Critical Reasoning and Philosophy A Concise Guide to Reading, Evaluating, and Writing Philosophical Works

by Holowchak, M. Andrew

• ISBN13: 9781442205222
• ISBN10: 1442205229
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-22
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Special Features:

Author Biography

M. Andrew Holowchak is assistant professor of philosophy at Rider University. His research interests are principally in ancient philosophy, philosophy and history of science, Freudian psychoanalysis, critical reasoning, and philosophy of sport. He is the author of multiple books, including Ancient Science and Dreams, Happiness and Greek Ethical Thought, The Stoics, and Critical Reasoning and Science.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introductory Concerns	p. 1
What Is Philosophy?	p. 3
Philosophy & Critical Reasoning	p. 7
Reading Philosophy	p. 11
General Form of a Philosophical Work	p. 13
Four Helpful Steps	p. 19
Evaluating Philosophy	p. 23
Argument Recognition & Reconstruction	p. 25
Elements of Argument Recognition	p. 27
Standard Argument Form	p. 35
Argument Evaluation	p. 43
Setting the Logical Boundaries	p. 45
Conditions of Acceptance & Rejection	p. 51
Three Common Deductive Arguments	p. 55
Common Inductive Arguments	p. 61
Common Fallacies	p. 69
Reconstruction through Diagramming	p. 77
Fundamentals of Diagramming	p. 79
10 Diagrammatical Tips	p. 85
Writing Philosophy	p. 93
Preliminaries for Philosophical Essays	p. 95
13 General Tips for Writing	p. 97
Tips of Avoidance	p. 101
Common Mistakes	p. 109
Writing Philosophical Essays	p. 117
Preparing an Outline	p. 119
Writing a Philosophical Thesis	p. 123
Simple Critical Essay	p. 127
Synthetic Critical Essay	p. 131
Revising & Rewriting Philosophical Essays	p. 135
Motivating a Rewrite	p. 137
Suggestions for Revising and Rewriting Essays	p. 139
Appendices	p. 141
Some Exercises for Diagramming	p. 143
Teacher/Student Comment Sheet	p. 147
Plan-for-Revision Sheet	p. 149
Sources Cited	p. 151
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