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IntroductionIn the course of most arguments, factual or empirical claims will be made. A factual or empirical claim is one that can actually or in theory be tested. One common type of empirical claim is a generalization and another, which is a close relative of the former, is polling. Lets look at each in […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Assessing Generalizations and PollingIntroductionLast week we revisited premise acceptability and looked at rules of thumb for acceptance, rejection, or “questionable” status. This week we’re going to continue our happy reinvestigation of foundational principles by reexamining premise relevance and sufficiency. Recall from previous discussions that relevance and sufficiency are measures of logical force; that is, the degree to which a conclusion follows from premises. In […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Relevance Relevance-Related Logical Fallacies, and SufficiencyIntroductionUp until now we’ve looked at the major components of argument, argument evaluation, and argument construction: (a) premise acceptability and (b) logical force (which is made up of (i) premise relevance and (ii) sufficiency). Now we are going to look at these elements a little more closely. Premise/Evidence AcceptabilityWhen it comes to value-based arguments (e.g., […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Premise and Evidence Acceptability, Unacceptability, and Uncertainty RevisitedIntroductionDefinitions play important roles in arguments. To see why, let’s consider the abortion debate. Both sides agree that killing an innocent person is morally wrong. So, what’s the ruckus about? Often, those who are anti-abortion define human life and personhood as beginning at conception while those in the other camp say human life and personhood begin at […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Definitions Pt. 2: Intensional vs Extensional Definitions, Genus and Differentia, Four Rules for Good DefinitionsIntroductionMany a philosopher has argued that “happiness” is the or one of the most important elements of human life. Some even go so far as to say that an action is moral to the degree that it brings about happiness. Whether we accept such assertions will have much to do with what is meant by “happiness.” If […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Definitions: Vagueness, Ambiguity, Euphemisms, Emotional Language, and the Fallacy of EquivocationIntroductionIn the previous section we talked about the 3 principles of communication and how we should use them to interpret speech acts. Referring to the 3 principles of communication help us to identify hidden arguments, premises, and conclusions. In this next section we will look specific ways that arguments, premises, and conclusions are hidden in […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Non-Verbal Elements of Argument: Argument and Demonstrations, Symbols and MetaphorsIntroduction Here’s another problem that is pulling apart my intuitions about what’s right: the policy of universal accessibility to university education. It seems there’s an intrinsic tension between upholding a certain academic standard and making it accessible to as many people as possible. ‘Member back in the last presidential election (in US and A) when […]
Read More Liberals Gone Wild: The Problem(s) With Universal Access to University EducationNOTE: I’ve updated and improved this lesson on my new critical thinking website Reasoningforthedigitalage.com In the new version I present a more systematic way to identify hidden premises (i.e. enthymemes) IntroductionHere come the tricky part. Who needs the Quickie-Mart? Often identifying hidden premises and conclusions can require a little more cognitive effort than we have so far […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Hidden Premises and ConclusionsIntroductionUp until now we’ve been applying our analytical skills to relatively simple arguments. Now we will begin to apply those skills to extended arguments. What’s an extended argument? Well, I’m glad you asked: An extended argument is one that has a main conclusion supported by premises which themselves are in turn supported by sub-premises. When […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Extended Arguments and Inference IndicatorsIntroductionIn the last post we looked at the properties of a strong argument: (a) premise acceptability and (b) logical force (i.e., validity). The concept of validity can be further sub-divided into two components: (i) premise relevance and (ii) premise sufficiency. Now we’re going to look at the dark side of arguments: fallacies. Fallacies are […]
Read More Critical Thinking: Informal Fallacies Part 1: Red Herring and Straw Man
Wrestling with Philosophy 