Supplementary

   Calvary University

 Faculty of Arts

Critical Thinking
    Tools for Taking Charge
        of Your Learning and Your Life

Book Cover

Edition 5

Richard Paul, Linda Elder
0-13-086972-4
Paperback
428 pages
2001


Brief Description

Appropriate for one or two semester courses in Critical Thinking or Student Success.

This text approaches critical thinking as a process by which one takes charge of, and responsibility for, one's thinking. It provides both a holistic theme that runs through-out and practical analytic and evaluative tools that can be used to target and improve specific dimensions of thinking. It is designed to foster the development of critical thinking skills and abilities as well as intellectual dispositions such as fair-mindedness, intellectual humility, and intellectual integrity. Based on 20 years of teaching and research with the Center For Critical Thinking, the approach is an eminently practical one. It is filled with Think-For-Yourself activities and examples from everyday life. It shows the reader how to use critical thinking to achieve deep and significant learning in all disciplines and subjects.

Features

  • Informal, student-oriented, easy to understand style.
    Helps the students translate intellectual ideas into meanings that make sense to them.
  • Focus on thinking across the disciplines.
    Helps students to think within the various disciplines, rather than memorizing facts. Students are taught to learn to think like an historian, like a scientist, like a psychologist, etc.
  • Critical thinking is treated as a way of life—Not just a set of skills to be occasionally used.
    Helps students recognize the significance of critical thinking in every context of their lives.
  • “Think for yourself” activities—Provided after each major theoretical point throughout the text.
    Gives students immediate opportunities to internalize the concepts and relate them to their learning and/or to their life.
  • The importance of and interrelationship between the intellectual virtues that must be cultivated in students if they are to develop as critical thinkers is emphasized—Explores the need to learn emotionally as well as intellectually.
    Helps students recognize the significance of critical thinking in their personal values and emotional lives.
  • Practical strategies for intellectual development.
    Helps students formulate strategies that they can effectively use to improve their thinking and their lives.
  • Numerous examples and illustrations.
    Helps define the stages of development as a thinker.
  • Students are challenged to take responsibility for their learning and for extending academic principles to their daily life.
    Students are encouraged to design their own learning, to be responsible for mastering the content of their courses, and to evaluate their learning.
  • Intellectual standards—Utilized throughout the text.
    Teaches students to take thinking apart and assess it.
  • Importance of understanding the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and desires in developing as a critical thinker is emphasized.
    Helps students integrate their thoughts, feelings, and desires (and thus deal with their inner contradictions and fragmentation).
  • Focus on the inherent problems caused by egocentrism and sociocentrism in human life—Simultaneously arguing for critical thinking as the necessary corrective for these flawed modes of thinking.
    Helps students overcome the “blocks” to critical thinking that are rooted in their personal egocentrism and social indoctrination.
  • “Thinking like a professional” .
    Highlights the importance of the responsible use of knowledge.
  • The importance of making a plan for self-improvement is stressed.
    Students are continually challenged to “think about their thinking” as a method of self-improvement. They are encouraged to apply the concepts they are learning in the text to the problems they face in their lives.
  • Guidelines—Include taking thinking apart, entering the point of view of others, gathering and evaluating information & evidence, monitoring inferences, checking assumptions, clarifying and deepening thinking, using thinking to transform feeling and desire, and using feelings to reveal subconscious thinking.
    These guidelines are given to students to improve their thinking.
  • The concept that critical thinking has the power to transform character is emphasized—The authors consider various traits of the mind, including: intellectual humility, autonomy, perseverance, integrity, and empathy.
    Students are encouraged to take charge of their irrational tendencies and to improve their decision making and problem solving through strong ethical and analytical reasoning.

Contents

Introduction.

  1. Becoming a Fair-Minded Thinker.
  2. The First Four Stages of Development.
  3. Self-Understanding.
  4. The Parts of Thinking.
  5. The Standards for Thinking.
  6. Asking Questions That Lead to Good Thinking.
  7. Master the Thinking, Master the Content.
  8. Designing Your Own Learning.
  9. Evaluating Your Own Learning.
  10. Making Decisions.
  11. Solving Problems.
  12. Taking Charge of Your Irrational Tendencies.
  13. Monitoring Your Sociocentric Tendencies.
  14. Developing as an Ethical Reasoner.
  15. Learning & Using Information Critically & Ethically: Part One.
  16. Learning & Using Information Critically & Ethically: Part Two.
  17. Strategic Thinking, Part One.
  18. Strategic Thinking, Part Two.
  19. Becoming an Advanced Thinker.

Appendices:
A. Critical Questions about Critical Thinking.
B. Sample Analyses of “The Logic Of…”
C. Article: “Iraq Is a Pediatrician's Hell: No Way to Stop the Dying.”

Glossary.
References.
Index.

Companion Website:

http://www.prenhall.com/paul

Copyright © Calvary University, 1998   All rights reserved.
Virtual Learning Centre for Accredited Christian Higher Education
Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life, 2/E View Larger Image Richard Paul, Foundation for Critical Thinking, Sonoma State University Linda Elder, Foundation for Critical Thinking, Sonoma State University ISBN: 0-13-114962-8 Publisher: Prentice Hall Copyright: 2006 Format: Paper; 544 pp NEW—Combine Chapters 10 & 11. ~Provides streamlined coverage of decision making and problem solving. NEW—Added chapter on Media Bias—Chapter 12: "How to Detect Media Bias and Propaganda". NEW—Infused Chapter 12 into 13—Chapter 13: "Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery & Manipulation". Multiple graphics in every chapter. ~ Reinforces the the text content for the student, as they are reading the prose. "Think for Yourself" feature. ~ Help students apply concepts individually or in groups. Table of Contents Introduction A Start-up Definition of Critical Thinking How Skilled Are You as a Thinker? Good Thinking Requires Hard Work The Concept of Critical Thinking Become a Critic of Your Thinking Establish New Habits of Thought Develop Confidence in Your Ability to Reason and Figure Things Out 1. Becoming a Fair-minded Thinker. Weak vs. Strong Critical Thinking What Does Fair-Mindedness Require? Intellectual Humility: Strive to Discover the Extent of Their Ignorance Intellectual Courage: Develop the Courage to Challenge Popular Beliefs Intellectual Empathy: Learn to Empathically Enter Opposing Views Intellectual Integrity: Hold Yourself to the Same Standards to Which They Hold Others Intellectual Perseverance: Refuse to Give Up Easily, Work Your Way through Complexities and Frustration Confidence in Reason: Respect Evidence and Reasoning and Value Them as Tools for Discovering the Truth Intellectual Autonomy: Value Independence of Thought Recognize the Interdependence of Intellectual Virtues Conclusion 2. The First Four Stages of Development. Stage One: The Unreflective Thinker Stage Two: The Challenged Thinker Stage Three: The Beginning Thinker Stage Four: The Practicing Thinker 3. Self-Understanding. Monitor the Egocentrism in Your Thought and Life Make a Commitment to Fair-Mindedness Recognize the Mind’s Three Distinctive Functions Understand That You Have a Special Relationship to Your Mind Connect Academic Subjects to Your Life and Problems Learn Both Intellectually and Emotionally 4. The Parts of Thinking. Reasoning Is Everywhere in Human Life Reasoning Has Parts The Elements of Thought: A First Look How the Parts of Thinking Fit Together The Relationship between the Elements The Best Thinkers Think to Some Purpose The Best Thinkers Take Command of Concepts The Best Thinkers Assess Information The Best Thinkers Distinguish Between Inferences and Assumptions The Best Thinkers Think through Implications The Best Thinkers Think across Points of View The Point of View of the Critical Thinker Conclusion 5. The Standards for Thinking. Taking a Deeper Look at Intellectual Standards Clarity • Accuracy • Precision • Relevance • Depth • Breadth • Logicalness • Significance • Fairness Bringing Together the Elements of Reasoning and the Intellectual Standards Purpose, Goal, or End in View • Question at Issue or Problem to Be Solved • Point of View or Frame of Reference • Information, Data, Experiences • Concepts, Theories, Ideas • Assumptions • Implications and Consequences • Inferences Brief Guidelines for Using Intellectual Standards 6. Asking Questions That Lead to Good Thinking. The Importance of Questioning Dead Questions Reflect Inert Minds Three Categories of Questions Become a Socratic Questioner Focus Your Thinking on the Type of Question Being Asked • Focus Your Questions on Universal Intellectual Standards for Thought • Focus Your Questions on the Elements of Thought • Focus Your Questions on Prior Questions • Focus Your Questions on Domains of Thinking Conclusion 7. Master the Thinking, Master the Content. Go Beyond Superficial Memorization to Deep Learning The Relation of Content to Thinking Understand Content through Thinking and Thinking through Content Think Through Your Classes Using Your Knowledge of Thinking 8. Discover How the Best Thinkers Learn. 18 Ideas for Improving Your Studies The Logic of a College as It Is How the Best Students Learn The Design of a College Class Figure Out the Underlying Concept of Your Courses Figure Out the Form of Thinking Essential to Courses or Subjects Think Within the Logic of the Subject A Case: The Logic of Biochemistry Make the Design of the Course Work for You Sample Course: American History, 1600–1800 Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, and Thinking Figure Out the Logic of an Article or Essay Figure Out the Logic of a Textbook Criteria for Evaluating an Author’s Reasoning A Test to Repeat in Every Class & Subject 9. Redefining Grades as Levels of Thinking and Learning. Develop Strategies for Assessing Your Learning Use Student Profiles to Assess Your Performance Exemplary Students (Grade of A) High Performing Students (Grade of B) Mixed-Quality Students (Grade of C) Low-Performing Students (Grade of D or F) Apply Student Profiles to Assess Your Performance Within Specific Disciplines: Exemplified by an Introduction to Psychology Course Exemplary to Low-Performing Conclusion 10. Making Decisions and Solving Problems. PART I: MAKING DECISIONS Evaluating Patterns in Decision-Making “Big” Decisions The Logic of Decision-Making Recognizing the Need for an Important Decision • Accurately Recognizing the Alternatives • Putting More Time into Your Decision-Making • Being Systematic • Dealing with One Major Decision at a Time • Developing Knowledge of Your Ignorance Dimensions of Decision-Making The Early Decisions (2–11 Years of Age) Adolescent Decisions (12–17 Years of Age) Conclusion PART II: SOLVING PROBLEMS Becoming an Activist Problem-Solver Evaluating Patterns in Your Problem-Solving Dissolving Pseudo-Problems False Needs and Irrational Ends “Big” Problems Dimensions of Problem-Solving Avoiding the Pitfalls of Problem-Solving Analyze Problems Using the Elements of Thought The Art of Problem-Solving 11 Deal With Your Irrational Mind. PART I: THE BEST THINKERS TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR EGOCENTRIC NATURE. Understand Egocentric Thinking Understand Egocentrism as a Mind within the Mind Successful Egocentric Thinking Unsuccessful Egocentric Thinking Rational Thinking Two Egocentric Functions Egocentric Domination Egocentric Submission Pathological Tendencies of the Human Mind Challenge the Pathological Tendencies of Your Minds The Challenge of Rationality PART II: THE BEST THINKERS TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR SOCIOCENTRIC THINKING. The Nature of Sociocentrism Social Stratification Sociocentric Thinking Is Unconscious and Potentially Dangerous Sociocentric Uses of Language Disclose Sociocentric Thinking through Conceptual Analysis Reveal Ideology at Work through Conceptual Analysis Conclusion: Work to Free Yourself from Egocentric and Sociocentric Thought 12. How to Detect Media Bias and Propaganda. Democracy and the News Media Myths That Obscure the Logic of the News Media Bias and Objectivity in the News Media Forms of Objectivity The Perception of Bias in the Mainstream Propaganda and News Story Writing Protecting the Home Audience from Guilt Feelings Fostering Sociocentric Thinking Slanting Stories to Favor Privileged Views How to Obtain Useful Information from Propaganda and Standard News Stories Steps in Becoming a Critical Consumer of the “News” Media Awareness of Media Bias Sensitivity to Advertisers Sensitivity to Government Sensitivity to Powerful Interests Sensitivity to Their Competitors The Bias toward “Novelty” and “Sensationalism” Critical Consumers of the News Is It Possible for the News Media to Reform? Is the Emergence of a “Critical Society” Possible? Dominant and Dissenting Views: Finding Alternative Sources of Information Becoming an Independent Thinker Buried, Ignored, or Underreported Stories Using the Internet Additional Alternative News Sources Conclusion An Abbreviated Glossary 13. Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery & Manipulation. Truth & Deception in the Human Mind Uncritical Persons (intellectually unskilled thinkers) Skilled Manipulators (weak-sense critical thinkers) Fair-minded Critical Persons (strong-sense critical thinkers) The Concept of Fallacies of Thought Naming Fallacies Mistakes Versus Fallacies There is No Exhaustive List of Fallacies Faulty Generalizations Analyzing Generalizations Post Hoc Generalizations Analogies and Metaphors 44 Foul Ways to Win an Argument Accuse Your Opponent of Doing What He is Accusing You of or worse Accuse Him of Sliding down A Slippery Slope (that leads to disaster) Appeal to Authority Appeal to Experience Appeal to Fear Appeal to Pity (or sympathy) Appeal to Popular Passions Appeal to Tradition or Faith (“the tried and true”) Assume a Posture of Righteousness Attack the person (and not the argument) Beg the Question Call for Perfection (Demand impossible conditions) Create a False Dilemma (the Great Either/Or) Devise Analogies (and Metaphors) That Support Your View (even if they are misleading or “false”). Question Your Opponent’s Conclusions Create Misgivings: Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire Create A Straw Man Deny or Defend Your Inconsistencies Demonize His Side Sanitize Yours Evade Questions, Gracefully Flatter Your Audience Hedge What You Say Ignore the Evidence Ignore the Main Point Attack Evidence (That Undermines Your Case) Insist Loudly on a Minor Point Use the Hard-Cruel-World Argument (to justify doing what is usually considered unethical). Make (Sweeping) Glittering Generalizations Make Much of Any Inconsistencies in Your Opponent’s Position Make Your Opponent Look Ridiculous (“Lost in the Laugh”) Oversimplify the Issue Raise Nothing But Objections Rewrite History (Have It Your Way) Seek Your Vested Interests Shift the Ground. Shift the Burden of Proof Spin, Spin, Spin Talk in Vague Generalities. Talk Double Talk Tell Big Lies Treat Abstract Words and Symbols As If They Were Real Things Throw In A Red Herring (or two) Throw in Some Statistics Use Double Standards (whenever you can) Fallacy Detection: Analyzing a Speech from the Past Fallacy Detection: Analyzing a Current Presidential Speech Fallacy Detection: Analyzing a Speech from a Presidential Candidate Avoid Two Extremes: 1) Finding Fallacies Only in the Thinking of Others (None in Yourself), and 2) Finding an Equal Number of Fallacies in Everything you Read. Conclusion: Fallacies in an Ideal (And in a Real) World 14. Developing as an Ethical Reasoner. Why People Are Confused About Ethics The Fundamentals of Ethical Reasoning Ethical Concepts and Principles • The Universal Nature of Ethical Principles • Distinguishing Ethics from Other Domains of Thinking • Ethics and Religion • Ethics and Social Conventions • Ethics and the Law • Ethics and Sexual Taboos • Understanding Our Native Selfishness 15. Learning & Using Information Critically & Ethically, Part One. A Critique of Disciplines The Ideal of Knowledge Acquisition True Loyalty to a Discipline The Gap between Fact and Ideal The Ideal Compared to the Real The Ideal of Mathematics: Abstract Quantification The Ideal of Science: Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Geology, Biology The Ideal of Science: History, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Psychology The Ideal of the Arts and Humanities: Music, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Dance, Literature, Philosophy Conclusion 16. Learning & Using Information Critically & Ethically, Part Two. The Method & a Model Case Realistic Understanding Be a Critic, Not a Cynic Recognize the Mental Nature of Knowledge Develop Awareness of the Harm from Misuse of Information Question Academic and “Expert” Information Question the Status of Knowledge in a Field A Model Case: Questioning Psychology and the Mental Health Professions The Milligram Experiment Scientific Studies in the Psychology A Dark Side of the Mental Health Professions Legitimizing Deeply Held Social Beliefs Questioning “Psychotherapy” Learning from Suspect Claims of Psychology and the Mental Health Professions Thinking Psychologically: A Postscript 17. Strategic Thinking, Part One. Understanding and Using Strategic Thinking Components of Strategic Thinking The Beginnings of Strategic Thinking Key Idea 1 Thoughts, Feelings, and Desires are Interdependent Key Idea 2 There Is a Logic to This, and You Can Figure It Out Key Idea 3 For Thinking to Be of High Quality, We Must Routinely Assess It 18. Strategic Thinking, Part Two. Key Idea 4 Understanding Our Native Egocentrism as a Default Mechanism Key Idea 5 We Must Become Sensitive to the Egocentrism of Those around Us Key Idea 6 The Mind Tends to Generalize Beyond the Original Experience Key Idea 7 Egocentric Thinking Appears to the Mind as Rational Key Idea 8 The Egocentric Mind Is Automatic in Nature Key Idea 9 We Often Pursue Power Through Dominating or Submissive Behavior Key Idea 10 Humans Are Naturally Sociocentric Animals Key Idea 11 Developing Rationality Requires Work Conclusion 19. Becoming an Advanced Thinker. Practicing Skilled Thinking Stage Five: Reaching the Advanced Stage of Development Stage Six: Becoming a Master Thinker Qualities of Mind of a Master Thinker The Ideal Thinker Appendices A. Critical Questions About Critical Thinking B. Sample Analyses of “The Logic of . . .” C Article: “Iraq Is a Pediatrician’s Hell: No Way to Stop the Dying” Glossary References Index