Critical Thinking

by Moore, Brooke Noel; Parker, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781559348362
• ISBN10: 1559348364
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-08-01
• Publisher: Mayfield Pub Co

Table of Contents

Preface	iii
PART 1: Introduction	1	(68)
Chapter 1: What Is Critical Thinking?	3	(28)
Claims and Critical Thinking	5	(3)
Issues and Arguments	8	(4)
Identifying the Issue	9	(2)
Settling an Issue Through Argument	11	(1)
Facts and Opinions	12	(4)
Objective and Subjective Claims	13	(1)
"Everyone's Entitled..."	14	(1)
Beliefs, Opinions, Views, Convictions, Prejudices	15	(1)
A Note About Feelings	16	(15)
Chapter 2: Critical Thinking and Clear Writing	31	(38)
Organization and Focus	32	(4)
Principles of Organization	32	(1)
Good Writing Practices	33	(1)
Essay Types to Avoid	34	(2)
Clarity in Writing	36	(23)
Defining Terms	38	(3)
Ambiguous Claims	41	(8)
Vague Claims	49	(2)
Claims That Make Comparisons	51	(8)
Persuasive Writing	59	(2)
Writing in a Diverse Society	61	(8)
PART 2: Claims	69	(170)
Chapter 3: Evaluating Informative Claims	71	(27)
Assessing the Content of the Claim	71	(8)
Does the Claim Conflict with Our Personal Observations?	71	(4)
Does the Claim Conflict with Our Background Knowledge?	75	(4)
Assessing the Credibility of the Source	79	(19)
Experts	80	(4)
Eyewitness Observers	84	(1)
Reference Works	84	(1)
Government Publications	84	(1)
The News Media	85	(2)
The Internet	87	(11)
Chapter 4: Nonargumentative Persuasion	98	(36)
Slanters	99	(18)
Euphemisms and Dysphemisms	100	(2)
Persuasive Comparisons, Definitions, and Explanations	102	(3)
Stereotypes	105	(1)
Innuendo	106	(1)
Loaded Questions	107	(1)
Weaselers	108	(1)
Downplayers	109	(2)
Hyperbole	111	(1)
Proof Surrogates	112	(5)
Information Tailoring and the News	117	(9)
Where Does the News Come From?	117	(4)
Who Pays for the News?	121	(2)
Who Listens to the News?	123	(3)
Advertising	126	(8)
Chapter 5: Pseudoreasoning I	134	(31)
Smokescreen Red Herring	135	(1)
The Subjectivist Fallacy	136	(2)
Appeal to Belief	138	(1)
Common Practice	139	(2)
Peer Pressure and the Bandwagon	141	(1)
Wishful Thinking	142	(1)
Scare Tactics	143	(1)
Appeal to Pity	144	(1)
Appeal Polishing	145	(1)
Horse Laugh Ridicule Sarcasm	146	(1)
Appeal to Anger or Indignation	147	(2)
Two Wrongs Make a Right	149	(16)
Chapter 6: Pseudoreasoning II	165	(36)
Ad Hominem	165	(3)
Personal Attack	166	(1)
Circumstantial Ad Hominem	166	(1)
Pseudorefutation	167	(1)
Poisoning the Well	168	(1)
Genetic Fallacy	168	(1)
Burden of Proof	169	(3)
Straw Man	172	(2)
False Dilemma	174	(3)
Perfectionist Fallacy	176	(1)
Line-Drawing Fallacy	176	(1)
Slippery Slope	177	(2)
Begging the Question	179	(22)
Chapter 7: Explanations	201	(38)
Explanations and Arguments	201	(3)
Explanations and Justifications	204	(5)
Kinds of Explanations	209	(9)
Physical Explanations	209	(3)
Behavioral Explanations	212	(3)
Functional Explanations	215	(3)
Spotting Weak Explanations	218	(7)
Testability	219	(1)
Noncircularity	220	(1)
Relevance	220	(1)
Freedom from Excessive Vagueness	221	(1)
Reliability	221	(1)
Explanatory Power	221	(1)
Freedom from Unnecessary Assumptions	222	(1)
Consistency with Well-Established Theory	222	(2)
Absence of Alternative Explanations	224	(1)
Explanatory Comparisons (Analogies)	225	(14)
PART 3: Arguments	239	(214)
Chapter 8: Understanding and Evaluating Arguments	241	(35)
The Anatomy of Arguments	241	(8)
Good and Bad, Valid and Invalid, Strong and Weak	249	(3)
Deduction and Induction	252	(3)
Unstated Premises	255	(2)
Identifying Unstated Premises	257	(3)
Techniques for Understanding Arguments	260	(5)
Clarifying an Argument's Structure	261	(3)
Distinguishing Arguments from Window Dressing	264	(1)
Evaluating Arguments	265	(11)
Do the Premises Support the Conclusion?	265	(1)
Are the Premises Reasonable?	266	(10)
Chapter 9: Deductive Arguments I: Categorical Logic	276	(34)
Categorical Claims	277	(10)
Venn Diagrams	278	(1)
Translation into Standard Form	279	(6)
The Square of Opposition	285	(2)
Three Categorical Operations	287	(6)
Conversion	287	(1)
Obversion	288	(1)
Contraposition	289	(4)
Categorical Syllogisms	293	(17)
The Venn Diagram Method of Testing for Validity	296	(6)
The Rules Method of Testing for Validity	302	(8)
Chapter 10: Deductive Arguments II: Truth-Functional Logic	310	(46)
Truth Tables and the Truth-Functional Symbols	311	(13)
Claim Variables	311	(1)
Truth Tables	311	(6)
Symbolizing Compound Claims	317	(7)
Truth-Functional Arguments	324	(9)
Deductions	333	(23)
Group I Rules: Elementary Valid Argument Patterns	333	(6)
Group II Rules: Truth-Functional Equivalences	339	(7)
Conditional Proof	346	(10)
Chapter 11: Inductive Arguments	356	(30)
Analogical Arguments	357	(6)
Inductive Generalizations	363	(14)
Representativeness and Bias	364	(2)
Sample Size, Error Margin, and Confidence Level	366	(4)
Criteria and Fallacies of Inductive Generalization	370	(3)
Untrustworthy Polls	373	(4)
Playing by the Numbers	377	(9)
Chapter 12: Causal Arguments	386	(32)
Causation Among Specific Events	386	(3)
The Difference Between Two Events, or X Is the Difference	387	(1)
The Common Thread Between Two Events, or X Is the Common Thread	388	(1)
Four Common Types of Weak Causal Arguments	389	(9)
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc	390	(1)
Ignoring a Possible Common Cause	391	(1)
Assuming a Common Cause	391	(1)
Reversing Causation	392	(6)
Causation in Populations	398	(9)
Controlled Cause-to-Effect Experiments	398	(5)
Nonexperimental Cause-to-Effect Studies	403	(2)
Nonexperimental Effect-to-Cause Studies	405	(2)
Appeal to Anecdotal Evidence	407	(11)
Chapter 13: Moral, Legal, and Aesthetic Reasoning	418	(35)
Moral Reasoning	418	(16)
Descriptive and Prescriptive Moral Claims	419	(5)
Consistency and Fairness	424	(3)
Major Perspectives in Moral Reasoning	427	(6)
Moral Deliberation	433	(1)
Legal Reasoning	434	(5)
Legal Reasoning and Moral Reasoning Compared	435	(1)
Two Types of Legal Studies: Justifying Laws and Interpreting Laws	435	(2)
The Role of Precedent in Legal Reasoning	437	(2)
Aesthetic Reasoning	439	(14)
Eight Aesthetic Principles	439	(2)
Using Aesthetic Principles to Judge Aesthetic Value	441	(2)
Evaluating Aesthetic Criticism: Relevance and Truth	443	(2)
Why Reason Aesthetically?	445	(8)
Appendix 1: Conflicting Claims	453	(6)
Appendix 2: Analytic Claims	459	(4)
Appendix 3: Some Common Patterns of Deductive Arguments	463	(9)
Glossary	472	(10)
Answers, Suggestions, and Tips for Triangle Exercises	482	(62)
Essays for Analysis	544	(29)
Selection 1: Bonnie and Clyde	544	(1)
EDWARD C. KRUC
Selection 2: Will Ozone Blob Devour the Earth?	545	(2)
Selections 3a and 3b: USA TODAY, Equal Treatment Is Real Issue--Not Marriage	547	(1)
THE REV. LOUIS P. SHELDON, Gay Marriage "Unnatural"	548	(2)
DON EDWARDS
Selection 4: Shorten Federal Jail Time	550	(1)
MICHELLE LOCKE
Selection 5: The Death Penalty	551	(2)
Selections 6a and 6b: USA TODAY, Clean Needles Benefit Society	553	(1)
PETER B. GEMMA JR.
Programs Don't Make Sense	554	(1)
Selections 7a and 7b: USA TODAY, Make Fast Food Smoke-Free	555	(1)
BRENNAN M. DAWSON
Don't Overreact to Smoke	556	(1)
Selections 8a and 8b: USA TODAY, Buying Notes Makes Sense at Lost-in-Crowd Campuses	557	(1)
Buying or Selling Notes Is Wrong	558	(1)
Selections 9a and 9b: USA TODAY, Next, Comprehensive Reform of Gun Laws	559	(1)
ALAN M. GOTTLIEB
Gun Laws Are No Answer	560	(1)
Selections 10a and 10b: USA TODAY, How Can School Prayer Possibly Hurt? Here's How	561	(1)
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS
We Need More Prayer	562	(1)
BARBARA EHRENREICH
Selection 11: Planet of the White Guys	563	(2)
JOANNE JACOBS
Selection 12: Do Women Really Need Affirmative Action?	565	(2)
Selection 13: FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, In Defense of a Little Virginity	567	(6)
Credits	573	(1)
Index	574