Becoming a Critical Thinker

by Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan

• ISBN13: 9780495909057
• ISBN10: 049590905X
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-14
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

Success depends on the ability to think critically. Training and practice turn this ability into a powerful skill. Becoming a Critical Thinker gives students the opportunity to develop this skill in a classroom environment while stressing its application to daily life. Students learn to solve everyday problems, maintain successful relationships, make career choices, and interpret the messages of advertising in a variety of media. Exercises throughout the text encourage them to practice what they read and to apply it to their own lives. Becoming a Critical Thinker breaks up critical thinking into a series of cumulative activities, a unique approach that has made this text a staple of many critical thinking courses.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

To the Instructor

Fundamentals of Thinking

What is intelligence?

What is thinking?

good thinking! The Story of Albert Einstein

Key principles of thinking

Truth is discovered, not created

Ideas are interrelated

A statement canÆt be both true and false at the same time and in the same way

good thinking! The Story of Nellie Bly

All people make mistakes, even experts

Ideas can be examined without being embraced

Feeling is no substitute for thinking

Key habits and skills of thinking

The habit of curiosity

good thinking! The Story of Paul Vitz

Skill in distinguishing facts from opinions

The habit of checking facts and testing opinions

Exercises

Quiz

THE W.I.S.E. Approach to Thinking

Introducing the W.I.S.E

Approach

good thinking! The Story of Frank and Lillian Gilbreth

Step 1: Wonder

Step 2: Investigate

good thinking! The Story of Elizabeth Loftus

Step 3: Speculate

Step 4: Evaluate

Examples of Problem Solving

The uncooperative page markers

The librarianÆs lament

Examples of Issue Resolution

Is venting anger healthy?

What causes Yellow Fever?

An Important Relationship

A Caution About Bias

Bias toward what confirms your personal view

Bias toward familiar ideas

Bias toward your likes and against your dislikes

Exercises

Quiz

Improving your Investigative Skills

Conducting library research

good thinking! The Richard Feynman Story

Conducting Internet research

Use a search engine

good thinking! The Story of Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Develop a resource list

Ask questions about the websites you visit

Conducting an interview

Avoiding plagiarism

Three steps to avoid plagiarism

How to correctly quote and paraphrase

Exercises

Quiz

Becoming an Individual

What is individuality? Acknowledging influences

good thinking! The Story of Viktor Frankl

Understanding attitudes

Four empowering attitudes

Attitude 1: ThereÆs always room for improvement

Attitude 2: Criticism, including self-criticism, has value

Attitude 3: Effort is the key to success

Attitude 4: Other people are as important as I am

Recognizing manipulation

Biased reporting

Dishonest appeals to emotion

Stacking the deck

Suppressing dissent

Repetition

Resisting manipulation

Step 1: Be prepared

Step 2: Ask questions

Step 3: Be imaginative

Step 4: Check sources

Strategies for individuality

Strive for humility

Be wary of first impressions

good thinking! The Story of Stephanie Kwolek

Be honest with yourself

Fight confusion

Produce many ideas

Acknowledge complexity

Look for connections among subjects

Consider other viewpoints

good thinking! The Story of Stanton Samenow

Dare to change your mind

Base your judgments on evidence

Exercises

Quiz

Recognizing Errors In Thinking

Four kinds of errors

Errors of perception

ôMine is betterö thinking

Selective perception

Gullibility and skepticism

good thinking! The Story of Sylvia Earle

Preconceptions

Pretending to know

Either/or thinking

False tolerance

Errors of judgment

Double standard

Irrelevant criterion

Overgeneralizing or stereotyping

good thinking! The Story of Martin Seligman

Hasty conclusion

Unwarranted assumption

Failure to make a distinction

Oversimplification

Errors of expression

Contradicting oneself

Arguing in a circle

False analogy

Irrational appeal

Errors of reaction

Explaining away

Shifting the burden of proof

Attacking the person

Straw man

Errors can multiply

Exercises

Quiz

Persuading Others

What is persuasion? Opportunities in the classroom

Opportunities in the workplace

good thinking! The Story Of Dorothea Dix

Opportunities in the community

Opportunities in relationships

How is persuasion achieved? Respect your audience

Understand your audienceÆs viewpoint(s)

Begin on a point of agreement

Acknowledge unpleasant facts and make appropriate concessions

good thinking! The Story Of Dale Carnegie

Apply the Golden Rule

Keep your expectations modest

Strategy for persuasive writing

Step 1: State what you think about the issue and why you think it

Step 2: Consider how those who disagree might react to your view

Step 3: Arrange your ideas and write a draft of your presentation

Step 4: Check your draft for matters of style

Step 5: Check your draft for grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling

good thinking! The Story Of George Orwell

An example of persuasive writing

Strategy for persuasive speaking

Create note cards

Rehearse using a tape recorder or a camcorder

Strategy for group discussion

Exercises

Quiz

Applying your Thinking Skills

Thinking critically about relationships

good thinking! The Story Of Oprah Winfrey

Guidelines for successful relationships

Exercises

Thinking critically about careers

good thinking! THE STORY OF FAYE ABDELLAH

A sensible approach

Exercises

Thinking critically about ethical judgments

A better basis for judgment

good thinking! The Story Of Chiara Lubich

Criteria for ethical judgment

Applying the criteria

A sample case

Exercises

Thinking critically about commercials

Bandwagon

Glittering generality

Empty comparison

Meaningless slogan

Testimonial

Transfer

Stacking the deck

Misleading statement

Exercises

Thinking critically about print advertising

Exercises

Thinking critically about television programming

Exercises

Thinking critically about movies

Characters

Setting

Plot

Theme

Exercises

Thinking critically about music

Exercises

Thinking critically about magazines

Exercises

Thinking critically about newspapers

Exercises

Quiz

Epilogue: Make the end a beginning

Works Cited

Bibliography

Index

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