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Asking the Right Questions
A Guide to Critical Thinking
7th Edition
M. Browne, Stuart Keeley
0-13-182993-9
Paperback
224 pages
2004
Brief Description
For all level Critical Thinking, Argumentative Writing, and Informal Logic courses in English, Social Science, Philosophy, Education, Journalism, and Mass Communication departments.
This highly popular text helps students bridge the gap between simply memorising or blindly accepting information, and the greater challenge of critical analysis and synthesis. It teaches them to respond to alternative points of view and develop a solid foundation for making personal choices about what to accept and what to reject.
Features
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A focus on question-asking skills - Teaches students to develop their critical-thinking abilities by not always accepting what they hear as truth.
- Treatment of critical thinking as a generic skill - Makes the learning process applicable to all disciplines.
- Broad understanding of different types of evidence - Explores the criteria for rational conversation and the quality of reasoning.
- Analysis of biases - Familiarises students with preconceived ideas that hinder critical thinking.
- Caution Boxes - Alert students to common misunderstandings that interfere with the effective use of an idea or skills.
- Use of graphics and cartoons - Enlivens the presentation and helps clarify complex or significant points.
- Chapter-length illustration - Highlights for students the system of “right” questions.
- Informal writing style - Offers students a readable text with a simplified format that outlines the basic skills explicitly and concisely.
- Key definitions highlighted throughout - Emphasises important terminology needed for understanding and evaluating reasoning.
Contents
1. The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions.
2. What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?
3. What Are the Reasons?
4. What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
5. What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?
6. What Are the Descriptive Assumptions?
7. Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?
8. How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Appeals to Authority, and Testimonials?
9. How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Case Studies, Research Studies, and Analogies?
10. Are There Rival Causes?
11. Are the Statistics Deceptive?
12. What Significant Information Is Omitted?
13. What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?
14. Practice and Review.
Final Word.
Index.
Companion Website
www.prenhall.com/browne
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