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Added features to aid your study of critical thinking.
Chapter 4 - Reasoning: Drawing Deductively Valid Conclusions
Steps for Using Circle Diagrams to Solve Categorical Syllogisms
Identify the premises and the conclusion.
Identify the categories (A, B, and C) in the premises and the conclusion.
Identify the mood of premise 1, and draw every possible representation of that relationship using circle diagrams (label them 1a, 1b, etc.).
Identify the mood of premise 2, and draw every possible representation of that relationship using circle diagrams (label them 2a, 2b, etc.).
Identify the mood of the conclusion, and draw every possible representation of that relationship using circle diagrams (label them #1, #2, etc.).
Use combinatorial reasoning to examine every possible combination of representations of premise 1 with representations of premise 2.
Remember that any outcome is possible in a combination as long as the conditions of category relationships described in premises 1 and 2 are maintained.
Compare each possible combination of premises 1 and 2 to each possible representation of the relationship described in the conclusion.
Any representation that violates the relationship in representations of the conclusion indicates an invalid conclusion.
Chapter 6 - Thinking as Hypothesis Testing
How to Make Reasoned Judgments About Controversial Research
- Read the original research, if possible.
- Identify the conclusions – What do the authors want you to believe and do?
- Examine the data and other evidence used to support the conclusions.
- Were tests of statistical significance used? Are significant differences meaningful?
- Was the sample sufficiently large? Was it representative of the population?
- Is the conclusion a matter of opinion or a matter of fact?
- Do the authors have the expertise needed to conduct and interpret the study?
- Are the authors unbiased or do they have a vested interest in the outcome of the study?
- Are appeals to emotion (e.g., name calling or arguments against the person) being used to convince readers?
- What is missing? What other explanations fit the data equally well or better?
- Do the conclusions follow from the data?
- Are the stated and unstated assumptions acceptable?
- Are correlational data being used to make causal claims? (Random assignment of participants to experimental and control groups is required for causal conclusions).
- Can you identify fallacies in the reasoning (e.g., false dichotomy, slippery slope, etc.)?
- Are valid and reliable measures being used?
- Are the results unusual? If so, why? Why is the study controversial?
- Overall, what is the strength of the support for the conclusion?
Chapter 11 - The Last Word
A Note on The Last Word
This is the last chapter in the book. The corresponding text chapter is just one short page that explains the need to put thinking skills together because they cannot be separated meaningfully when we are thinking in the real world and asks you to “step back” and reflect on the material presented. Problems do not come neatly labeled as hypothesis testing or reasoning or likelihood and uncertainty. For this reason, the active learning problems that are presented in this chapter require the reader to use combinations of skills. I will provide some hints to keep you on the right track. I hope that you enjoy working on these problems and that you feel that you are becoming a better thinker because of your experiences with this book.