Critical Thinking

Richard L.(Richard L. Epstein) Epstein0534583482, 9780534583484

Critical thinking isnt as easy as it sounds. CRITICAL THINKING shows you how decision-making errors are made, and how to avoid them. By combining simple explanations with time-tested theories, CRITICAL THINKING helps you meet the challenges of life head-on. And because it includes over one thousand examples drawn from everyday life and tons of study tools, this textbook helps you get the grade you need.

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Table of contents :
Front Cover……Page 1
Contents……Page 6
Preface to the Student……Page 14
Preface to the Instructor……Page 15
Acknowledgments……Page 19
The FUNDAMENTALS……Page 21
1 Critical Thinking?……Page 22
Writing Lesson 1……Page 33
2 What Are We Arguing About?……Page 34
Writing Lesson 2……Page 55
3 What Is a Good Argument?……Page 57
Writing Lesson 3……Page 73
Cartoon Writing Lesson A……Page 75
4 Repairing Arguments……Page 79
Writing Lesson 4……Page 98
5 Is That True?……Page 103
Writing Lesson 5……Page 123
Review Chapters 1-5……Page 126
The STRUCTURE of ARGUMENTS……Page 129
1. Compound claims and “or” claims……Page 130
2. The contradictory of a claim……Page 131
3. Reasoning with “or” claims……Page 133
4. False dilemmas……Page 135
5 Conditionals and their contradictories……Page 137
6 Necessary and sufficient conditions……Page 141
7 Valid and weak forms of arguments using conditionals……Page 144
8 Reasoning in a chain and the slippery slope……Page 149
9 Reasoning from hypotheses……Page 150
Writing Lesson 6……Page 156
Cartoon Writing Lesson C……Page 162
7 Counter-arguments……Page 164
Writing Lesson 7……Page 172
8 General Claims……Page 175
Writing Lesson 8……Page 190
Review Chapters 6-8……Page 191
AVOIDING BAD ARGUMENTS……Page 194
9 Concealed Claims……Page 195
10 Too Much Emotion……Page 205
B. Structural Fallacies……Page 212
C. Content Fallacies……Page 214
E. Is This Really a Mistake?……Page 215
F. So It’s Bad, So What?……Page 216
Writing Lesson 9……Page 219
Cartoon Writing Lesson D……Page 220
ARGUMENTS for ANALYSIS……Page 222
Short Arguments for Analysis……Page 223
Complex Arguments for Analysis……Page 233
REASONING ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCE……Page 263
12 Reasoning by Analogy……Page 264
Writing Lesson 10……Page 276
13 Numbers?……Page 277
14 Generalizing……Page 289
15 Cause and Effect……Page 311
Writing Lesson 11……Page 341
Review Chapters 12-15……Page 349
Evaluating Reasoning……Page 351
Cartoon Writing Lesson E……Page 347
Composing Good Arguments……Page 354
Cartoon Writing Lesson F……Page 356
Writing Lesson 12……Page 358
Making Decisions……Page 359
APPENDICES……Page 361
Using Examples in Reasoning……Page 362
Truth-Tables……Page 366
Aristotelian Logic……Page 380
Diagramming Arguments……Page 392
Glossary……Page 398
Answers to Selected Exercises……Page 407
Index……Page 443
Back Cover……Page 448