Think with Socrates An Introduction to Critical Thinking

by Herrick, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780199331864
• ISBN10: 0199331863
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780199331901
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-07-30
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Brief yet comprehensive, Think with Socrates: An Introduction to Critical Thinking uses the methods, ideas, and life of Socrates as a model for critical thinking. It offers a more philosophical, historical, and accessible introduction than longer textbooks while still addressing all of the key topics in logic and argumentation. Applying critical thinking to the Internet, mass media, advertising, personal experience, expert authority, the evaluation of sources, writing argumentative essays, and forming a worldview, Think with Socrates resonates with today's students and teaches them how to apply critical thinking in the real world. At the same time, it covers the ancient intellectual roots and history of the field, placing critical thinking in its larger context to help students appreciate its perennial value.

Author Paul Herrick incorporates original sources from newspapers, a variety of media, and philosophical writing, along with engaging "interludes" featuring selections from Plato's dialogues. A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/herrick offers resources for students and instructors.

Author Biography

Paul Herrick received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Washington. Since 1983 he has taught philosophy at Shoreline Community College. He is the author of two previous books published by Oxford University Press: Introduction to Logic (2012) and The Many Worlds of Logic, Second Edition (1999).

Table of Contents

Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
Unit 1. What Is Critical Thinking?
Chapter 1. Socrates Part 1: Life and Method
Chapter 2. Socrates Part 2: Life and Death
Chapter 3. On Socrates's Two Favorite Questions
Interlude: Socrates at Work
Part 1. The Euthyphro
Part 2. The Apology
Unit 2. Obstacles to Critical Thinking
Chapter 4. Cognitive Biases
Chapter 5. Relativism and Skepticism: Philosophical Obstacles to Critical Thinking
Unit 3. Building a Solid Knowledge Base
Chapter 6. Reason and the Senses
Chapter 7. Personal Experience, Testimony, and Expert Authority
Chapter 8. Watch Out for Logical Fallacies
Interlude: Critical Thinking and Freedom
Chapter 9. The Internet, News Media, and Advertising
Interlude: The Media and the Myth of the Cave
Unit 4. Criteria for Correct Reasoning
Chapter 10. Deduction and Induction: A Closer Look
Chapter 11. Explorations in Inductive Reasoning: The Logic of Science
Interlude: Critical Thinking and the Birth of Modern Science: Copernicus and the Day the Earth Moved
Chapter 12. Explorations in Deductive Reasoning: Categorical Logic
Unit 5. Moral Reasoning, Worldviews, and the Examined Life
Chapter 13. Critical Thinking and Moral Reasoning
Chapter 14. Critical Thinking, Worldviews, and the Examined Life
Epilogue
Glossary
Index