Becoming a critical thinker: a user friendly manual

512 Pages·2012·6.169 MB·English

by  Diestler, Sherry

SIXTH EDITION
Becoming
a Critical Thinker
A User-Friendly Manual
Sherry Diestler
Contra Costa College
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River
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In loving memory of Anne and Al Goldstein.
And for John, Zachary, Nicole, Semaje, Stuart, Jenna, Laura, and Amy,
may we continue their legacy of discernment and compassion.
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pages 483–484.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Diestler, Sherry.
Becoming a critical thinker : a user friendly manual / Sherry Diestler.—6th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-205-06345-1
1. Critical thinking—Textbooks. I. Title.
B809.2.D54 2012
370.15’2—dc23 2011021583
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Student Edition
ISBN-10: 0-205-06345-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-06345-1
Instructor’s Review Copy
ISBN-10: 0-205-06363-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-06363-5
Books a la Carte
ISBN-10: 0-205-06389-6
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-06389-5
Brief Contents
Preface xiii
1
Foundations of Arguments
2
Who Is a Critical Thinker, and When Do You Need to Be One?
2
Values and Ethics
36
What Price Ethics, and Can You Afford Not to Pay?
3
Reality Assumptions
74
It’s Eleven O’Clock. Do You Know Where Your Assumptions Are?
4
Inductive Arguments:
Statistical and Causal Generalizations 120
Prove It to Me—What Are the Statistics?
5
Inductive Generalizations:
Controlled Studies and Analogies 170
Who Said So, and Who Are They Anyway?
6
Reasoning Errors
224
I Know What I Think—Don’t Confuse Me with Facts.
7
The Power of Language
274
What’s in a Name?
8
Suggestion in Media
320
Is What You See What You Get? Do You Really Want It?
9
Fair-Mindedness
400
It’s You and Me, Kid, and I’m Not So Sure About You.
10
Persuasive Speaking
442
What’s Your Point? How Do You Sharpen It?
Credits 483
Index 485
iii
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Contents
Preface xiii
1
Foundations of Arguments
2
Who Is a Critical Thinker, and When Do You Need to Be One?
The Structure of Argument 4
The Issue 5
The Conclusion 8
The Reasons 9
A Decision-Making Method 12
Individual or Class Exercise: Making a Decision 15
Humor as Argument 15
Chapter Review 16
Summary 16
Checkup 16
Exercises 17
“Educational Ticket” 19
“War on Drugs Fails: We Need New Approach” 19
“Drugged Driving” 19
Articles for Discussion 21
“16-Year-Old Sailor Was Already Off Course” 21
“LeBron James’ Decision a Cruel Blow to His Hometown” 25
“Roundup: NBA Team Owner Backs LeBron James’ Decision” 27
“Onstage and Backstage: Two Jobs. One Actor. What Do You Choose?” 28
“Talk-Show Host Angers Disabled Community” 29
“Radio Show on Rights of Disabled Defended” 30
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 31
“The Road Not Taken” 33
Films for Analysis and Discussion 33
Similar Films and Classics 34
2
Values and Ethics
36
What Price Ethics, and Can You Afford Not to Pay?
“Question Man: Fictional Character You Admire Most?” 38
Value Assumptions and Confl icts 39
“Motivation: About This Billboard” 39
Class Exercise 42
Decision Making: Choosing a Job That Refl ects Your Values and Enhances Your Life 42
“Changing Jobs Takes Guts, Yields Good Life” 43
Ethics––An Important Dimension of Values 44
Ideal Values versus Real Values 47
Ethics in Argumentation 49
Ethical Decision Making 50
“Common Rationalizations: Ethics in Action” 51
v
vi Contents
Toulmin’s Model: A Method for Discovering Assumptions 53
Backing (Support for the Warrant) 54
Chapter Review 55
Summary 55
Checkup 56
Exercises 56
“Salvation Army Turns Down $100,000 Donation” 60
Articles for Discussion 60
“You Make the Call: Is It Good Baseball Strategy or a Weak Attempt to Win?” 61
“Staffer Gets Subpoenaed” 63
“National Public Radio” 64
“Schools’ Peanut Bans Spark Backlash” 66
“Texas College Admissions Law Under Fire: Kids in Top 10% Get in Automatically” 68
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 70
Films for Analysis and Discussion 72
Similar Films and Classics 73
3
Reality Assumptions
74
It’s Eleven O’Clock. Do You Know Where Your Assumptions Are?
Reality Assumptions 75
Detecting Reality Assumptions 77
“Extinct Fox Not Extinct, Found in California” 80
The Importance of Examining Assumptions 83
“Myths and Facts About Suicide” 84
“Himalayan Glaciers Melting Deadline ‘a Mistake’” 86
Class Exercise 87
What Are the Assumptions? 87
Deductive Reasoning 88
Validity in Deductive Arguments 89
Using Toulmin’s Method to Understand Deduction 93
The Uses of Deductive Reasoning 95
Deductive Reasoning Helps Us Discover Reality Assumptions and Test Our Logic 96
Using Deductive Reasoning to Discover Truth and to Make Decisions 97
Class Exercise 101
Using Deductive Reasoning to Combat Prejudice and Stereotyping 101
Using Deduction to Understand Argument and to Argue Constructively 103
Chapter Review 105
Summary 105
Checkup 105
Exercises 106
Articles for Discussion 108
“Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits” 108
“Can Blacks Be Racist?” 111
“Wasted Food, Discovered Souls” 113
“Bearer of Bad News” 115
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 116
Films for Analysis and Discussion 117
Similar Films and Classics 118
Television Shows for Analysis and Discussion 118
Contents vii
4
Inductive Arguments:
Statistical and Causal
Generalizations 120
Prove It to Me—What Are the Statistics?
Inductive Reasoning 121
Statistical Evidence 125
The Many Uses of Statistics 125
“LeBron’s Q Score Takes Huge Hit” 126
“Healthy Work Environments Give Companies a Competitive Edge” 128
How the Research Is Done 132
The Sample Must Be Large Enough 133
The Sample Must Represent the Target Audience 134
The Sample Must Be Random 135
Checklist for Polls and Statistical Studies 135
Questions to Ask About Statistical Reports 136
Using Surveys as Evidence 138
Statistical Generalizations 139
Class Exercise 140
“At a Lecture—Only 12 Percent Listen” 140
The Reporting of Statistical Studies: Truths, Half-Truths, and Distortions 141
Causal Generalizations 142
“Ann Landers” 142
Hume’s Conditions for Cause and Effect 148
Technical Causation 149
Multiple Causes 149
Immediate Causes 151
Mill’s Analysis of Cause and Effect 152
Method of Agreement 152
Method of Difference 153
Using Difference and Similarity Together to Determine Cause 154
Chapter Review 155
Summary 155
Checkup 156
Exercises 156
“What Are the Risk Factors for Breast Cancer?” 157
“Multiple Causes of Suicide” 157
“Self-Segregation: Students Stick with Same-Race Groups” 157
“Why Do People Start to Smoke?” 158
Articles for Discussion 160
“The Meth Epidemic” 160
“Understanding Facebook Addiction: Why Is Social Networking So Addictive? How Did We Get
Addicted? 162
“ISU Researcher Studies Consequences of ‘Hooking Up’: Study Focuses on Risk Behavior” 164
“Drugs, Gangs on the Rise in Schools: Survey Shows Increase in Gang Activity and Drug Use in
Nation’s Schools” 165
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 167
Longer-Term Writing Assignment 168
Films for Analysis and Discussion 169
Similar Films and Classics 169
viii Contents
5
Inductive Generalizations:
Controlled Studies
and Analogies 170
Who Said So, and Who Are They Anyway?
Research Design 172
Criteria for Evaluating Research Findings 173
Controversy in Research Findings 181
“New Analysis Reasserts Video Games’ Link to Violence” 182
“Study Says Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors–Are You Safe?” 182
“Sickening Experiment on Human Subjects” 185
Checklist for Making, Evaluating, Repairing, and Refuting Arguments 187
Class Exercise 189
Defending and Refuting Arguments 189
Use of Authority: Expert Testimony 189
“An Opinion with Substance” 191
“Can Math and Science Help Solve Crimes? Researchers Try to Predict and Prevent Crime Using
Sophisticated Mathematical Models” 192
Problems with Expert Testimony 193
Reasoning by Analogy 201
Chapter Review 204
Summary 204
Checkup 204
Exercises 205
Articles for Discussion 211
“Food News Blues” 211
“$27 Million to Change NYC Signs from All-Caps” 216
“Could a Pill Help Fade Traumatic Memories?” 218
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 221
Films for Analysis and Discussion 222
Similar Films and Classics 223
6
Reasoning Errors
224
I Know What I Think—Don’t Confuse Me with Facts.
Inadequate Reasons as Fallacies 225
Faulty Analogies 226
False Cause: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc 228
The Slippery Slope 230
Straw Man 232
Hasty Conclusions 234
The False Dilemma 236
Begging the Question 239
Fallacies That Mislead 241
The Red Herring 241
Ad Hominem: Attacking the Person 243
Two Wrongs Make a Right 246
Contents ix
Ad Populum: Jumping on the Bandwagon 248
Appeal to Tradition: “We’ve Always Done It This Way” 249
Appeal to Pity 250
Equivocation 251
Chapter Review 255
Summary 255
Checkup 255
Exercises 255
Articles for Discussion 260
“Ashamed of Strug’s Sacrifi ce” 261
“Kerri Strug Made Reader Cheer” 261
“Keep Women Off the Streets” 262
“E-Mail Chain Letters Deceive” 262
“Sunday Times Reveals Some Eco-Celeb Shame” 264
“Rwanda Is So Hot Right Now” 264
“On Comparing Global Warming Denial to Holocaust Denial” 267
“Does Facebook Make You Dumber? Study Shows Users of Social Networking Site Get Lower
Grades” 269
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 272
Films for Analysis and Discussion 272
7
The Power of Language
274
What’s in a Name?
Denotation and Connotation 276
“Pet Shop Boys Reject PETA Name Change Request” 278
The Power of Connotation 280
Reifi cation: When Words Take on More Power Than Reality 284
“Brand-Ate to Innovate: The Pepsi/Coke Challenge” 285
Meanings Are in People 287
“Case Closed: Bladder Threat, Not Bomb: Drunken German Served 9 Months” 288
“Sure I’m Committed . . . Oops . . . Bye-Bye” 290
The Problem of Vagueness 291
Ambiguity in Language 293
Doublespeak, Including Weasel Words 294
Chapter Review 303
Summary 303
Checkup 304
Exercises 304
Articles for Discussion 308
“What’s in a Name?” 308
“Race-Based Team Names Not Tolerated in Wisconsin” 310
“Jennifer Aniston, The R-Word and the Aftermath” 311
“Weasel-Words Rip My Flesh!” 314
Ideas for Writing or Speaking 316
Films for Analysis and Discussion 318
Similar Films and Classics 318