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Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions
Introduction
Critical Thinking to the Rescue
The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles
An Example of the Panning-for-Gold Approach
Panning for Gold: Asking Critical Questions
The Myth of the “Right Answer”
The Usefulness of Asking the Question, “Who Cares?”
Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking
The Satisfaction of Using the Panning-for-Gold Approach
Effective Communication and Critical Thinking
The Importance of Practice
The Right Questions
Chapter 2: Critical Thinking Is a Social Activity
Values and Other People
The Primary Values of a Critical Thinker
Thinking and Feelings
Keeping the Conversation Going
Avoiding the Dangers of Groupthink
Chapter 3: What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?
Kinds of Issues
Searching for the Issue
Searching for the Author’s or Speaker’s Conclusion
Using This Critical Question
Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Fred von Lohmann, "Copyright Silliness on Campus"
Chapter 4: What Are the Reasons?
Reasons + Conclusion = Argument
Initiating the Questioning Process
Words That Identify Reasons
Kinds of Reasons
Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
David Horowitz, "College Professors Should Be Made to Teach, Not Preach"
Chapter 5: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
The Confusing Flexibility of Words
Locating Key Terms and Phrases
Checking for Ambiguity
Using This Critical Question
Determining Ambiguity
Context and Ambiguity
Using This Critical Question
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary
Ambiguity and Loaded Language
Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity
Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Summary
Practice Exercises
New York Times editoriall, "Juvenile Injustice"
Chapter 6: What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?
General Guide for Identifying Assumptions
Value Conflicts and Assumptions
From Values to Value Assumptions
Typical Value Conflicts
The Communicator’s Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions
Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions
More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions
Avoiding a Typical Difficulty When Identifying Value Assumptions
Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own
Using This Critical Question
Values and Relativism
Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions
Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions
Using this Critical Question
Clues for Locating Assumptions
Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions
Assumptions and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Religion News Blog, "Should We Legalize Marijuana?"
Chapter 7: Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?
A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies
Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point
Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies
Looking for Diversions
Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question
Using This Critical Question
Summary of Reasoning Errors
Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies
Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Practice Exercises
Jacob Sullum, "Gun Control Non Sequiturs"
Chapter 8: How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?
The Need for Evidence
Locating Factual Claims
Sources of Evidence
Intuition as Evidence
Dangers of Appealing to Personal Experience as Evidence
Testimonials as Evidence
Appeals to Authority as Evidence
Problems with Citers Citing Other Citers
Using This Critical Question
Summary
Practice Exercises
Isabel Lyman, "Homeschooling Comes of Age"
Chapter 9: How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, Case Examples, and Analogies?
Personal Observation
Research Studies as Evidence
Generalizing from the Research Sample
Biased Surveys and Questionnaires
Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument
Case Examples as Evidence
Analogies as Evidence
Identifying and Comprehending Analogies
Evaluation Analogies
Summary
Practice Exercises
Neela Banerjee, "Americans Change Faiths as Rising Rate, Report Finds"
Chapter 10 Are There Rival Causes?
When to Look for Rival Causes
The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes
Detecting Rival Causes
The Cause or A Cause
Rival Causes and Scientific Research
Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups
Confusing Causation with Association
Confusing “After this” with “Because of this”
Explaining Individual Events or Acts
Evaluating Rival Causes
Using This Critical Question
Evidence and Your Own Writing and Speaking
Summary
Practice Exercises
Cathy Arnst, "The World According to Disney"
Chapter 11: Are the Statistics Deceptive?
Unknowable and Biased Statistics
Confusing Averages
Concluding One Thing, Proving Another
Deceiving by Omitting Information
Risk Statistics and Omitted Information
Summary
Practice Exercises
Buddy T, About.com Guide, "College Drinking, Drug Use Grows More Extreme"
Chapter 12: What Significant Information Is Omitted?
The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information
The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning
Questions that Identify Omitted Information
The Importance of the Negative View
Omitted Information That Remains Missing
Using This Critical Question
Practice Exercises
Radley Balko, "Back to 18?"
Chapter 13: What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?
Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions
Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions
Two Sides or Many?
Searching for Multiple Conclusions
The Productivity of If-Clauses
Alternative Solutions as Conclusions
The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions
All Conclusions Are Not Created Equal
Summary
Practice Exercises
Maryann Bird, "Should We Stop Eating Meat to Help the Planet?"
Chapter 14: Overcoming Obstacles to Critical thinkingOvercoming Obstacles to Critical Thinking
Reviewing Famnilair Obstacles
Mental Habits That Betray Us
The Seductive Quality of Personal Experience
Belief in a Just World
Stereotypes
The Urge to Simplify
Belief Perseverance
Availability Heuristic
Wishful Thinking
Chapter 15: Should We Protect Children from Advertising?
Rebecca A. Clay, "Advertising to Children: Is It Ethical?"
Dale Kunkel and Brian Wilcox, "Television Advertising Leads to Unhealthy Habits in Children; Say APA Task Force"
Cam Beck, "Taking Responsibility for Our McActions"
Lisa Tiffin, "How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising"
Susan E. Linn, "Food Marketing to Children in the Context of a Marketing Maelstrom"
Essay Questions
Chapter 16: What Is the Proper Role of Government in Improving the Quality of Families in Our Culture?
Stephanie Coontz, "Taking Marriage Private"
"Swedish Top Lawyer Wants to Legalize Polygamy..."
Peg Tittle, "We License Plumbers and Pilots - Why Not Parents?"
Lizette Alvarez, "Jens and Vita, but Molli? Danes Favor Common Names"
Malcolm Potts, "China's One Child Policy: The Policy That Changed the World"
RIchard Posner, "The Regulation of the Market in Adoption"
Essay Questions
Chapter 17: What is the Secret to Happiness?
Arthur Max and Toby Sterling, "Researchers: Choices Spawn Happiness"
Matthew Herper, "Money Won't Buy You Happiness"
Steve Ross and Olivia Rosewood, "How to Find True Happiness"
Jonathon Clements, "Down the Tube: The Sad Stats on Happiness, Money and TV"
William R. Mattox, Jr., "Does Faith Promote Happiness?"
John Lanchester, "Pursuing Happiness: Two Scholars Explore the Fragility of Contentment"
Essay Questions
Chapter 17: In What Ways Can the Media Influence Society and What Can We Do About It?
Carrie McLaren, "The Media Doesn't Influence Us...Except When It Does"
Geena Davis, "Children's Media Skew Gender"
Katie Strickland, "Media Isn't Feeding Social Ills"
Ross Gelbspan, "Snowed: Why Is the US News Media Silent on Global Warming?"
Dan Gainor and Amy Menefee, "CNN's Global Warming Special Typifies Liberal Bias of Climate Coverage"
Elmar Etzersdorfer and Gernot Sonneck, "Preventing Suicide by Influencing Mass-Media Reporting: The Viennese Experience 1980-1996"
Essay Questions
Chapter 18: What role does physical appearance play in our lives?
Keith Morrison, "Face Value Hidden Camera Investigation: Do Looks Really Matter?"
Daniel Schweimler, "Argentina: Ugly People Strike Back"
Maggie Stehr, "Study Credits Attractive People with Longer Life"
Susan Kane, "Preparing Children for Plastic Surgery"
Scott Reeves, "Good Looks, Good Pay?"
Henry Wijsbek, "The Pursuit of Beauty"
Essay Questions
Credits
Index
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