Critical Thinking : Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life

by Paul, Richard; Elder, Linda

• ISBN13: 9780131149625
• ISBN10: 0131149628
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Like its parent text, Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life, Second Edition, this book focuses on an integrated, universal concept of critical thinking that is both substantive and practical; it provides readers with the basic intellectual skills they need to think through content in any class, subject, or discipline, and through any problems or issues they face.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Introduction	xvii
A Startup Definition of Critical Thinking	xvii
How Skilled Are You as a Thinker?	xviii
Good Thinking Requires Hard Work	xx
Defining Critical Thinking	xxiii
The Concept of Critical Thinking	xxiv
Become a Critic of Your Thinking	xxv
Establish New Habits of Thought	xxvi
Develop Confidence in Your Ability to Reason and Figure Things Out	xxvii
Become A Fair-Minded Thinker	1	(24)
Weak Versus Strong Critical Thinking	2	(4)
What Does Fair-Mindedness Require?	6	(15)
Intellectual Humility: Strive to Discover the Extent of Your Ignorance	7	(2)
Intellectual Courage: Develop the Courage to Challenge Popular Beliefs	9	(2)
Intellectual Empathy: Learn to Enter Opposing Views Empathically	11	(2)
Intellectual Integrity: Hold Yourself to the Same Standards to Which You Hold Others	13	(2)
Intellectual Perseverance: Refuse to Give Up Easily; Work Your Way Through Complexities and Frustration	15	(1)
Confidence in Reason: Respect Evidence and Reasoning, and Value Them as Tools for Discovering the Truth	16	(3)
Intellectual Autonomy: Value Independence of Thought	19	(2)
Recognize the Interdependence of Intellectual Virtues	21	(2)
Conclusion	23	(2)
The First Four Stages of Development: At What Level of Thinking Would You Place Yourself?	25	(16)
Stage 1: The Unreflective Thinker	26	(2)
Stage 2: The Challenged Thinker	28	(2)
Stage 3: The Beginning Thinker	30	(4)
Stage 4: The Practicing Thinker	34	(1)
A ``Game Plan'' for Improvement	35	(1)
A Game Plan for Devising a Game Plan	35	(6)
Integrating Strategies One by One	39	(2)
Self-Understanding	41	(12)
Monitor the Egocentrism in Your Thought and Life	42	(1)
Make a Commitment to Fair-Mindedness	43	(1)
Recognize the Mind's Three Distinctive Functions	44	(1)
Understand That You Have a Special Relationship to Your Mind	45	(4)
Connect Academic Subjects to Your Life and Problems	49	(1)
Learn Both Intellectually and Emotionally	50	(3)
The Parts of Thinking	53	(34)
Reasoning Is Everywhere in Human Life	54	(1)
Reasoning Has Parts	55	(2)
A First Look at the Elements of Thought	57	(5)
An Everyday Example: Jack and Jill	60	(1)
Analysis of the Example	61	(1)
How the Parts of Thinking Fit Together	62	(1)
The Relationship Between the Elements	63	(1)
The Best Thinkers Think to Some Purpose	64	(1)
The Best Thinkers Take Command of Concepts	65	(3)
The Best Thinkers Assess Information	68	(5)
Inert Information	68	(1)
Activated Ignorance	69	(1)
Activated Knowledge	70	(3)
The Best Thinkers Distinguish Between Inferences and Assumptions	73	(7)
The Best Thinkers Think-Through Implications	80	(2)
The Best Thinkers Think Across Points of View	82	(2)
The Point of View of the Critical Thinker	84	(1)
Conclusion	85	(2)
The Standards for Thinking	87	(30)
Take a Deeper Look at Universal Intellectual Standards	88	(11)
Clarity	88	(1)
Accuracy	89	(2)
Precision	91	(1)
Relevance	92	(1)
Depth	93	(1)
Breadth	94	(1)
Logicalness	95	(1)
Significance	96	(1)
Fairness	96	(3)
Bring Together the Elements of Reasoning and the Intellectual Standards	99	(7)
Purpose, Goal, or End in View	100	(1)
Question at Issue or Problem to Be Solved	101	(1)
Point of View, or Frame of Reference	102	(1)
Information, Data, Experiences	102	(1)
Concepts, Theories, Ideas	103	(1)
Assumptions	104	(1)
Implications and Consequences	105	(1)
Inferences	105	(1)
Brief Guidelines for Using Intellectual Standards	106	(11)
Ask Questions That Lead To Good Thinking	117	(20)
The Importance of Questioning	118	(1)
Questioning Your Questions	118	(2)
Dead Questions Reflect Inert Minds	120	(1)
Three Categories of Questions	120	(4)
Become a Socratic Questioner	124	(11)
Focus Your Thinking on the Type of Question Being Asked	126	(1)
Focus Your Questions on Universal Intellectual Standards for Thought	127	(2)
Focus Your Questions on the Elements of Thought	129	(2)
Focus Your Questions on Prior Questions	131	(2)
Focus Your Questions on Domains of Thinking	133	(2)
Conclusion	135	(2)
Master the Thinking, Master the Content	137	(10)
Go Beyond Superficial Memorization to Deep Learning	138	(1)
The Relation of Content to Thinking	139	(1)
Understand Content Through Thinking and Thinking-Through Content	140	(7)
All Content Is Organized by Concepts	141	(1)
All Content Is Logically Interdependent	142	(2)
A Caution	144	(3)
Discover How the Best Thinkers Learn	147	(28)
18 Ideas for Improving Your Studies	148	(1)
The Logic of a Typical College Class	149	(5)
Becoming a Skilled Thinker	151	(1)
The Design of a Typical College Class and the Typical College Student	152	(2)
Figure Out the Underlying Concept of Your Courses	154	(1)
Figure Out the Form of Thinking Essential to Courses or Subjects	155	(2)
Think Within the Logic of the Subject	157	(1)
A Case: The Logic of Biochemistry	158	(4)
Make the Design of the Course Work for You	162	(7)
Sample Course: American History, 1600--1800	164	(5)
Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Thinking	169	(1)
Figure Out the Logic of an Article or Essay	170	(2)
Figure Out the Logic of a Textbook	172	(1)
Criteria for Evaluating an Author's Reasoning	173	(2)
Redefine Grades As Levels of Thinking and Learning	175	(10)
Develop Strategies for Self-Assessment	176	(1)
Use Student Profiles to Assess Your Performance	176	(4)
Exemplary Students (Grade of A)	177	(1)
High-Performing Students (Grade of B)	177	(1)
Mixed-Quality Students (Grade of C)	178	(1)
Low-Performing Students (Grade of D or F)	179	(1)
Apply Student Profiles to Assess Your Performance Within Specific Disciplines	180	(3)
Exemplary Thinking as a Student of Psychology (Grade of A)	180	(1)
High-Performing Thinking as a Student of Psychology (Grade of B)	181	(1)
Mixed-Quality Thinking as a Student of Psychology (Grade of C)	181	(1)
Low-Performing Thinking as a Student of Psychology (Grade of D or F)	182	(1)
Conclusion	183	(2)
Make Decisions and Solve Problems	185	(26)
Making Decisions	185	(9)
Evaluating Patterns in Decision-Making	186	(1)
``Big'' Decisions	187	(1)
The Logic of Decision-Making	187	(3)
Dimensions of Decision-Making	190	(1)
The Early Decisions (2-11 Years of Age)	191	(1)
Adolescent Decisions (12-17 Years of Age)	192	(2)
Solving Problems	194	(15)
Becoming an Activist Problem-Solver	194	(2)
Evaluating Patterns in Your Problem-Solving	196	(1)
``Big'' Problems	197	(1)
Dimensions of Problem-Solving	197	(6)
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Problem-Solving	203	(2)
Analyzing Problems Using the Elements of Thought	205	(3)
The Art of Problem-Solving	208	(1)
Conclusion	209	(2)
Deal With Your Irrational Mind	211	(38)
Take Charge of Your Egocentric Nature	212	(26)
Understand Egocentric Thinking	214	(2)
Understand Egocentrism as a Mind Within the Mind	216	(2)
Successful Egocentric Thinking	218	(1)
Unsuccessful Egocentric Thinking	219	(3)
Rational Thinking	222	(4)
Two Egocentric Functions	226	(9)
Pathological Tendencies of the Human Mind	235	(1)
Challenge the Pathological Tendencies of Your Mind	236	(2)
The Challenge of Rationality	238	(1)
Take Charge of Your Sociocentric Tendencies	238	(10)
The Nature of Sociocentrism	240	(3)
Social Stratification	243	(1)
Sociocentric Thinking Is Unconscious and Potentially Dangerous	244	(1)
Sociocentric Uses of Language	245	(1)
Disclose Sociocentric Thinking Through Conceptual Analysis	246	(1)
Reveal Ideology at Work Through Conceptual Analysis	246	(2)
Conclusion	248	(1)
Detect Media Bias and Propaganda in National and World News	249	(42)
Democracy and the News Media	250	(2)
Myths That Obscure the Logic of the News Media	252	(1)
``Objectivity'' in the News Media	252	(5)
Points of View	254	(1)
Forms of Objectivity	255	(2)
The Perception of Bias in the Mainstream	257	(3)
Propaganda and News Story Writing	257	(2)
Protecting the Home Audience from Guilt Feelings	259	(1)
Fostering Sociocentric Thinking	260	(2)
Slanting Stories to Favor Privileged Views	262	(11)
How to Obtain Useful Information from Propaganda and Standard News Stories	265	(1)
Steps in Becoming a Critical Consumer of the ``News''	266	(1)
Media Awareness of Media Bias	267	(3)
The Bias Toward Novelty and Sensationalism	270	(1)
Critical Consumers of the News	271	(1)
Questions for the News Media	272	(1)
Finding Alternative Sources of Information	273	(1)
Becoming an Independent Thinker	274	(14)
Buried, Ignored, or Underreported Stories	276	(11)
Using the Internet	287	(1)
Additional Alternative News Sources	288	(1)
Conclusion	288	(3)
Recognize Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery and Manipulation	291	(46)
Truth and Deception in the Human Mind	292	(1)
Three Types of Thinkers	293	(2)
Uncritical Persons (intellectually unskilled thinkers)	293	(1)
Skilled Manipulators (weak-sense critical thinkers)	293	(1)
Fair-Minded Critical Persons (strong-sense critical thinkers)	294	(1)
The Concept of Fallacies of Thought	295	(3)
Naming Fallacies	296	(1)
Mistakes Versus Fallacies	297	(1)
No Exhaustive List of Fallacies	297	(1)
Faulty Generalizations	298	(3)
Analyzing Generalizations	301	(5)
Post Hoc Generalizations	304	(1)
Analogies and Metaphors	305	(1)
44 Foul Ways to Win an Argument	306	(18)
Fallacy Detection: Analyzing a Speech from the Past	324	(4)
Fallacy Detection: Analyzing a Current Presidential Speech	328	(4)
Fallacy Detection: Analyzing a Speech from a Presidential Candidate	332	(2)
Avoid Two Extremes	334	(1)
Conclusion	335	(2)
Develop as an Ethical Reasoner	337	(22)
Why People Are Confused About Ethics	337	(3)
The Fundamentals of Ethical Reasoning	340	(17)
Ethical Concepts and Principles	341	(3)
The Universal Nature of Ethical Principles	344	(3)
Distinguishing Ethics from Other Domains of Thinking	347	(8)
Understanding Our Native Selfishness	355	(2)
Conclusion	357	(2)
Learn and Use Information Critically and Ethically: Part One: Critique of Disciplines	359	(20)
The Ideal of Knowledge Acquisition	359	(1)
True Loyalty to a Discipline	360	(1)
The Gap Between Fact and Ideal	361	(2)
The Ideal Compared to the Real	363	(1)
The Ideal of Mathematics: Abstract Quantification	364	(3)
The Pain and Suffering of Those Who Fail	365	(1)
Loss of Self-Esteem and Opportunity to Receive Higher Education	365	(1)
Low Level of Math Competency of Those Who Pass School Examinations	366	(1)
The Ideal of Science: Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, Biology	367	(3)
The Ideal of Science: History, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Psychology	370	(4)
The Social Sciences as Taught and Practiced	373	(1)
The Ideal of the Arts and Humanities: Music, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Dance, Literature, Philosophy	374	(3)
The Promise of the Fine Arts and Literature	374	(1)
The Reality of Instruction in the Fine Arts and Literature	374	(1)
The Promise of Philosophy	375	(1)
The Reality of Philosophy	376	(1)
Conclusion	377	(2)
Learn and Use Information Critically and Ethically: Part Two: Method and a Model Case	379	(26)
Realistic Understanding	380	(1)
Be a Critic, Not a Cynic	381	(1)
Recognize the Mental Nature of Knowledge	382	(1)
Develop Awareness of the Harm that Results from Misuse of Information	383	(3)
Question Academic and ``Expert'' Information	386	(2)
Question the Status of Knowledge in a Field	388	(1)
A Model Case: Questioning Psychology and the Mental Health Professions	388	(3)
Psychology as an Ideal	390	(1)
Psychology as Taught and Practiced	390	(1)
The Milgram Experiment	391	(2)
Scientific Studies in Psychology	393	(1)
A Dark Side of the Mental Health Professions	394	(1)
Legitimizing Deeply Held Social Beliefs	395	(4)
Questioning Psychotherapy	399	(2)
Learning from Suspect Claims of Psychology and the Mental Health Professions	401	(1)
Thinking Psychologically: A Postscript	402	(3)
Strategic Thinking: Part One	405	(16)
Understanding and Using Strategic Thinking	405	(3)
Components of Strategic Thinking	408	(1)
The Beginnings of Strategic Thinking	408	(13)
Key Idea #1: Thoughts, Feelings, and Desires Are Interdependent	409	(3)
Key Idea #2: There Is a Logic to This, and You Can Figure It Out	412	(6)
Key Idea #3: For Thinking to Be of High Quality, We Must Routinely Assess It	418	(3)
Strategic Thinking: Part Two	421	(18)
Key Idea #4: Our Native Egocentrism Is a Default Mechanism	421	(4)
Key Idea #5: We Must Become Sensitive to the Egocentrism of Those Around Us	425	(2)
Key Idea #6: The Mind Tends to Generalize Beyond the Original Experience	427	(2)
Key Idea #7: Egocentric Thinking Appears to the Mind as Rational	429	(2)
Key Idea #8: The Egocentric Mind Is Automatic in Nature	431	(1)
Key Idea #9: We Often Pursue Power Through Dominating or Submissive Behavior	432	(2)
Key Idea #10: Humans Are Naturally Sociocentric Animals	434	(2)
Key Idea #11: Developing Rationality Requires Work	436	(1)
Conclusion	437	(2)
Becoming An Advanced Thinker: Our Conclusion	439	(40)
Practicing Skilled Thinking	439	(1)
Stage 5: Reaching the Advanced Stage of Development	440	(3)
Stage 6: Becoming a Master Thinker	443	(1)
Qualities of Mind of a Master Thinker	444	(2)
The Inner Logic of the Master Thinker	446	(1)
The Ideal Thinker	446	(4)
Appendices
A Critical Questions About Critical Thinking	450	(16)
B Sample Analysis of ``The Logic of. . .''	466	(9)
C Article: ``Iraq Is a Pediatrician's Hell: No Way to Stop the Dying''	475	(4)
Glossary	479	(22)
References	501	(2)
Index	503

Excerpts

Whatever you are doing right now is determined by the way you are thinking. Whatever you feel---all your emotions--- are determined by your thinking. Whatever you want---all your desires--- are determined by your thinking. If your thinking is unrealistic, it will lead you to many disappointments. If your thinking is overly pessimistic, it will deny you due recognition of the many things in which you should properly rejoice.Test this idea for yourself. Identify some examples of your strongest feelings or emotions. Then identify the thinking that is correlated with those examples. For example, if youfeelexcited about college, it is because youthinkthat good things will happen to you in college. If you dread going to class, it is probably because you think it will be boring or too difficult.In a similar way, if the quality of your life is not what you would wish it to be, it is most likely because it is tied to the way you think about your life. If you think about it positively, you will feel positively about it. If you think about it negatively, you will feel negative about it.For example, suppose you came to college with the view that college was going to be a lot of fun and you were going to form good friendships with fellow students who would respect and like you and, what is more, that your love life would become interesting and exciting. And let's suppose that hasn't happened. If this were the thrust of your thinking, you now would feel disappointed and maybe even frustrated (depending on how negatively you have interpreted your experience).For most people, thinking is subconscious, never explicitly put into words. For example, most people who think negatively would not say of themselves, "I have chosen to think about myself and my experience in a negative way. I prefer to be as unhappy as I can make myself."The problem is that when you are not aware of your thinking, you have no chance of correcting it if it is poor. When thinking is subconscious, you are in no position to see any problems in it. And, if you don't see any problems in it, you won't be motivated to change it.Since few people realize the powerful role that thinking plays in their lives, few gain significant command of it. Most people are in many ways victims of their thinking, that is,hurtrather thanhelpedby it. Most people are their own worst enemy. Their thinking is a continual source of problems, preventing them from recognizing opportunities, keeping them from exerting energy where it will do the most good, poisoning relationships, and leading them down blind alleys.Or consider your success as a student in college. The single most significant variable in determining that success is the quality of your thinking. If you think well when you study, you will study well. If you think well when you read, you will read well. If you think well when you write, you will write well. And if you study well, read well, and write well, you will do well in college. Certainly your instructors will play a role in your learning. Some of them will do a better job than others of helping you learn. But even the best teachers cannot get into your head and learn for you. Even the best teachers cannot think for you, read for you, or write for you. If you lack the intellectual skills necessary for thinking well through course content, you will not be successful in college.Here is the key question we are putting to you in this book. If the quality of a person's thinking is the single most significant determinant of both their happiness and their success---as it is---why not discover the tools that the best thinkers use and take the time to learn to use them yourself? Perhaps you will not become proficient in all of them, but for every tool you learn there will be a payoff.This book will alert you to the tools the best thinkers use and will exemplify the activities and practice you c