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Critical Thinking: Evaluating Logical Strength of Deductive and Inductive Arguments through Relevance and Sufficiency

IntroductionIn the previous post we talked about logical force or logical consequence (they are interchangeable).  These terms refer to the degree to which we must accept the conclusion if we’ve assumed the premises to be true.  When an argument has maximum logical force we say it is valid.  Generally, there are two types of logical force: deductive […]

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Critical Thinking: Burden of Proof, Strong Arguments, and How to Criticize.

IntroductionUp until now we’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at the role of biases in argument.  Understanding how they influence arguers and our perception of arguments is important; however we’re now going to move beyond the psychological aspects of analysis (tell me about your mother…) and start to hone our technical skills.The first […]

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Critical Thinking: Biases, Vested Interests, and Conflicts of Interests

IntroductionThe previous chapter on arguments focused on how differences in systems of beliefs give rise to arguments.  People with disparate systems of beliefs often hold differing values and beliefs, which in turn influence what they consider to be basic assumptions (to be used in an argument as premises).It should also be mentioned that sometimes the difference isn’t […]

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Critical Thinking: Defining an Argument, Premises, and Conclusions

Defining an ArgumentArgument: vas is das? For most of us when we hear the word ‘argument’ we think of something we’d rather avoid.  As it is commonly understood, an argument involves some sort of unpleasant confrontation (well, maybe not always unpleasant–it can feel pretty good when you win!).  While this is one notion of ‘argument,’ […]

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