONCLUSIONS 50 2.12 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS 53 CHAPTER 3— SOME BASIC CONCEPTS FOR CRITICAL THINKING 3.1 WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “PROBABLE” AND “POSSIBLE”? 58 3.2 ALLEGORIES, OLD SAYINGS, AND LITERARY REFERENCES 59 3.3 PEOPLE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT FEELINGS ABOUT THESAME WORD 63 3.4 A CHANGED DEFINITION MAY PRODUCE A CHANGED CONCLUSION 65 3.5 DON’T JUMP TO A CONCLUSION—THE OBVIOUS ONE MAY BE WRONG 70 3.6 EYEWITNESSES AND CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE 72 3.7 IMPLICATIONS AND INFERENCES 77 3.8 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS ANDQUESTIONS 79 CHAPTER 4— COMMON ERRORS IN REASONING 4.1 CIRCULAR REASONING 86 4.2 “PROOF” BY SELECTED INSTANCES 87 iv 4.3 AVOIDINGTHEQUESTION 88 4.4 SPECIAL PLEADING 90 4.5 FAKING A CONNECTION 91 4.6 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS 93 CHAPTER 5— PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES 5.1 INTRODUCTION .. 98 5.2 “BANDWAGON” .. 99 5.3 REPETITION .. 100 5.4 “TRANSFER” .. 101 5.5 “TESTIMONIAL .. 5.6 “EXIGENCY” .. 105 5.7 “FREE” AND “BARGAIN” .. 106 5.8 “GLITTERING GENERALITY” .. 108 5.9 INNUENDO . 110 5.10 “NAME-CALLING” . 112 5.11 MISCELLANEOUSTECHNIQUES .. 114 5.12 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS .. 116 CHAPTER 6— ADVERTISING AND SCHEMES 6.1 INTRODUCTION 120 6.2 “GET RICH QUICK” SCHEMES 120 6.3 WHAT’S INANAME9 122 6.4 ADVERTISING SELLS IDEAS 122 6.5 CAREEROPPORTUNITIES 124 6.6 STUPID ADVERTISEMENTS 126 6.7 MISCELLANEOUSSCHEMES 127 6.8 ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT ADVERTISEMENTS 129 6.9 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS 132 / CHAPTER 7— EXAMINING ARGUMENTS AND VALUE JUDGMENTS 7.1 RULESOFASOCIETY 136 7.2 PROTECTIONOFTHELAW 136 7.3 EMOTIONAL WORDS AND ARGUMENTS 140 7.4 DOUBLESTANDARDS 142 7.5 WHEREDOYOUDRAWTHELINE9 146 7.6 ATTRIBUTES OF A GOOD ARGUMENT 149 7.7 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS 153 CHAPTER 8— LEARNING TO BE OPEN-MINDED 8.1 INTRODUCTION 156 8.2 LOOKING AT TWO SIDES OF AN ISSUE 157 8.3 RECOGNIZING ISSUES AND SUPPORTING POINTS 160 8.4 ANTICIPATING ARGUMENTS FOR THE OTHER SIDE 164 8.5 FINDING ARGUMENTS OF YOUR OWN 166 8.6 DEBATING 167 8.7 CHAPTER REVIEW PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS 170 GLOSSARY 173 INDEX 176 V :2 C Z12D ‘ :‘- .2 :;. - 4 ld. I :-..,. -2 - 22- I - -- .22-’ 1- .2.2: .222 - 4 - 4 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL THINKING 1.1 WHAT CRITICAL THINKING? 1.2 WHO CAN LEARN TO THINK CRITICALLY? 1.3 WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTED TO LEARN IN THIS CHAPTER? 1.4 DISCUSSIONS, DISAGREEMENTS, ARGUMENTS, AND FIGHTS 1.5 WHEN IS IT STUPID TO ARGUE? 1.6 GENERAL STATEMENTS 1.7 COUNTEREXAMPLES 1.8 “PROOF” BY FAILURE TO FIND A COUNTEREXAMPLE 1.9 IS YOUR THINKING STUCK IN A RUT? 1.10 CLASS DISCUSSION PROBLEMS AND QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER REVIEW 1 1.1 WHAT S CRITICAL THINKING? Critical thinking is a term which includes many kinds of thinking all at once. When we say that someone is thinking critically, we do not mean that he is finding fault with something or that he is looking for a fight. We do mean all of the following: 1. He is open-minded about new ideas. 2. He does not argue about something when he knows nothing about it. 3. He knows when he needs more information about something. 4. He knows the difference between a conclusion which might be true and one which must be true. 5. He knows that people have different ideas about the meanings of words. 6. He tries to avoid common mistakes in his own reasoning. 7. He questions everything which doesn’t make sense to him. 8. He tries to separate emotional thinking from logical thinking. 9. He tries to build up his vocabulary so that he can understand what other people are saying and so that he can make his own ideas clear to other people. There are many other things a critical thinker does, but the list above is enough to give you a pretty good idea of some of the things we’ll be working on in this book. CLASS DISCUSSION PROBLEMS For each problem, do two things: (a) Tell whether or not John seems to be thinking critically. (b) Tell why you think your answer is right. Example: Problem: Bill: “Do you think it’s possible to build an airplane which would hold 10,000 passengers?” John: “What a stupid question! It’d be too heavy to get off the ground. Man, where’s your head, anyhow?!” Answer: (a) No. (b) First, John is not being open-minded about a new idea. (See item 1 on the list in this section.) Second, we might wonder if John knows enough about engineering to support his second sentence. (See item 3 on the list in this section.) Note: Your (b) answer could be shortened to this: (b) See items 1 and 3 on the list. 2 1. John read a book which used a lot of words he didn’t understand. He didn’t bother to look up the words in a dictionary. John thought that the author must be pretty smart to use words like that, so he decided that the author must be right about what he said in the book. 2. John read in one book that all airplanes have only two wings, and he read in another book that some airplanes have four wings.