Introduction to Critical Thinking: Discussion Area 1
Please read M2 Guidance and use sources from college elibrary (highlighted) to discuss the following claim. Assess it for clarity, ambiguity, and definition of key terms.
“It is possible for atheists to be as moral as religious believers.”
Be sure to reference any material, such as supply links to web resources to support your assessment.
Please post a response of a minimum of 250 words that reflect a clear academic critique.
Week Two Guidance
Guidance
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.
~Dale Carnegie
Informal Logic (aka Critical Thinking) is the study of reasoning, both good and bad. This week, we will look at numerous arguments. Understanding how arguments work, and why they often do not work, will help make our own reasoning better, and make it less likely that we are persuaded of something when we should not be.
Logic examines the specific ways we use language to reason about things. Whether we want to determine the best route from Atlanta to Los Angeles, decide whether or not to buy that new dishwasher, or apply for a certain job, we use our reasoning abilities to come up with our best course of action. Logic seeks to examine and develop these abilities, in order both to improve them and to avoid being persuaded by the faulty reasoning of others. Logic, then, is the systematic study of reasoning.
The study of critical thinking improves our abilities to think. It forces us to pay closer attention to the way language is used (and misused). It helps make us better at providing good reasons for our decisions. It allows us to examine arguments critically and discover when an argument that appears to be good is, in fact, a bad argument. It can also make us better writers, by helping us develop clear, articulate, and precise arguments.
The concept cloud below represents not only most popular terms in the definition of logic, but the identification of underlying concepts, a collection of words that form themes. Words of the same color should be seen to form a theme. What main ideas/themes have emerged?
This week will reveal fundamentals of critical thinking, the difference between opinion and facts and how to check the credibility of claims. You will also review the many uses of language and its uses for persuasion. You may notice that we are using the word argument in a way that might seem different from the way it is commonly used. One might think of an argument as something a couple might have: “We had a terrible argument last night about who should be doing the dishes”—or you might have with your boss: “I tried to argue with him, but he just wouldn’t listen.” In logic, arguments do not have to involve anger or emotion. Arguments are simply a set of reasons given to support a claim. So while arguments can involve emotion and anger, they often do not when we look at them from the perspective of critical thinking.
Did you know that pickles will kill you!
Host Jessica Stowell uses an article that cites all the reasons why pickles will kill you to illustrate fallacious reasoning. Learning how to use good reasoning will make us better consumers of ideas and products, as well as finer speakers. There are four types of reasoning.
Watch HERE
In the next video it is explained how the use of sound thinking makes us believable as speakers and helps us protect ourselves as consumers of ideas and products.
Watch HERE
Logic is the anatomy of thought. —John Locke
Throughout this course, main resources that you can rely on that will enable you to successfully complete written assignments:
1. Empire State College’s Library and Research Resources – link here for the web-based online Library’s home page that can be reached any time of day or night.
2. http://www.esc.edu/library/
3. *Log in: andrey_kravchenko292
4. *Pass: aK1986
Resources
The following is an exceedingly brief list of resources related to critical thinking; there are literally thousands of sources online.
Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum Project
http://mcckc.edu/longview/ctac/
Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/
Center for Critical Thinking Library
http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/index.cfm
Online Resources to Improve your Critical Thinking
http://www.coping.org/adultlink/think.htm
Critical Thinking
http://www.accd.edu/sac/history/keller/ACCDitg/SSCT.htm
Critical Thinking on the Web
http://austhink.com/critical/
Taxonomy of Fallacies – While many fallacies have several names, this resource gives anyone a good idea of how the many fallacies are related.
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/taxonomy.html
References:
Paul, R. and Elder, L. Foundation For Critical Thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/universal-intellectual-standards/527