Asking the Right Questions : A Guide to Critical Thinking

by Browne, M. Neil; Keeley, Stuart M.

• ISBN13: 9780131829930
• ISBN10: 0131829939
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Guide to critical thinking for students. Includes revised text and Companion Website, new practice passages, rewritten chapters, and an emphasis on the positive dimensions of critical thinking. Previous edition: c2001. Softcover. DLC: Criticism.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions	1	(14)
Introduction	1	(1)
Critical Thinking to the Rescue	2	(1)
The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles	3	(2)
An Example of the Panning-for-Gold Approach	5	(2)
Panning for Gold: Asking Critical Questions	7	(1)
The Myth of the ``Right Answer''	7	(1)
Thinking and Feeling	8	(1)
The Efficiency of Asking the Question, ``Who Cares?''	9	(1)
Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking	10	(1)
The Satisfaction of Using the Panning-for-Gold Approach	11	(1)
Trying Out New Answers	11	(1)
Effective Communication and Critical Thinking	12	(1)
The Importance of Practice	12	(1)
The Right Questions	13	(2)
What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?	15	(10)
Kinds of Issues	16	(1)
Searching for the Issue	17	(1)
Searching for the Author's or Speaker's Conclusion	18	(1)
Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion	19	(2)
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking	21	(1)
Practice Exercises	22	(3)
What Are the Reasons?	25	(12)
Reasons + Conclusion = Argument	26	(1)
Initiating the Questioning Process	27	(2)
Words That Identify Reasons	29	(1)
Kinds of Reasons	29	(2)
Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight	31	(2)
Reasons First, Then Conclusions	33	(1)
``Fresh'' Reasons and Your Growth	33	(1)
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking	34	(1)
Practice Exercises	34	(3)
What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?	37	(16)
The Confusing Flexibility of Words	38	(1)
Locating Key Terms and Phrases	39	(1)
Checking for Ambiguity	40	(1)
Determining Ambiguity	41	(2)
Context and Ambiguity	43	(2)
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary	45	(2)
Ambiguity and Loaded Language	47	(1)
Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity	48	(1)
Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking	48	(1)
Summary	49	(1)
Practice Exercises	50	(3)
What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?	53	(18)
General Guide for Identifying Assumptions	55	(1)
Value Conflicts and Assumptions	55	(1)
Discovering Values	56	(2)
From Values to Value Assumptions	58	(1)
Typical Value Conflicts	59	(2)
The Communicator's Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions	61	(1)
Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions	61	(1)
More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions	62	(1)
Avoiding a Typical Difficulty When Identifying Value Assumptions	63	(1)
Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own	64	(3)
Values and Relativism	67	(1)
Summary	67	(1)
Practice Exercises	67	(4)
What Are the Descriptive Assumptions?	71	(12)
Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions	72	(2)
Clues for Locating Assumptions	74	(3)
Applying the Clues	77	(1)
Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions	78	(1)
Assumptions and Your Own Writing and Speaking	79	(1)
Summary	79	(1)
Practice Exercises	80	(3)
Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?	83	(20)
A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies	85	(1)
Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point	85	(3)
Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies	88	(6)
Looking for Diversions	94	(2)
Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question	96	(1)
Summary of Reasoning Errors	97	(1)
Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies	98	(1)
Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking	99	(1)
Practice Exercises	99	(4)
How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?	103	(14)
The Need for Evidence	104	(1)
Locating Factual Claims	105	(1)
Sources of Evidence	106	(1)
Intuition as Evidence	107	(1)
Dangers of Appealing to Personal Experience as Evidence	108	(1)
Personal Testimonials as Evidence	109	(1)
Appeals to Authority as Evidence	110	(3)
Summary	113	(1)
Practice Exercises	114	(3)
How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, Case Examples, and Analogies?	117	(20)
Personal Observation	117	(1)
Research Studies as Evidence	118	(5)
Generalizing from the Research Sample	123	(1)
Biased Surveys and Questionnaires	124	(3)
Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument	127	(1)
Case Examples as Evidence	128	(1)
Analogies as Evidence	129	(4)
Summary	133	(1)
Practice Exercises	133	(4)
Are There Rival Causes?	137	(18)
When to Look for Rival Causes	138	(1)
The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes	139	(3)
Detecting Rival Causes	142	(1)
The Cause or A Cause	142	(1)
Rival Causes and Scientific Research	143	(2)
Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups	145	(1)
Confusing Causation with Association	146	(2)
Strong Support for a Cause	148	(1)
Confusing ``After this'' with ``Because of this''	148	(2)
Explaining Individual Events or Acts	150	(1)
Evaluating Rival Causes	151	(1)
Evidence and Your Own Writing and Speaking	152	(1)
Summary	152	(1)
Practice Exercises	152	(3)
Are the Statistics Deceptive?	155	(10)
Unknowable and Biased Statistics	156	(1)
Confusing Averages	156	(2)
Concluding One Thing, Proving Another	158	(1)
Deceiving by Omitting Information	159	(1)
Risk Statistics and Omitted Information	160	(1)
Summary	161	(1)
Practice Exercises	162	(3)
What Significant Information Is Omitted?	165	(14)
The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information	166	(1)
The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning	166	(1)
Questions That Identify Omitted Information	167	(5)
The Importance of the Negative View	172	(1)
Omitted Information That Remains Missing	173	(1)
Missing Information and Your Own Writing and Speaking	174	(1)
Practice Exercises	174	(5)
What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?	179	(12)
Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions	180	(1)
Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions	180	(1)
Two Sides or Many?	181	(2)
Searching for Multiple Conclusions	183	(1)
Productivity of If-Clauses	184	(1)
Alternative Solutions as Conclusions	185	(1)
The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions	186	(1)
Summary	186	(1)
Practice Exercises	187	(4)
Practice and Review	191	(12)
Question Checklist for Critical Thinking	191	(1)
Asking the Right Questions: A Comprehensive Example	192	(2)
What Are the Issue and Conclusion?	194	(1)
What Are the Reasons?	194	(1)
What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?	195	(1)
What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?	196	(1)
What Are the Descriptive Assumptions?	196	(1)
Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?	197	(1)
How Good Is the Evidence?	198	(1)
Are There Rival Causes?	199	(1)
Are the Statistics Deceptive?	199	(1)
What Significant Information Is Omitted?	200	(1)
What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?	201	(2)
Final Word	203	(2)
The Tone of Your Critical Thinking	203	(1)
Strategies for Effective Critical Thinking	204	(1)
Index	205

Excerpts

As a book ages, it becomes less and less the product of its original authors. The success ofAsking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinkingis a tribute to the sound advice we have received from the many readers who thought we could do better next time around and who told us so. In fact, one of our biggest challenges has been to pick and choose from among the suggestions. Always uppermost in our mind has been the desire to retain the primary attributes ofAsking the Right Questions,while adjusting to new emphases in our own thought and the evolving needs of our readers. For instance, while we can always think of dozens of additions that would, we believe, enhance new editions ofAsking the Right Questions,we want most of all to keep the book readable and short. We are willing to pay the price of omitting several things that would be apposite in a more weighty treatment of critical thinking because those who adopt or learn fromAsking the Right Questionshave noted the crispness and cohesion of our approach so frequently. Individual readers who do not see their suggestions included will surely understand that writing for a general audience requires us to omit many valuable components that we would certainly include were we writing for a more specialized group of readers. This new edition, like its predecessors, has been modified while retaining basic framework of a simplified guide to critical thinking. Several new practice passages have been inserted. In addition, we have completely rewritten the fallacies chapter to make it more coherent and to provide new illustrations. But what is particularly fresh about the seventh edition are three new foci: Emphasizing the positive dimensions of critical thinking so that users will be more eager to use the skills and attitudes they are learning; Reminding readers frequently that each skill is but one part of a critical and constructive process that should culminate in tentative commitment; and Creating a Web site containing multiple, diverse practice opportunities. Learning critical thinking is neither simple nor easy. But even after critical thinking has been learned to some degree, there is still the challenge of desiring to use a process that can often be seen as rude, mean, or arrogant. None of us wishes to exhibit habits of mind that brand us as obnoxious. Yet at the same time, we do not want to base our behavior solely on the reactions of others to it; otherwise, we would just be a puppet of the crowd. So we need to frame critical thinking in a manner that emphasizes its role in assisting us to make decisions that are both more reflective and caring as well. We learn critical thinking to be helpful to ourselves and to others. Critical thinking prevents us from courses of action that are inconsistent with whom we want to become. In addition, it assists others who are seeking beliefs and commitments built on relatively sound structures of reasoning. In those regards, critical thinking can be an act of friendship, moving others toward more reasonable beliefs and actions. The seventh edition tries to make that point in several contexts. The second new focus in this edition is based on the fear that learning individual steps in any process can prevent our appreciation of the power of the entire process wherein all the steps are used in tandem.Asking the Right Questionsbuilds the critical-thinking process one step at a time; each chapter introduces a particular critical-thinking skill. Subsequent chapters then add to the list of accumulating critical-thinking skills. But the entire rationale for learning the steps of critical thinking is to get ready to use them as a package, a cohesive assemblage of complementary abilities. Using the entire process of critical thinking is the most rewarding pathway to finding better arguments. Finally, one thing that our readers request again