Thinking Critically, 10th Edition

Cover Page\n......Page 1
Title-Page\n......Page 3
Copyright Page\n......Page 5
Brief Contents......Page 6
Dedication Page\n......Page 7
Contents......Page 8
Features......Page 16
Supplements for Instructors and Students......Page 18
Acknowledgments......Page 19
CHAPTER 1: Thinking......Page 22
Living an “Examined” Life......Page 24
A Roadmap to Your Mind......Page 28
Working Toward Goals......Page 29
Achieving Short-Term Goals......Page 31
Achieving Long-Term Goals......Page 33
Images, Perceiving, and Thinking......Page 34
An Organized Approach to Making Decisions......Page 40
”Can I Be Creative?”......Page 45
Becoming More Creative......Page 47
Thinking Ahead......Page 67
CHAPTER 2: Thinking Critically......Page 70
Influences on Your Thinking......Page 75
Becoming an Active Learner......Page 76
Carefully Exploring Situations with Questions......Page 77
Thinking Independently......Page 80
Viewing Situations from Different Perspectives......Page 82
Supporting Diverse Perspectives with Reasons and Evidence......Page 85
Discussing Ideas in an Organized Way......Page 88
Listening Carefully......Page 90
Increasing Understanding......Page 91
Asking Questions......Page 94
Using a Problem-Solving Approach......Page 96
Analyzing Issues......Page 99
What Is the Evidence?......Page 101
What Are the Arguments?......Page 104
What Is the Verdict?......Page 106
CHAPTER 3: Solving Problems......Page 116
Thinking Critically About Problems......Page 118
Introduction to Solving Problems......Page 119
Solving Complex Problems......Page 121
Accepting the Problem......Page 124
Step 1: What Is the Problem?......Page 125
Step 2: What Are the Alternatives?......Page 128
Step 3: What Are the Advantages and/or Disadvantagesof Each Alternative?......Page 130
Step 4: What Is the Solution?......Page 132
Step 5: How Well Is the Solution Working?......Page 135
Solving Nonpersonal Problems......Page 137
CHAPTER 4: Perceiving and Believing......Page 150
Actively Selecting, Organizing, and Interpreting Sensations......Page 153
People’s Perceptions Differ......Page 155
Online Resources......Page 156
Viewing the World Through “Lenses”......Page 157
What Factors Shape Perceptions?......Page 159
Perceiving and Believing......Page 169
Believing and Perceiving......Page 170
Types of Beliefs: Reports, Inferences, Judgments......Page 172
Reporting Factual Information......Page 175
Inferring......Page 178
Judging......Page 182
Differences in Judgments......Page 184
CHAPTER 5: Constructing Knowledge......Page 196
Believing and Knowing......Page 198
Knowledge and Truth......Page 200
Stages of Knowing......Page 201
Thinking Critically About Your Beliefs......Page 206
Using Perspective-Taking to Achieve Knowledge......Page 214
Beliefs Based on Indirect Experience......Page 218
How Reliable Are the Information and the Source?......Page 219
CHAPTER 6: Language and Thought......Page 246
The Evolution of Language......Page 248
The Symbolic Nature of Language......Page 250
Semantic Meaning (Denotation)......Page 252
Syntactic Meaning......Page 253
Pragmatic Meaning......Page 254
Using Language Effectively......Page 260
Using Language to Clarify Thinking......Page 263
Improving Vague Language......Page 267
Language Styles......Page 270
Standard American English......Page 271
Slang......Page 272
The Social Boundaries of Language......Page 273
Using Language to Influence......Page 274
Euphemistic Language......Page 275
Emotive Language......Page 277
CHAPTER 7: Forming and Applying Concepts......Page 296
What Are Concepts?......Page 298
The Structure of Concepts......Page 301
Forming Concepts......Page 303
Applying Concepts......Page 308
Using Concepts to Classify......Page 323
Defining Concepts......Page 326
Relating Concepts with Mind Maps......Page 333
CHAPTER 8: Relating and Organizing......Page 342
Chronological Relationships......Page 345
Process Relationships......Page 348
Comparative and Analogical Relationships......Page 350
Comparative Relationships......Page 351
Analogical Relationships......Page 353
Using Analogies to Shape Our World......Page 357
Causal Relationships......Page 361
Causal Chains......Page 362
Contributory Causes......Page 365
Interactive Causes......Page 366
CHAPTER 9: Thinking Critically About Moral Issues......Page 388
What Is Ethics?......Page 391
Your Moral Compass......Page 395
I Do Not Know What I Would Do......Page 397
I Would Do What God or the Scriptures Say Is Right......Page 398
I Would Do What Is Best For Everyone Involved......Page 400
The Thinker’s Guide to Moral Decision Making......Page 403
Make Morality a Priority......Page 404
Include the Ethic of Justice in Your Moral Compass......Page 406
Include the Ethic of Care in Your Moral Compass......Page 408
Accept Responsibility for Your Moral Choices......Page 409
Seek to Promote Happiness for Oneself and Others......Page 412
Seek to Develop an Informed Intuition......Page 414
Discover the “Natural Law” of Human Nature......Page 416
Choose to Be a Moral Person......Page 417
CHAPTER 10: Constructing Arguments......Page 434
Recognizing Arguments......Page 438
Cue Words for Arguments......Page 440
Arguments Are Inferences......Page 445
Truth: How True Are the Supporting Reasons ?......Page 446
Validity: Do the Reasons Support the Conclusion?......Page 448
The Soundness of Arguments......Page 449
Understanding Deductive Arguments......Page 452
Application of a General Rule......Page 453
Modus Tollens......Page 454
Disjunctive Syllogism......Page 455
Constructing Extended Arguments......Page 460
Writing an Extended Argument......Page 461
CHAPTER 11: Reasoning Critically......Page 474
Inductive Reasoning......Page 476
Is the Sample Sufficient?......Page 477
Is the Sample Representative?......Page 478
Hasty Generalization......Page 480
Sweeping Generalization......Page 481
False Dilemma......Page 482
The Scientific Method......Page 483
Controlled Experiments......Page 486
Misidentification of the Cause......Page 493
Slippery Slope......Page 494
Appeal to Authority......Page 496
Bandwagon......Page 497
Appeal to Pity......Page 498
Appeal to Flattery......Page 499
Appeal to Ignorance......Page 502
Begging the Question......Page 503
Red Herring......Page 504
Two Wrongs Make a Right......Page 505
How Can I Define My Point of View More Clearly?......Page 512
What Are My Assumptions?......Page 514
What Are Other Points of View on This Issue?......Page 515
What Are the Consequences?......Page 516
CHAPTER 12: Thinking Critically, Living Creatively......Page 530
Living a Life Philosophy......Page 532
Condemned to Be Free......Page 534
Free Choice: The Mainspring of Human Action......Page 535
Creating Yourself Through Free Choices......Page 537
Because You Are Free . . .......Page 539
Using Your Freedom to Shape Your Life......Page 542
Escaping From Freedom......Page 544
Increase Your Freedom by Eliminating Constraints......Page 546
Deciding on a Career......Page 551
Thinking Errors in Career Decisions......Page 552
Creating Your Dream Job......Page 553
What Are Your Interests?......Page 554
What Are Your Abilities?......Page 556
Finding the Right Match......Page 557
Choosing the “Good Life”......Page 562
Meaning of Your Life......Page 563
Final Thoughts......Page 565
How Effective a Critical Thinker Am I?......Page 568
How Creative Am I?......Page 571
How Free Am I?......Page 575
Glossary......Page 579
Credits......Page 585
Index......Page 587