Asking the Right Questions with Readings Plus NEW MyCompLab -- Access Card Package

Contents

Preface

 



Chapter  1:  The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions

  Introduction

  Critical Thinking to the Rescue

  The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles

  An Example of the Panning-for-Gold Approach

  Panning for Gold: Asking Critical Questions

  The Myth of the “Right Answer”

  The Usefulness of Asking the Question, “Who Cares?”

  Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking

  The Satisfaction of Using the Panning-for-Gold Approach

  Effective Communication and Critical Thinking

  The Importance of Practice

  The Right Questions

 

Chapter 2: Critical Thinking Is a Social Activity

  Values and Other People

  The Primary Values of a Critical Thinker

  Thinking and Feelings

  Keeping the Conversation Going

  Avoiding the Dangers of Groupthink

 

Chapter 3: What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?

  Kinds of Issues

  Searching for the Issue

  Searching for the Author’s or Speaker’s Conclusion

  Using This Critical Question

  Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion

  Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking

  Practice Exercises

  Fred von Lohmann, "Copyright Silliness on Campus"

 

Chapter 4: What Are the Reasons?

  Reasons + Conclusion = Argument

  Initiating the Questioning Process

  Words That Identify Reasons

  Kinds of Reasons

  Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight

  Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking

  Practice Exercises

  David Horowitz, "College Professors Should Be Made to Teach, Not Preach"

 

Chapter  5: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?

  The Confusing Flexibility of Words

  Locating Key Terms and Phrases

  Checking for Ambiguity

  Using This Critical Question

  Determining Ambiguity

  Context and Ambiguity

  Using This Critical Question

  Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary

  Ambiguity and Loaded Language

  Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity

  Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking

  Summary

  Practice Exercises

  New York Times editoriall, "Juvenile Injustice"

 

Chapter 6: What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?

  General Guide for Identifying Assumptions

  Value Conflicts and Assumptions

  From Values to Value Assumptions

  Typical Value Conflicts

  The Communicator’s Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions

  Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions

  More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions

  Avoiding a Typical Difficulty When Identifying Value Assumptions

  Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own

  Using This Critical Question

  Values and Relativism

  Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions

  Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions

  Using this Critical Question

  Clues for Locating Assumptions

  Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions

  Assumptions and Your Own Writing and Speaking

  Practice Exercises

  Religion News Blog, "Should We Legalize Marijuana?"

 

Chapter 7: Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?

  A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies

  Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point

  Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies

  Looking for Diversions

  Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question

  Using This Critical Question

  Summary of Reasoning Errors

  Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies

  Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking

  Practice Exercises

Jacob Sullum, "Gun Control Non Sequiturs"

 

Chapter 8: How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?

  The Need for Evidence

  Locating Factual Claims

  Sources of Evidence

  Intuition as Evidence

  Dangers of Appealing to Personal Experience as Evidence

  Testimonials as Evidence

  Appeals to Authority as Evidence

Problems with Citers Citing Other Citers

  Using This Critical Question

  Summary

  Practice Exercises

  Isabel Lyman, "Homeschooling Comes of Age"

 

Chapter 9: How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, Case Examples, and Analogies?

  Personal Observation

  Research Studies as Evidence

  Generalizing from the Research Sample

  Biased Surveys and Questionnaires

  Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument

  Case Examples as Evidence

  Analogies as Evidence

Identifying and Comprehending Analogies

Evaluation Analogies

  Summary

  Practice Exercises

  Neela Banerjee, "Americans Change Faiths as Rising Rate, Report Finds"

 

Chapter 10 Are There Rival Causes?

  When to Look for Rival Causes

  The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes

  Detecting Rival Causes

  The Cause or A Cause

  Rival Causes and Scientific Research

  Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups

  Confusing Causation with Association

  Confusing “After this” with “Because of this”

  Explaining Individual Events or Acts

  Evaluating Rival Causes

  Using This Critical Question

  Evidence and Your Own Writing and Speaking

  Summary

  Practice Exercises

  Cathy Arnst, "The World According to Disney"

 

Chapter 11: Are the Statistics Deceptive?

  Unknowable and Biased Statistics

  Confusing Averages

  Concluding One Thing, Proving Another

  Deceiving by Omitting Information

  Risk Statistics and Omitted Information

  Summary

  Practice Exercises

  Buddy T, About.com Guide, "College Drinking, Drug Use Grows More Extreme"

 

Chapter 12: What Significant Information Is Omitted?

  The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information

  The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning

  Questions that Identify Omitted Information

  The Importance of the Negative View

  Omitted Information That Remains Missing

  Using This Critical Question

  Practice Exercises

  Radley Balko, "Back to 18?"

 

Chapter 13:   What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?

  Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions

  Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions

  Two Sides or Many?

  Searching for Multiple Conclusions

  The Productivity of If-Clauses

  Alternative Solutions as Conclusions

  The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions

  All Conclusions Are Not Created Equal

  Summary

  Practice Exercises

  Maryann Bird, "Should We Stop Eating Meat to Help the Planet?"

 

Chapter 14: Overcoming Obstacles to Critical thinkingOvercoming Obstacles to Critical Thinking

  Reviewing Famnilair Obstacles

  Mental Habits That Betray Us

   The Seductive Quality of Personal Experience

   Belief in a Just World

   Stereotypes

   The Urge to Simplify

   Belief Perseverance

   Availability Heuristic

  Wishful Thinking

 

Chapter 15:  Should We Protect Children from Advertising?

  Rebecca A. Clay, "Advertising to Children: Is It Ethical?"

  Dale Kunkel and Brian Wilcox, "Television Advertising Leads to Unhealthy Habits in Children; Say APA Task Force"

  Cam Beck, "Taking Responsibility for Our McActions"

  Lisa Tiffin, "How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising"

  Susan E. Linn, "Food Marketing to Children in the Context of a Marketing Maelstrom"

  Essay Questions



 

Chapter 16: What Is the Proper Role of Government in Improving the Quality of Families in Our Culture?



  Stephanie Coontz, "Taking Marriage Private"

  "Swedish Top Lawyer Wants to Legalize Polygamy..."

  Peg Tittle, "We License Plumbers and Pilots - Why Not Parents?"

  Lizette Alvarez, "Jens and Vita, but Molli? Danes Favor Common Names"

  Malcolm Potts, "China's One Child Policy: The Policy That Changed the World"

  RIchard Posner, "The Regulation of the Market in Adoption"

  Essay Questions

  

Chapter 17: What is the Secret to Happiness?

  Arthur Max and Toby Sterling, "Researchers: Choices Spawn Happiness"

  Matthew Herper, "Money Won't Buy You Happiness"

  Steve Ross and Olivia Rosewood, "How to Find True Happiness"

  Jonathon Clements, "Down the Tube: The Sad Stats on Happiness, Money and TV"

  William R. Mattox, Jr., "Does Faith Promote Happiness?"

  John Lanchester, "Pursuing Happiness: Two Scholars Explore the Fragility of Contentment"

  Essay Questions

 

Chapter 17:  In What Ways Can the Media Influence Society and What Can We Do About It?

  Carrie McLaren, "The Media Doesn't Influence Us...Except When It Does"

  Geena Davis, "Children's Media Skew Gender"

  Katie Strickland, "Media Isn't Feeding Social Ills"

  Ross Gelbspan, "Snowed: Why Is the US News Media Silent on Global Warming?"

  Dan Gainor and Amy Menefee, "CNN's Global Warming Special Typifies Liberal Bias of Climate Coverage"

  Elmar Etzersdorfer and Gernot Sonneck, "Preventing Suicide by Influencing Mass-Media Reporting: The Viennese Experience 1980-1996"

  Essay Questions

 

Chapter 18: What role does physical appearance play in our lives?

  Keith Morrison, "Face Value Hidden Camera Investigation: Do Looks Really Matter?"

  Daniel Schweimler, "Argentina: Ugly People Strike Back"

  Maggie Stehr, "Study Credits Attractive People with Longer Life"

  Susan Kane, "Preparing Children for Plastic Surgery"

  Scott Reeves, "Good Looks, Good Pay?"

 Henry Wijsbek, "The Pursuit of Beauty"

  Essay Questions

 

Credits

 

Index