Critical Thinking : Developing an Effective World View - 01 edition

Jason, Gary : San Diego State University

Preface.

PART 1: THE ELEMENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING: STATEMENTS, QUESTIONS AND ARGUMENTS.
1. CRITICAL THINKING: DEVELOPING A GOOD MENTAL MODEL.

Critical Thinking and Mental Models.
Clarity and Consistency.
Relevance.
Justification, Explanatory and Predictive Power.
The Usefulness of Critical Thinking.
The Organization of this Book.

2. GRASPING ASSERTIONS.

Assertions and Sentences.
Statement Forms: Simple and Compound.
Statement Forms: Particular and General.
Statement Content: Necessary vs. Contingent.
Statement Content: Factual vs. Evaluative.

3. UNDERSTANDING QUESTIONS.

Questions and Sentences.
Types of Questions.
Responsive Answers.
Fallacies of Questions.

4. IDENTIFYING ARGUMENTS.

Premises and Conclusions.
Identifying Single Arguments.
Spotting Enthymemes.
Telling Arguments From Other Things.
The Uses of Argument.
Interwoven Arguments.

5. TYPES OF ARGUMENT.

Two Types of Evidential Relations.
Deductive Argument Forms.
Inductive Argument Forms.

PART 2: THE GOALS OF CRIITCAL THINKING: CLARITY, RELEVANCE, CONSISTENCY, JUSTIFICATION, AND EXPLANATORY POWER.
6. CLARITY I: PITFALLS OF LANGUAGE.

Pitfalls of Language.
Verbosity and Jargon. Vagueness.
Loaded Language.
Understatement and Overstatement.
Ambiguity.
Synonomy.
Figurative Language.

7. CLARITY II: DEFINITION AND TAXONOMY.

Two Tools for Organizing Thought and Clarifying Language.
Definition.
Sense and Reference. Methods of Definition.
Definition by Genus and Difference.
Analogical Definition.
Classification.

8. RELEVANCE.

Relevance and Questions.
Fallacies of Refusing to Answer.
Fallacies of Emotional Appeals.
Fallacies of Ignoring the Issue.

9. DEDUCTION I: TRUTH-FUNCTIONAL LOGIC.

Basic Concepts of Deductive Logic.
Truth-Table Calculations. Symbolization.
Truth-Table Testing for Consistency.
Truth-Table for Implication and Validity.
Truth-Table Testing for Other Deductive Concepts.
Summary.

10. DEDUCTION II: CLASS LOGIC.

A Closer Look at Statements.
Statements Involving Two Classes.
Venn Testing for Consistency.
Venn Testing for Implication and Validity.
Venn Testing for Other Concepts. Summary.

11. INDUCTION I: OBSERVATION, MEMORY AND TESTIMONY.

Observation, Observation Reports, and Testimony.
Assessing Observation.
Assessing Testimony.
Assessing Expert Testimony.
Observation in Natural Science.
Observation, Memory and Testimony as Inferences to the Best Explanation.

12. INDUCTION II: INDUCTIVE GENERALIZATION.

The Pervasiveness of Inductive Generalization.
Criteria for Assessing Generalizations.
The Fallacy of Hasty Generalization.
Inductive Generalization and the IBE.

13. INDUCTION III: INDUCTIVE INSTANTIATION.

Defeasibility and General Rules.
The Statistical Syllogism.
The Fallacy of Accident.
Inductive Instantiation.

14. INDUCTION IV: ANALOGY.

The Uses of Analogy.
Descriptive and Definitional Analogies.
Analogical Arguments.
The Heuristic Use of Analogies.
Models in Science.
Analogies in Legal Reasoning.

15. INDUCTION V: CAUSAL INFERENCE.

The Relation of Cause and Effect.
Causal Inference: The General Pattern.
Causal Inference: Specific Argument Forms.
Stochastic Causal Inference.

16. INDUCTION VI: EXPLANATION, HYPOTHESIS, AND PREDICTION.

Key Concepts.
Types of Explanation.
A Closer Look at DN and IS Explanations.
Rules for Forming Hypotheses.
Rules for Assessing Hypotheses.

PART 3: APPLICATIONS OF CRITICAL THINKING: DECISIONS IN A DEMOCRATIC MARKET ECONOMY.
17. DECISION MAKING: A GENERAL MODEL.

Decisions, Decisions.
Framing the Decision Question. Identifying the Alternative.
Identifying the Criteria.
Weighing the Criteria.
Putting it All Together: Selecting the Best Option.

18. APPLICATION I: ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER CHOICE.

The Pervasiveness of Consumer Choice.
Psychological Mechanisms Exploited by Sales Agents.
The Role of Advertising in Manipulating Demand.
The Role of Advertising in Misleading Consumers about Costs and Benefits.
Overcoming Sales Trickery.

19. APPLICATION II: POLITICAL RHETORIC AND DEMOCRATIC CHOICE.

Political Agents.
Common Political Rhetorical Tricks.
Overcoming Political Trickery.

Glossary. Answers to Even-Numbered Exercises.
Index.