Critical thinking : a concise guide / Tracy Bowell and Gary Kemp.
Publisher: London : Routledge, 2001Description: 192p. 25 cm001: 9251ISBN: 0415240174Subject(s): Cognition and reasoningDDC classification: 371.30281 BOWItem type | Current library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Book | MAIN LIBRARY Book | 371.30281 BOW (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 080480 |
Browsing MAIN LIBRARY shelves, Shelving location: Book, Collection: PRINT Close shelf browser (Hides shelf browser)
371.3 WIS The undergraduate research handbook / | 371.3 WIS The undergraduate research handbook / | 371.3 WIS The undergraduate research handbook / | 371.30281 BOW Critical thinking : a concise guide / | 371.30281 BRI Critical thinking for students : learn the skills of critical assessment and effective argument / | 371.30281 CHA The arts good study guide | 371.30281 COT Critical thinking skills : developing effective analysis and argument / |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Critical Thinkingis a much-needed guide to thinking skills and above all to thinking critically for oneself. Through clear discussion, students learn the skills required to tell a good argument from a bad one.
Key features include:
*jargon-free discussion of key concepts in argumentation
*how to avoid confusions surrounding words such as 'truth', 'knowledge' and 'opinion'
*how to identify and evaluate the most common types of argument
*how to spot fallacies in arguments and tell good reasoning from bad
*topical examples from politics, sport, medicine, music
*chapter summaries, glossary and exercises
Critical Thinkingis essential reading for anyone, student or professional, seeking to improve their reasoning and arguing skills.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Preface to the first edition (p. vii)
- Preface to the second edition (p. ix)
- Introduction and preview (p. x)
- Chapter 1 Why should we become critical thinkers? (p. 1)
- Beginning to think critically
- Aspects of meaning
- Standard form
- Identifying conclusions and premises
- Arguments and explanations
- Intermediate conclusions
- Linguistic phenomena
- Chapter 2 Logic: deductive validity (p. 43)
- The principle of charity
- Truth
- Deductive validity
- Conditional propositions
- Deductive soundness
- The connection to formal logic
- Argument trees
- Chapter 3 Logic: inductive force (p. 80)
- Inductive force
- 'All', 'most' and 'some'
- Soft generalisations
- Inductive soundness
- Probability in the premises
- Arguments with multiple probabilistic premises
- Inductive force in extended arguments
- Conditional probability in the conclusion
- Evidence
- Inductive inferences
- A programme for assessment
- Chapter 4 Rhetorical ploys and fallacies (p. 113)
- Rhetorical ploys
- Fallacies
- Further fallacies
- Chapter 5 The practice of argument-reconstruction (p. 168)
- Extraneous material
- Defusing the rhetoric
- Logical streamlining
- Implicit and explicit
- Connecting premises
- Covering generalisations
- Relevance
- Ambiguity and vagueness
- More on generalisations
- Practical reasoning
- Balancing costs, benefits and probabilities
- Explanations as conclusions
- Causal generalisations
- A shortcut
- Chapter 6 Issues in argument assessment (p. 226)
- Rational persuasiveness
- Some strategies for logical assessment
- Refutation by counterexample
- Avoiding the 'who is to say?' criticism
- Don't merely label the position
- Argument commentary
- A complete example
- Commentary on the commentary
- Chapter 7 Truth, knowledge and belief (p. 261)
- Truth and relativity
- True for me, true for you
- Truth, value and morality
- Belief, justification and truth
- Justification without arguments
- Knowledge
- Justification failure
- Knowledge and rational persuasiveness
There are no comments on this title.