Critical Thinking: An Appeal to Reason

457 Pages·2011·3.36 MB·English

by  Peg Tittle

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Critical Thinking
Thinking critically about the arguments and messages we see every day—in words
or in pictures—gives us the power to make up our own minds. Thinking critically
about the way we express ourselves—in writing or in person—gives us the power
to persuade.
In Critical Thinking: An Appeal to Reason, Peg Tittle empowers students
with a solid grounding in the lifelong skills of considered analysis and argu-
mentation—skills that should underpin every student’s education.
Starting with the building blocks of a good argument rather than with the
pitfalls to avoid, this comprehensive new textbook offers a full course in critical
thinking. It includes chapters on the nature and structure of argument, the role
of relevance, truth, and generalizations, and the subtleties of verbal and visual
language. Throughout the text there are numerous sample arguments from books,
journals, magazines, television, and the internet for students to analyze. With
an interactive companion website and a comprehensive instructor’s manual,
Critical Thinkingis the ideal textbook for a course in the fundamentals of sound
reasoning.
Special features include:
 An emphasis on the constructive aspect of critical thinking—strengthening
the arguments of others and constructing sound arguments of your own—
rather than an exclusive focus on spotting faulty arguments
 Acompanion website with comprehensive pedagogical features, including an
instructor’s manual, extended answers, explanations, and analyses for the
exercises and arguments in the book, and supplementary chapters on logic
and ethics
 Dozens of images for critical analysis
 Annotated arguments that help students to read critically and actively
 Actual questions from standardized reasoning tests like the LSAT, GMAT,
MCAT, and GRE.
Please visit the companion website for Critical Thinkingat:
www.routledge.com/textbooks/tittle
Peg Tittlehas taught critical thinking and applied ethics at both the university and
high school levels. She is the author of What If...Collected Thought Experiments
in Philosophy,and the editor of Should Parents be Licensed?and Ethical Issues
in Business: Enquiries, Cases, and Readings.
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Critical
Thinking
An Appeal to Reason
Peg Tittle
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Acquring Editor: Andrew Beck
Senior Development Editor: Nicole Solano
Senior Editorial Assistant: Michael Andrews
Marketing Manager: Emilia Ayon
Senior Production Editor: Siân Findlay
Line Editor: Kristen LeFevre
Text Design: Karl Hunt at Keystroke
Proofreader: Sarah Pearsall
First published 2011
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2011 Peg Tittle
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Tittle, Peg, 1957-
Critical thinking : an appeal to reason / Peg Tittle.
p. cm.
1. Critical thinking. I. Title.
BC177.T536 2010
160—dc22
2010016540
ISBN 0-203-84161-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–99713–3 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–99714–0 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–84161–7 (ebk)
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Contents
Acknowledgments for Reasoning Test Questions xiv
1 Critical Thinking 1
1.1 What is critical thinking? 4
1.2 What is critical thinking not? 6
1.3 Why is critical thinking important? 8
1.4 Why do we typically notthink critically? (why do we need a
coursein critical thinking?) 12
1.5 Template for critical analysis of arguments 16
Review of terms 18
Thinking critically about what you see 18
Thinking critically about what you hear 18
Thinking critically about what you read 19
Thinking critically about what you write 19
Thinking critically when you discuss 19
Reasoning test questions 19
2 The Nature of Argument 21
2.1 The nature of argument 23
2.2 Recognizing an argument 23
2.3 Identifying implied conclusions and unstated premises
(assumptions) 33
2.4 Circular arguments (an error in reasoning) 43
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C O N T E N T S
2.5 Counterarguments 46
2.6 Identifying the issue of contention 49
2.7 The burden of proof 53
2.8 The appeal to ignorance (an error in reasoning) 55
2.9 Facts and opinions 56
2.10 Deductive and inductive argument 61
Review of terms 66
Thinking critically about what you see 67
Thinking critically about what you hear 67
Thinking critically about what you read 67
Thinking critically about what you write 72
Thinking critically when you discuss 73
Reasoning test questions 78
3 The Structure of Argument 81
3.1 The structure of argument 83
3.2 Convergent, single 83
3.3 Convergent, multiple-separate 85
3.4 Convergent, multiple-linked 88
3.5 Divergent 90
3.6 Multi-structured arguments 93
Review of terms 101
Thinking critically about what you see 101
Thinking critically about what you hear 102
Thinking critically about what you read 102
Thinking critically about what you write 107
Thinking critically when you discuss 107
Reasoning test questions 107
4 Relevance 108
4.1 Relevance 110
4.2 Errors of relevance: considering the source of the argument
instead of the argument itself 113
4.2.1 Appeal to the person (ad hominem) 113
4.2.2 Genetic fallacy 120
4.3 Errors of relevance: appealing to an inappropriate standard 124
vi
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CO N T E N T S
4.3.1 Appeal to inappropriate authority 124
4.3.2 Appeal to tradition or past practice 127
4.3.3 Appeal to custom, habit, or common practice 130
4.3.4 Appeal to moderation (or lack of) 132
4.3.5 Appeal to popularity (or lack of) 136
4.3.6 “Two wrongs” 140
4.4 Errors of relevance: going off-topic 143
4.4.1 Paper tiger (also called the straw man fallacy) 143
4.4.2 Red herring 146
4.4.3 Non sequitur 148
4.4.4 Appeal to emotion 150
Review of terms 155
Thinking critically about what you see 155
Thinking critically about what you hear 156
Thinking critically about what you read 156
Thinking critically about what you write 163
Thinking critically when you discuss 164
Reasoning test questions 165
5 Language 168
5.1 Clarity 170
5.1.1 Precise diction 170
5.1.2 Precise grammar 174
5.1.3 Repetition 177
5.1.4 Detail 179
5.1.5 Beware of manipulation 182
5.2 Neutrality 183
5.2.1 Loaded language 183
5.2.2 Visual effects 188
5.2.3 Aural effects 193
5.2.4 Other effects 195
5.3 Definition 196
5.3.1 Genus and species 197
5.3.2 Necessary and sufficient conditions 199
5.3.3 Inclusiveness and exclusiveness 200
5.3.4 Equivocation (an error in reasoning) 204
vii
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C O N T E N T S
Review of terms 208
Thinking critically about what you see 208
Thinking critically about what you hear 209
Thinking critically about what you read 209
Thinking critically about what you write 213
Thinking critically when you discuss 214
Reasoning test questions 215
6 Truth and Acceptability 216
6.1 Truth and acceptability 219
6.1.1 Truth 219
6.1.2 Acceptability 220
6.2 How do we define truth? (theories of truth) 226
6.2.1 Subjectivism 226
6.2.2 The coherence theory 227
6.2.3 The correspondence theory 228
6.2.4 Pragmatism 229
6.3 How do we discover truth? 229
6.3.1 Innate ideas and/or experience and/or reason? 229
6.3.2 Random personal experience 231
6.3.3 Methodical investigation: the scientific process 234
6.4 How do we evaluate claims of truth? 241
6.4.1 Evaluating personal testimony 242
6.4.2 Evaluating studies (surveys, experiments, numbers) 244
6.4.3 Evaluating sources 261
6.4.4 Evaluating images 265
6.5 Errors of truth 267
6.5.1 The either/or fallacy 270
6.5.2 The fallacy of composition 271
6.5.3 The fallacy of division 272
6.5.4 The gambler’s fallacy 273
Review of terms 277
Thinking critically about what you see 278
Thinking critically about what you hear 278
viii
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CO N T E N T S
Thinking critically about what you read 278
Thinking critically about what you write 282
Thinking critically when you discuss 282
Reasoning test questions 282
7 Generalization, Analogy, and General Principle 283
7.1 Sufficiency 285
7.2 Generalization 287
7.2.1 Overgeneralization (an error) 291
7.2.2 Insufficient sample (an error) 293
7.2.3 Unrepresentative sample (an error) 295
7.3 Analogy 296
7.3.1 Weak or false analogy (an error) 300
7.4 General principle 303
7.4.1 Misapplied general principle (an error) 306
Review of terms 310
Thinking critically about what you see 311
Thinking critically about what you hear 311
Thinking critically about what you read 311
Thinking critically about what you write 317
Thinking critically when you discuss 318
Reasoning test questions 319
8 Inductive Argument: Causal Reasoning 322
8.1 Causation 325
8.1.1 Correlation and causation 327
8.1.2 Cause, time, and space 328
8.1.3 Direct and indirect causes 328
8.1.4 Necessary and sufficient causes 330
8.1.5 Mill’s methods 331
8.2 Explanations 335
8.2.1 Alternative explanations 335
8.2.2 Good explanations 337
ix