The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning about Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims

Cover
The Power of Critical Thinking
Dedication
BRIEF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
PREFACE
PART ONE: BASICS
	CHAPTER 1: The Power of Critical Thinking
		Why It Matters
		How It Works
			Claims and Reasons
			Reasons and Arguments
			Arguments in the Rough
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		EXERCISES
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 2: Obstacles to Critical Thinking
		Psychological Obstacles
			The Almighty Self
			The Power of the Group
		Philosophical Obstacles
			Subjective Relativism
			Social Relativism
			Skepticism
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		EXERCISES
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 3: Making Sense of Arguments
		Argument Basics
		Judging Arguments
		Finding Missing Parts
		Argument Patterns
		Diagramming Arguments
		Assessing Long Arguments
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
PART TWO: REASONS
	CHAPTER 4: Reasons for Belief and Doubt
		When Claims Conflict
		Experts and Evidence
		Personal Experience
			Impairment
			Expectation
			Innumeracy and Probability
		Fooling Ourselves
			Resisting Contrary Evidence
			Looking for Confirming Evidence
			Preferring Available Evidence
		Evaluating Sources: The Internet and Beyond
		Fake News
		Advertising and Persuasion
			Identification
			Slogans
			Misleading Comparisons
			Weasel Words
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		EXERCISES
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 5: Fallacies and Persuaders
		Fallacies: Irrelevant Premises
			Genetic Fallacy
			Composition
			Division
			Appeal to the Person
			Equivocation
			Appeal to Popularity
			Appeal to Tradition
			Appeal to Ignorance
			Appeal to Emotion
			Red Herring
			Straw Man
			Two Wrongs Make a Right
		Fallacies: Unacceptable Premises
			Begging the Question
			False Dilemma
			Decision-Point Fallacy
			Slippery Slope
			Hasty Generalization
			Faulty Analogy
		Persuaders: Rhetorical Moves
			Innuendo
			Euphemisms and Dysphemisms
			Stereotyping
			Ridicule
			Rhetorical Definitions
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		EXERCISES
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
PART THREE: ARGUMENTS
	CHAPTER 6: Deductive Reasoning: Propositional Logic
		Connectives and Truth Values
			Conjunction
			Disjunction
			Negation
			Conditional
		Checking for Validity
			Simple Arguments
			Tricky Arguments
			Streamlined Evaluation
		Proof of Validity
			Rules of Inference
			Rules of Replacement
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 7: Deductive Reasoning: Categorical Logic
		Statements and Classes
		Translations and Standard Form
			Terms
			Quantifiers
		Diagramming Categorical Statements
		Sizing Up Categorical Syllogisms
		The Square of Opposition
		Categorical Equivalence
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 8: Inductive Reasoning
		Enumerative Induction
			Sample Size
			Representativeness
			Opinion Polls
		Analogical Induction
		Causal Arguments
			Testing for Causes
			Causal Confusions
			Necessary and Sufficient Conditions
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
PART FOUR: EXPLANATIONS
	CHAPTER 9: Inference to the Best Explanation
		Explanations and Inference
		Theories and Consistency
		Theories and Criteria
			Testability
			Fruitfulness
			Scope
			Simplicity
			Conservatism
		Telling Good Theories from Bad
			A Doomed Flight
			An Amazing Cure
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 10: Judging Scientific Theories
		Science and Not Science
		The Scientific Method
		Testing Scientific Theories
		Judging Scientific Theories
			Copernicus Versus Ptolemy
			Evolution Versus Creationism
		Science and Weird Theories
		Making Weird Mistakes
			Leaping to the Weirdest Theory
			Mixing What Seems with What Is
			Misunderstanding the Possibilities
		Judging Weird Theories
			Crop Circles
			Talking with the Dead
		Summary
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
	CHAPTER 11: Critical Thinking in Morality and the Law
		Moral Arguments
		Moral Premises
		Moral Theories
			Evaluating Moral Theories
			Two Important Theories
		Legal Reasoning
		A Coherent Worldview
		KEY WORDS
		Summary
		EXERCISES
		Field Problems
		Self-Assessment Quiz
		Integrative Exercises
		Writing Assignments
APPENDIX A: The Truth About Philosophy Majors
Appendix B: Essays for Evaluation
	Essay 1 Death Penalty Discriminates Against Black Crime Victims
	Essay 2 Marine Parks
	Essay 3 A Feminist Defense of Pornography
	Essay 4 A Defense of Homosexuality
	Essay 5 More Innocents Die When We Don’t Have Capital Punishment
	Essay 6 What’s Wrong with Adultery?
	Essay 7 A Pat-Down Is Better Than a Blow-Up
	Essay 8 The Cohabitation Epidemic
	Essay 9 Not Being Vaccinated Is Not Acceptable
	Essay 10 Women and the Afghanistan Peace Process
	Essay 11 A Deviance from God’s Norm
	Essay 12 Marriage Still Evolving, as Ever
	Essay 13 Slouching Toward Chimeras
	Essay 14 Fighting Islamic Extremists Who Stifle Free Speech
	Essay 15 Is Sluttishness a Feminist Statement?
	Essay 16 Torture: Time for Congress to End the Debate
	Essay 17 Torture: Severe Interrogations Work
	Essay 18 Freedom of Expression: Protect Student Speech—Even “Unwise” Bong Banner
	Essay 19 Freedom of Expression: Policy Reflects Common Sense
	Essay 20 It’s Irresponsible to Spread Fear of Vaccine
	Essay 21 Flag Amendment: Flag Needs Protection
Appendix C: Answers to Exercises
Appendix D: Answers to Self-Assessment Quizzes
Appendix E: Critical Thinking and Writing
NOTES
GLOSSARY
CREDITS
INDEX