critical thinking
recognizing/evaluating opinions and so-called evidence. reflecting on meaning and significance of statements and ideas. It tests the reasonableness of statements/ideas.
Opinion
- a belief or conclusion about reality. unlike facts, they are open to question and analysis by critical thinking.
Argument
- in the formal sense, it is an attempt to offer evidence to demonstrate the reasonableness of an opinion. arguments can be sound (logical) or unsound (dependant on logical fallacies) there are two parts of a good argument.
Evidence
the basis or cause of a belief. it is a statement of justification explanation of a belief or action.
conclusion
- a decision based upon reasoning, deduction, or inference.
the Law of noncontradiction
- something that cannot both exist and not exist or be true and false at the same time and in the same way.
Logical Fallacies
- in rhetoric, a fallacy is simply any error, whether intentional or unintentional, in reasoning. ()the most common kinds of fallacies of logic are informal and are the ones students really need to familiarise themselves with,. think of them as counterfeit arguments.)
Oversimplification
- concluding that an effect has only one cause when it is really the result of multiple causes.
Hasty Conclusion
- Making a judgment on the basis of one or even a few samples.
over generalization
- (Stereotyping) making a judgment about an entire group based on behavior, mostly undesired, of a few from that group.
false analogies
- arguing on the basis of a comparison of unrelated thinking.
slippery slope
arguing against an action on the unsupported assertion that it will inevitably lead to a much worse condition.
sweeping generalization
stating a general principle then applying it to a specific case as though it were a universal rule.
Characteristics of critical thinkers
- constantly evaluate their own attitudes, values and opinions.
- they understand having a right to opinions, but that doesn’t mean it is a right opinion including their own.
- they don’t pretend to know what they do not know.
- don’t blindly adhere to tradition.
- they resist and refuse to use manipulation, seek clarification of terms, explore many sides of an issue.
Should I care about critical thinking?
it helps make sense of life and the world around you, helps you do your job more effectively, it helps you avoid being ripped off. it helps you prepare for everyday life.
Is the statistic true? why are they mad at me? how should I prepare for this issue? should I marry this person? is this story true?
ad hominem
(Lit “to the man”) Seeking to discredit a person’s argument by attacking their personal character, origin, association, etc.
Appeal to (False or misleading) authority
appealing to the opinion of a person who agrees with yours because they are generally respected by the audience but have no real authority on the topic at hand.
Appeal to ignorance
Claiming that something is true simply because it cannot be disproved, or that something is untrue because it cannot be proved.
Bandwagon
Justifying a course of action because everyone is doing it.
is ought, or naturalistic fallacy -
concluding that the way things are is that way things ought to be simply because the basis of how things are or are assumed to be.
Selective perception
looking only for things that support our current ideas and ignoring evidence that does not.
False dilemma
oversimplifying a complex issue to make it appear that only two alternatives are possible.
Strawman
Misrepresenting a position to make it seem weaker than it really is or to demonize the position to make it sound worse than it is and then to act as if the argument has been won when the real issue hasn’t even been addressed.
Genetic Fallacy
Giving credit to a position or supporting a claim because of the origin (genesis) of its position when such an appeal to the origin is irrelevant.
