Critical Thinking 1. Introduction
Critical Thinking 1. Introduction
Critical Thinking 1. Introduction
■ It follows that . . .
■ This shows that . . .
■ Thus . . .
■ Hence . . .
■ Consequently . . .
■ Accordingly . . .
■ So . . .
■ My conclusion is . . .
People have opinions, views, thoughts, beliefs,
convictions, and ideas; for our purposes, these
are all the same. People may also express
these opinions and so forth in statements,
judgments, assertions, or—to use our preferred
word—claims. “Statement,” “judgment,”
“assertion,” and “claim” all mean the same thing
as we use them here.
Important terminology:
Claim: A statement, true or false, that expresses an opinion
or belief .
Dogma: A belief without demonstration.
Argument: A two-part structure of claims, one part of which
(the premise or premises) is given as a reason for thinking
the other part (the conclusion) is true .
Issue/Question: What is raised when a claim is called into
question .
Valid deductive argument: An argument whose premises
being true means that the conclusion must be true.
Strong inductive argument: The more support the premises
of an inductive argument provide for its conclusion, the
stronger the argument .
Value judgment: A claim that expresses an evaluation of
something.
Moral value judgment: A claim that expresses a moral or
ethical evaluation of something .
Rhetoric: Language that is psychologically persuasive but
does not have logical force .
Important mistakes that can be obstacles to
thinking critically: