Courage is required because to keep looking for better answers we have to be willing to give up our current beliefs or positions. When we encounter a question, we probably already have an answer. Suppose someone says some- thing to us about the appropriateness of behavior by abortion activists. In all probability, we already have an opinion about the matter. It often takes incred ible courage to give up on an opinion we have held for some time after listen- ing to someone else. As critical thinkers, we have to struggle to force ourselves to try out new answers. The interplay between our old answers and new ones provides a basis for our growth Effective Communication and Critical Thinking Many of the skills you will learn, as you become a more critical thinker, will improve the quality of your writing and speaking. As you write and speak, it helps to be aware of the expectations careful thinkers will have. Because your bjective is communication, many of the questions the thoughtful person will ask in evaluating your writing or speech should serve as guides for your own attempts to communicate well. Several of the critical questions that we urge you to ask highlight problems you will want to avoid as you write or speak While the emphasis in this book is on effective thinking, the link to com- petent communication is so direct that it will be a theme throughout Wher- ever appropriate, we will mention how the skill being encouraged is an aid to improved communication The Importance of Practice Learning new critical-thinking skills is a lot like learning new physical skills You cannot learn simply by being told what to do or by watching others. You have to practice, and frequently the practice will be both rewarding and hard work. Our goal is to make your learning as simple as possible. However, acquiring the habit of critical thinking will initially take a lot of practice practice exercises and sample responses at the end of each chapter are an important part of this text. Try to do the exercises and, only then,com- pare your answers with ours. Our answers are not necessarily the only correct ones, but they provide illustrations of how to apply the question-asking skills. We intentionally failed to provide sample answers for the third passage at the end of each chapter. Our objective is to give you the opportunity to struggle with the answer using your knowledge of the chapter you have just studied. We want you to feel the accomplishment of no longer necessarily needing us to guide you
12 Chapter 1 Courage is required because to keep looking for better answers we have to be willing to give up our current beliefs or positions. When we encounter a question, we probably already have an answer. Suppose someone says something to us about the appropriateness of behavior by abortion activists. In all probability, we already have an opinion about the matter. It often takes incredible courage to give up on an opinion we have held for some time after listening to someone else. As critical thinkers, we have to struggle to force ourselves to try out new answers. The interplay between our old answers and new ones provides a basis for our growth. Effective Communication and Critical Thinking Many of the skills you will learn, as you become a more critical thinker, will improve the quality of your writing and speaking. As you write and speak, it helps to be aware of the expectations careful thinkers will have. Because your objective is communication, many of the questions the thoughtful person will ask in evaluating your writing or speech should serve as guides for your own attempts to communicate well. Several of the critical questions that we urge you to ask highlight problems you will want to avoid as you write or speak. While the emphasis in this book is on effective thinking, the link to competent communication is so direct that it will be a theme throughout. Wherever appropriate, we will mention how the skill being encouraged is an aid to improved communication. The Importance of Practice Learning new critical-thinking skills is a lot like learning new physical skills. You cannot learn simply by being told what to do or by watching others. You have to practice, and frequently the practice will be both rewarding and hard work. Our goal is to make your learning as simple as possible. However, acquiring the habit of critical thinking will initially take a lot of practice. The practice exercises and sample responses at the end of each chapter are an important part of this text. Try to do the exercises and, only then, compare your answers with ours. Our answers are not necessarily the only correct ones, but they provide illustrations of how to apply the question-asking skills. We intentionally failed to provide sample answers for the third passage at the end of each chapter. Our objective is to give you the opportunity to struggle with the answer using your knowledge of the chapter you have just studied. We want you to feel the accomplishment of no longer necessarily needing us to guide you
The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions 1 The Right Questions e you an initial sense of the skills that Asking the Right Questions will help you acquire, we will list the critical questions for you here. By the end of the book, you should know when and how to ask these questions productively: 1. What are the issues and the conclusion 2. What are the reasons? 3. Which words or phrases are ambiguous 4. What are the value confi 5. What are the descriptive assumptions? 6. Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? 7. How good is the evidence 8. Are there rival causes? 9. Are the statistics deceptive 10. What significant information is omitted? 11. What reasonable conclusions are possible?
The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions 1 3 The Right Questions To give you an initial sense of the skills that Asking the Right Questions will help you acquire, we will list the critical questions for you here. By the end of the book, you should know when and how to ask these questions productively: 1. What are the issues and the conclusions? 2. What are the reasons? 3. Which words or phrases are ambiguous? 4. What are the value conflicts and assumptions? 5. What are the descriptive assumptions? 6. Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? 7. How good is the evidence? 8. Are there rival causes? 9. Are the statistics deceptive? 10. What significant information is omitted? 11. What reasonable conclusions are possible?
CHAPTER WHAT ARE THE ISSUE AND THE CONCLUSION? efore we evaluate someone's reasoning, we must first find it. Doing so sounds simple; it isn't. To get started as a critical thinker, you must practice the iden- tification of the issue and the conclusion Cell phones are becoming a large part of today's society bringing with than benefits and drawbacks. They are beneficial for those with tight schedules and in case of emergencies. Cell phones can also come in handy for parents to check up on their children, Even though cell phones do carry benefits, the drawbacks are in their inappropriate use. When a cell phone rings or owners talk on them during a lectu or a concert, a major disruption in the concentration of others is inevitable. Even though there are suggestions in polite society to leave them off, perhaps we need stronger penalties associated with abuse of the growing population of cell phones The person who wrote this assessment of cell phones very much war you to believe something. But what is that something and why are we supposed to believe any such thing? In general, those who create Web pages, editorials, books, magazine arti les, or speeches are trying to change your perceptions or beliefs. For you to form a reasonable reaction to their persuasive effort, you must first identify the controversy or issue as well as the thesis or conclusion being pushed onto you (Someone's conclusion is her intended message to you. Its purpose is to shape your beliefs and/or behavior. ) Otherwise, you will be reacting to a distorted version of the attempted communication
CHAPTE R 2 I WHA T AR E THE ISSUE AND THE CONCLUSION ? Before we evaluate someone's reasoning, we must first find it. Doing so sounds simple; it isn't. To get started as a critical thinker, you must practice the identification of the issue and the conclusion. Cell phones are becoming a large part of today's society bringing with than benefits and drawbacks. They are beneficial for those with tight schedules and in case of emergencies. Cell phones can also come in handy for parents to check up on their children. Even though cell phones do carry benefits, the drawbacks are in their inappropriate use. When a cell phone rings or owners talk on them during a lecture or a concert, a major disruption in the concentration of others is inevitable. Even though there are suggestions in polite society to leave them off, perhaps we need stronger penalties associated with abuse of the growing population of cell phones. The person who wrote this assessment of cell phones very much wants you to believe something. But what is that something and why are we supposed to believe any such thing? In general, those who create Web pages, editorials, books, magazine articles, or speeches are trying to change your perceptions or beliefs. For you to form a reasonable reaction to their persuasive effort, you must first identify the controversy or issue as well as the thesis or conclusion being pushed onto you. (Someone's conclusion is her intended message to you. Its purpose is to shape your beliefs and/or behavior.) Otherwise, you will be reacting to a distorted version of the attempted communication. 15
Chapter 2 When we read or listen, it is so easy to ignore what was said in the previ ous paragraph. We often react to the images, dramatic illustrations, or tone of what was said instead of the reasoning that was intended by the person com- municating with us. Each time we fail to react to the reasoning, human conversation has experienced a defeat. We are not connecting as the person who wrote or spoke to us intended. So, getting straight about the persons conclusion and issue is an essential first step in effective human interaction When you have completed this chapter, you should be able to answer the first of our critical questions successfull () Critical Question: What are the issue and the conclusion? Attention: An issue is a question or controversy responsible for the conversation or discussion. It is the stimulus for what is being said Kinds of Issues It will be helpful at this point to identify two kinds of issues you will typically encounter. The following questions illustrate one of these Do families who own pets have fewer arguments with one another? What causes high blood pr Who made the decision to increase our sales taxes? How much will college cost in the year 2010 All these questions have one thing in common. They demand answers attempting to describe the way the world is, was, or is going to be. For exam ple, answers to the first two questions might be, "In general, families with pets have fewer arguments with one another, "and"Poor dietary habits cause high blood pressure Such issues are descriptive issues. They are commonly found in textbooks magazines, the Internet, and television. Such issues reflect our curiosity about patterns or order in the world. Note the boldfaced words that begin each ques- ion above; when questions begin with these words, they will probably be descriptive questions Attention: Descriptive issues are those that raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present, or future
16 Chapter 2 When we read or listen, it is so easy to ignore what was said in the previous paragraph. We often react to the images, dramatic illustrations, or tone of what was said instead of the reasoning that was intended by the person communicating with us. Each time we fail to react to the reasoning, human conversation has experienced a defeat. We are not connecting as the person who wrote or spoke to us intended. So, getting straight about the person's conclusion and issue is an essential first step in effective human interaction. When you have completed this chapter, you should be able to answer the first of our critical questions successfully: (J) Critical Question: What are the issue and the conclusion? Attention: An issue is a question or controversy responsible for the conversation or discussion. It is the stimulus for what is being said. Kinds of Issues It will be helpful at this point to identify two kinds of issues you will typically encounter. The following questions illustrate one of these: Do families who own pets have fewer arguments with one another? What causes high blood pressure? Who made the decision to increase our sales taxes? How much will college cost in the year 2010? All these questions have one thing in common. They demand answers attempting to describe the way the world is, was, or is going to be. For example, answers to the first two questions might be, "In general, families with pets have fewer arguments with one another," and "Poor dietary habits cause high blood pressure." Such issues are descriptive issues. They are commonly found in textbooks, magazines, the Internet, and television. Such issues reflect our curiosity about patterns or order in the world. Note the boldfaced words that begin each question above; when questions begin with these words, they will probably be descriptive questions. Attention: Descriptive issues are those that raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present, or future