The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook for Critical Thinking

by Hendrickson, Noel; Amant, St. Kirk; Hawk, William; O'Meara, William; Flage, Daniel

• ISBN13: 9780742559790
• ISBN10: 0742559793
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-08
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Just as The Elements of Style provides a quick and authoritative reference for writers, The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook for Critical Thinking provides a quick and authoritative reference for issues regarding reasoning.

Author Biography

Noel Hendrickson is assistant professor of philosophy at James Madison University Kirk St. Amant is associate professor of technical communication and rhetoric at Texas Tech University William Hawk is professor of philosophy and head of the department of philosophy and religion at James Madison University William O'Meara is professor of philosophy at James Madison University Daniel Flage is professor of philosophy at James Madison University

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. ix
Word Hazards: Statements, Ambiguity, and Vagueness	p. 1
A Logical Digression: Propositional Attitudes	p. 2
Complex Passages: Descriptions, Explanations, and Arguments	p. 5
Odd Words	p. 6
A Logical Digression: How Not to Distinguish Induction from Deduction, or Why the Valid/Inductive Distinction Is Better	p. 8
Finding Arguments	p. 13
Grounding Statements in Fact: Observation, Testimony, and Other Arguments Based on Criteria	p. 17
Criteria for Evaluating Observation Statements	p. 17
Criteria for Evaluating Testimony	p. 18
Deduction: Categorical Syllogisms	p. 21
Conversion, Obversion, Contraposition	p. 22
Categorical Syllogisms	p. 24
A Logical Digression: Venn Diagrams	p. 27
A Logical Digression: Conditional Validity	p. 33
Odd Words	p. 35
Enthymemes	p. 36
Arguments Based on Propositions	p. 39
Statement Forms	p. 39
A Logical Digression: Symbols and Truth Table Definitions	p. 40
Argument Forms	p. 41
A Logical Digression: Truth Tables for Testing the Validity of Arguments	p. 43
Odd Words: Tautology, Contradiction, Contingent Statement	p. 47
Logical Equivalences	p. 49
A Logical Digression: Demonstrating the Equivalences with Truth Tables	p. 51
Probability Calculations	p. 57
Theories of Probability	p. 57
Odd Words: Relative Frequency and Subjective Theories	p. 58
Rules of Probability	p. 59
Generalizations and Particularizations	p. 65
Generalization Arguments	p. 65
A Logical Digression: Surveys and Opinion Polls	p. 68
Particularization Arguments	p. 68
Analogical Arguments	p. 71
Analogical Arguments	p. 71
A Logical Digression: Analogical Arguments versus Generalization and Particularization Arguments	p. 74
Evaluating Hypotheses: Inference to Best Explanation	p. 75
Likelihood	p. 76
Explanatory Power	p. 78
Simplicity	p. 78
Novelty	p. 79
Appropriate Explanatory Content	p. 80
Summary of Factors in Evaluating Explanatory Inferences	p. 80
Explanatory Inferences, Confirmation, Disconfirmation, and Bayes's Theorem	p. 81
Causal Inferences	p. 85
Mill's Methods of Causal Inference	p. 85
Probabilistic Method of Causal Inference	p. 88
Counterfactual Method of Causal Inference	p. 89
Counterfactual Reasoning	p. 91
Supporting Counterfactual Claims	p. 91
A Logical Digression: Counterfactual Fallacies	p. 94
Decisions under Risk	p. 97
Utility	p. 98
Decision Making under Risk with One Factor	p. 98
Decision Making under Risk with Multiple Factors	p. 99
Decisions under Uncertainty	p. 103
Universal Principles for Decisions under Uncertainty	p. 104
Further Principles for Decisions under Multilateral Uncertainty	p. 105
Further Principles for Decisions under Unilateral Uncertainty	p. 108
Informal Fallacies	p. 111
Fallacies of Ambiguity	p. 111
Fallacies of Relevance	p. 114
Fallacies of Presumption	p. 120
Fallacies of Weak Induction	p. 122
Critical Writing: An Audience-Centered Approach to Critical Thinking	p. 127
Examining Critical Writing: A Rhetorical Approach	p. 128
Selecting the Appropriate Forum	p. 129
Establishing Presentation Objectives	p. 132
Establishing Initial Credibility	p. 134
Screening Content for Inclusion	p. 136
Considering Sources of Information	p. 137
Identifying Content Areas	p. 138
Grouping Information for Readers	p. 140
Organizing Information within the Forum	p. 142
Externalizing Ideas: A Final Perspective	p. 146
Bibliography	p. 147
Index	p. 149
About the Authors	p. 155
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