Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User Friendly Manual

by Diestler, Sherry

• ISBN13: 9780130289223
• ISBN10: 0130289221
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

For courses in Critical Thinking, Informal Logic, Rhetoric, Argumentation, and English courses which cover the Argumentative Essay. This text trains students to distinguish high-quality, well-supported arguments from arguments with little or no evidence to support them. It develops the skills required to effectively evaluate the many claims facing them as citizens, learners, consumers, and human beings, and also to be effective advocates for their beliefs.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Foundations of Arguments	1	(21)
What Is a Critical Thinker and When Do You Need to Be One?
The Structure of Argument	3	(19)
The Issue	4	(3)
The Conclusion	7	(2)
The Reasons	9	(4)
``War on Drugs Fails: We Need New Approach''	13	(1)
``Cause, Not the Effect''	14	(1)
``Nothing Positive in Airbag News''	14	(2)
Highlights	16	(1)
Checkup	16	(1)
Articles for Discussion	17	(1)
``Talk-Show Host Angers Disabled Community''	17	(2)
``Radio Show on Rights of Disabled Defended''	19	(2)
More Ideas for Writing or Speaking	21	(1)
Values and Ethics	22	(37)
What Price Ethics and Can You Afford Not to Pay?
``Question Man: Fictional Character You Admire Most?''	23	(1)
Value Assumptions and Conflicts	24	(10)
``Do Colleges Treat Asian-American Applicants Fairly?''	28	(1)
``Affirmative Action Triumphs: The Untold Stories''	29	(2)
``The Backlash of Affirmative Action''	31	(2)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	33	(1)
Ethics---An Important Dimension of Values	34	(6)
Libertarianism	35	(1)
Utilitarianism	35	(1)
Egalitarianism	36	(1)
Judeo-Christian Principles	36	(1)
Universal Ethical Norms or Universal Action-Guiding Principles	37	(1)
``One Bandit's Ethic''	37	(1)
``Staffer Gets Subpoenaed''	38	(2)
Ideal Values Versus Real Values	40	(2)
Ethics in Argumentation	42	(1)
Ethical Decision Making	43	(16)
``Common Rationalizations''	46	(3)
``Ohio Reverend, Feeding Poor with Illegal Stamps, Faces Jail''	49	(1)
Highlights	50	(1)
Checkup	50	(1)
Articles for Discussion	51	(1)
``National Public Radio''	51	(2)
``Music, to Wal-Mart's Ears, Should Be 'Clean'''	53	(2)
``Student Markets Primer on the Art of Cheating''	55	(2)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	57	(2)
Reality Assumptions	59	(38)
It's Eleven O'Clock. Do You Know Where Your Assumptions Are?
Reality Assumptions	60	(1)
Detecting Reality Assumptions	61	(2)
The Need to Examine Assumptions	63	(6)
``Acquittal Outrages Women''	67	(2)
Deductive Reasoning	69	(4)
Validity in Deductive Arguments: Using the Correct Form	70	(3)
Truth in Deductive Arguments	73	(2)
The Uses of Deductive Reasoning	75	(7)
Using Deductive Reasoning to Discover Truth	76	(3)
Using Deductive Reasoning to Combat Prejudice and Stereotyping	79	(2)
Summary	81	(1)
The Premise of Contention: Using Deduction to Understand Argument	82	(15)
Highlights	84	(1)
Checkup	85	(1)
Articles for Discussion	85	(1)
``Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space''	85	(4)
``Is This the Promised Land?''	89	(4)
``Wasted Food, Discovered Souls''	93	(2)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	95	(1)
``The Ant and the Grasshopper''	96	(1)
Inductive Arguments: Statistical And Causal Generalizations	97	(42)
Prove It to Me: What Are the Statistics?
Inductive Reasoning	98	(4)
Statistical Evidence	102	(1)
The Use of Statistics	102	(3)
``Sexual Diseases Are a Growing Scourge in the U.S.''	104	(1)
How the Research is Done	105	(6)
The Sample Must Be Large Enough	106	(2)
The Sample Must Represent the Target Audience	108	(1)
The Sample Must Be Random	108	(1)
Questions to Ask About Statistical Reports	109	(2)
Using Surveys as Evidence	111	(1)
Statistical Generalizations	112	(1)
``At a Lecture---Only 12 Percent Listen''	113	(1)
The Reporting of Statistical Studies	113	(2)
``Family Members, Not Strangers, Abduct Most Children''	14
Causal Generalizations	115	(1)
``Ann Landers''	115	(1)
Hume's Conditions for Cause and Effect	116	(1)
Technical Causation	116	(9)
Multiple Causes	118	(3)
``Asian Women in U.S. Face Higher Cancer Risk''	121	(1)
``Self-Segregation''	122	(1)
``Curb Teen Smoking by Valuing Kids''	123	(1)
Immediate Causes	124	(1)
Mill's Analysis of Cause and Effect	125	(2)
Method of Agreement	125	(1)
Method of Difference	126	(1)
Using Difference and Similarity Together to Determine Cause	127	(12)
Highlights	128	(1)
Checkup	128	(1)
Articles for Discussion	129	(1)
``Despite Options on Census, Many to Check 'Black' Only''	129	(4)
``Researchers Practice the Science and Art of Public-Opinion Polling''	133	(4)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	137	(1)
Longer-Term Writing Assignment	138	(1)
Inductive Generalizations: Controlled Studies and Analogies	139	(43)
Who Said So? Who Are They Anyway?
Research Design	141	(1)
Criteria for Evaluating Research Findings	142	(6)
Controversy in Research Findings	148	(6)
``Study Implies Nicotine Prevents Alzheimer's''	150	(2)
``Sickening Experiment on Human Subjects''	152	(2)
Use of Authority: Expert Testimony	154	(4)
``An Opinion with Substance''	157	(1)
Problems with Expert Testimony	158	(10)
``CBS News---48 Hours''	165	(3)
Reasoning by Analogy	168	(14)
Highlights	171	(1)
Checkup	171	(1)
Articles for Discussion	172	(1)
``Food News Blues''	172	(6)
``Study: Educational TV Truly Makes Kids Smarter''	178	(2)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	180	(2)
Reasoning Errors	182	(37)
I Know What I Think. Don't Confuse Me with Facts
Inadequate Reasons as Fallacies	183	(18)
Faulty Analogies	183	(4)
False Cause: Post Hoc Ergo Procter Hoc	187	(2)
Ad Hominem: Attacking the Person	189	(4)
The Slippery Slope	193	(2)
Hasty Conclusions	195	(6)
Fallacies that Mislead	201	(9)
The Red Herring	201	(1)
Ad Populum: Jumping on the Bandwagon	202	(2)
Appeal to Tradition: ``We've Always Done It This Way''	204	(1)
The False Dilemma	205	(2)
Begging the Question	207	(3)
What's My Fallacy?	210	(9)
Game rules	210	(1)
Scoring	210	(1)
Highlights	211	(1)
Checkup	211	(1)
Articles for Discussion	212	(1)
``Ashamed of Strug's Sacrifice''	212	(1)
``Kerri Strug Made Reader Cheer''	213	(1)
``Keep Women Off the Streets''	213	(1)
``Who's to Say Who Earns Too Much?''	214	(2)
``Sowell Column Got It All Wrong''	216	(2)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	218	(1)
The Power of Language	219	(34)
Talk Is Not Cheap. So Who Pays for It?
Denotation and Connotation	220	(3)
The Power of Connotation	223	(2)
Reification: When Words Take on More Power Than Reality	225	(3)
Meanings are in People	228	(4)
``Case Closed: Bladder Threat, Not Bomb''	229	(2)
``Sure I'm Committed...Oops...Bye-Bye''	231	(1)
The Problem of Vagueness	232	(2)
Ambiguity in Language	234	(2)
Doublespeak, Including Weasel Words	236	(17)
Highlights	244	(1)
Checkup	244	(1)
Articles for Discussion	245	(1)
``African-American' Is an Imprecise, Debatable Term''	245	(2)
``What's in a Name?''	247	(1)
``Free-Range? Sorting Out the Poultry Labels''	248	(3)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	251	(2)
Suggestion in Media	253	(37)
Is What You See What You Get? Do You Really Want It?
``The Lost Art of the Public Speech''	254	(1)
Suggestion in Daily Life	255	(1)
Televised Suggestion	256	(8)
The Selection of Issues	256	(2)
The Time Factor	258	(1)
The Selection of Guest and Panel Members	259	(1)
What Is Included or Excluded on a Set	260	(1)
The Nonverbal Element of Clothing	261	(1)
The Use of Language	262	(1)
Camera Angles and Cuts	262	(1)
Camera Distance and Framing	263	(1)
Suggestion in Print Media	264	(5)
The Use of Headlines	265	(1)
``Report on Chocolate May Bring a Real High''	266	(1)
The Balance of Reporting on an Issue	267	(1)
Fairness in Editorial Essays and Letters	267	(1)
Photo Composition	268	(1)
The Power of Media to Shape Information	269	(4)
``'Kids' Section Portrays Lorene Unfairly''	270	(3)
Subliminal Persuasion	273	(17)
Persuasion We Can Detect	274	(1)
The Gestalt Principle	274	(2)
Persuasion We Cannot Detect	276	(1)
Highlights	277	(1)
Checkup	277	(1)
Articles for Discussion	278	(1)
``Store Design and Consumer Behavior''	278	(2)
``When Movies Go to War, Pentagon Tags Along''	280	(1)
``Survey Comes Clean About Sex on Soap Operas''	281	(2)
``Prelude to Vegas''	283	(4)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	287	(3)
Fair-Mindedness	290	(38)
It's You and Me, Kid, and I'm Not So Sure About You
How we Defend Our Egos	293	(5)
Conformity and ways to Overcome it	298	(3)
Areas where we have Trouble Being Rational	301	(5)
Antidotes for Points of Logical Vulnerability	303	(3)
Actively and Accurately Listening: Developing Empathy	306	(1)
The Art of Listening Well	307	(4)
Precautions About Active Listening	311	(17)
Highlights	312	(1)
Checkup	313	(1)
Articles for Discussion	313	(1)
``The Lock: They Argue and I Argue Back. But I Never Seem to Win. The Key: Listen---Just Listen, and You'll Start to Win''	314	(1)
``It Happened''	315	(2)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	317	(1)
Articles for Discussion	317	(1)
``You Just Don't Understand''	317	(3)
``Life on the Color Line''	320	(2)
``Breakfast and Tousled Cornrows''	322	(3)
Ideas for Writing or Speaking	325	(3)
Persuasive Speaking	328	(29)
What's Your Point? How Do You Sharpen It?
Being an Advocate of Ideas: Communicating Publicly	329	(1)
The Best Ways to Deal With Fear of Public Speaking	330	(1)
Audience Analysis	331	(2)
The Three Elements of a Persuasive Argument: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos	333	(24)
Ethos: Speaker Credibility	333	(1)
Logos: Logical Organization and Credible Content	334	(3)
``Organ Donation and Transplants''	337	(4)
Pathos: Emotional Appeal	341	(3)
Highlights	344	(1)
Checkup	345	(1)
Articles for Discussion	345	(1)
``Speak for Yourself''	345	(3)
``Changing a Man's Mind''	348	(2)
``I Have a Dream''	350	(3)
Ideas for Speaking or Writing	353	(4)
Glossary	357	(6)
Index	363