Making Your Mind Matter Strategies for Increasing Practical Intelligence

by Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan

• ISBN13: 9780742514638
• ISBN10: 0742514633
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-07
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Making Your Mind Matter is a practical guide to effective thinking in college and in everyday life, following the WISE model (Wonder, Investigate, Speculate, Evaluate).

Author Biography

Vincent Ryan Ruggiero is internationally recognized as a pioneer in the movement to make creative and critical thinking a central emphasis in education. The author of nineteen books and more than seventy-five articles, he is professor emeritus of humanities at the State University of New York, Delhi.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Neglect of the Mind	xiii
American education has neglected students' minds for a century and everyone has been affected. Knowing how this tragedy happened is the first step toward reversing its effects in your life.
The Influence of Positivism	xv
The Influence of Romanticism	xvii
The Challenge to You	xxi
1 Understanding Thinking	1	(16)
There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.
Alfred Korzybski
Basic Axioms of Thinking	3	(6)
Axiom 1: Truth Is Objective rather than Subjective, and Discovered rather than Created	4	(1)
Axiom 2: If Two Statements Are Mutually Contradictory, One Must Be False	5	(1)
Axiom 3: The Human Mind Is Fallible	6	(2)
Axiom 4: Ideas Have Consequences	8	(1)
The Dimensions of Thinking	9	(6)
The Reflective Dimension	9	(2)
The Creative Dimension	11	(3)
The Critical Dimension	14	(1)
The WISE Approach to Thinking	15	(2)
2 Overcoming Obstacles	17	(14)
Either you control your mental habits and attitudes, or they control you. The choice is yours.
The Basic Problem: Egocentrism	17	(4)
Mine-Is-Better Perspective	18	(1)
Self Serving Bias	19	(1)
Inflated Self-Esteem	19	(1)
Face Saving	20	(1)
Other Habits That Obstruct Thought	21	(5)
Mental Sloth	21	(1)
Gullibility/Conformity	22	(1)
Bias for the Majority or Minority	23	(1)
Bias for or against Change	23	(1)
Preconceptions	24	(1)
Reliance on Feelings and First Impressions	24	(2)
Attitudes That Obstruct Thought	26	(3)
"I Already Know Everything Worth Knowing"	26	(1)
"To Challenge My Ideas Is to Disrespect Me"	27	(1)
"Some Subjects Are Interesting, Others Are Boring"	28	(1)
"Rules and Procedures Don't Apply to Me"	28	(1)
Becoming Your Own Critic	29	(2)
3 Resisting Manipulation	31	(18)
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
Oscar Wilde
Major Contemporary Influences	32	(5)
Advertising	32	(1)
Television and Movies	33	(2)
Journalism	35	(2)
Political Discourse	37	(1)
Notable Devices of Manipulation	37	(6)
Repetition	38	(1)
Bandwagon	38	(1)
Glittering Generality	38	(1)
Empty Comparison	39	(1)
Slogans	39	(1)
Testimonial	40	(1)
Transfer	40	(1)
Stacking the Deck	40	(1)
Selective Reporting of Facts	41	(1)
Demonizing People	42	(1)
Rumors and Hoaxes	43	(1)
Resisting Manipulation	43	(10)
Know Your Vulnerabilities	44	(1)
Corroborate Information	44	(1)
Get Both Sides of the Story	44	(1)
Talk Back to the TV	45	(1)
Read the Fine Print in Advertisements	46	(1)
Continue Using the WISE Approach	47	(2)
4 Testing Ideas	49	(10)
Ideas are to the mind as food is to the body. And the rule governing their consumption is the same: Examine carefully before swallowing.
Facts versus Statements of Fact	49	(1)
Two Kinds of Opinion	50	(1)
The Value of Expert Opinion	51	(1)
Testing Statements of Fact	52	(1)
Testing Opinions	53	(4)
Assess the Author's Evidence	53	(1)
Search for Contrary Evidence	54	(1)
Consider Relevant Situations	54	(1)
Think of Exceptions	55	(1)
Consider Implications	55	(1)
Consider Alternative Opinions	55	(1)
Consider the Consequences	56	(1)
Play "Devil's Advocate"	56	(1)
Be Prepared for Complexity	57	(2)
5 Recognizing Errors in Reasoning	59	(12)
An important characteristic of a quality mind is the ability to detect flaws in other peoples reasoning and to purge them from one's own.
Unwarranted Assumption	60	(1)
Hasty Conclusion	61	(1)
Overgeneralization	62	(1)
Oversimplification	63	(1)
False Analogy	64	(1)
False Cause	65	(1)
Double Standard	65	(1)
Failure to Make Distinctions	66	(1)
Either/Or Thinking	67	(1)
Straw Man	68	(1)
Contradiction	68	(2)
Errors Can Multiply	70	(1)
6 Analyzing Arguments	71	(14)
We might as well give up the fiction That we can argue any view. For what in me is pure Conviction Is simple Prejudice in you.
Phyllis McGinley
Hidden Premises	73	(1)
Complex Arguments	74	(1)
Types of Evidence	75	(4)
How Much Evidence Is Enough?	79	(2)
Analyzing Complex Arguments	81	(5)
Determine the Argument's Structure	81	(1)
Check for Hidden Premises	81	(1)
Summarize the Argument	81	(1)
Ask Appropriate Questions	82	(1)
Evaluate the Argument	83	(2)
7 Making Ethical Judgments	85	(14)
Morality, like art, consists in drawing the line somewhere.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton
The "Ought" Controversy	86	(1)
The Case for "Ought"	87	(4)
Objection #1	87	(1)
Objection #2	88	(1)
Objection #3	89	(1)
Objection #4	90	(1)
Objection #5	90	(1)
Objective Morality	91	(1)
Respect for Persons	92	(1)
Criteria for Ethical Judgment	93	(2)
Obligations	93	(1)
Ethical Ideals	94	(1)
Consequences	95	(1)
A Strategy for Moral Judgment	95	(2)
Decide What Obligations Are Present	95	(1)
Decide What Moral Ideals Are Relevant	95	(1)
Where Conflicts Exist, Assign Priorities	96	(1)
Identify Possible Actions and Their Consequences	96	(1)
Decide Which Action Is Most Moral	96	(1)
Applying the Strategy	97	(2)
Appendix: Making Discussion Meaningful	99	(4)
To do all the talking and not be willing to listen is a form of greed.
Democritus of Abdera
Whenever Possible, Prepare in Advance	100	(1)
Set Reasonable Expectations	100	(1)
Leave Egotism and Personal Agendas at the Door	100	(1)
Contribute but Don't Dominate	101	(1)
Avoid Distracting Speech Mannerisms	101	(1)
Listen Actively	101	(1)
Judge Ideas Responsibly	102	(1)
Resist the Urge to Shout or Interrupt	102	(1)
Notes	103	(6)
Bibliography	109	(4)
Index	113	(6)
About the author	119