Rent 9780131773790 | Asking the Right Questions : A Guide to Critical Thinking

Summary Table of Contents

This popular book helps readers understand the difference between blindly accepting information and critical analysis and synthesis. It teaches how to react rationally to alternate points of view and develop a foundation for making personal choices about what to accept and what to reject in what we see and hear.

Focusing on the question-asking skills and techniques necessary for evaluating different types of evidence, this book addresses critical thinking as a generic skill with many applications while emphasizing values and moral reasoning as an integral part of critical thinking. It provides extensive treatment of evidence while analyzing the biases that hinder critical thinking. It includes a chapter-length illustration of the system of "right" questions. The fifth edition of Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking has been revised to be more readable and clear. It provides highlighted definitions and illustrations that provide a more lively format that clarifies complex or significant points. In addition, Caution Boxes warn readers of com

Preface	p. xi
The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Critical Thinking to the Rescue	p. 2
The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles	p. 3
An Example of the Panning-for-Gold Approach	p. 5
Panning for Gold: Asking Critical Questions	p. 7
The Myth of the "Right Answer"	p. 7
Thinking and Feelin... MOREg	p. 8
The Efficiency of Asking the Question, "Who Cares?"	p. 9
Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking	p. 10
The Satisfaction of Using the Panning-for-Gold Approach	p. 11
Trying Out New Answers	p. 11
Effective Communication and Critical Thinking	p. 12
The Importance of Practice	p. 12
The Right Questions	p. 13
What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?	p. 15
Kinds of Issues	p. 16
Searching for the Issue	p. 17
Searching for the Author's or Speaker's Conclusion	p. 18
Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion	p. 19
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 21
Practice Exercises	p. 22
What Are the Reasons?	p. 25
Reasons + Conclusion = Argument	p. 26
Initiating the Questioning Process	p. 27
Words That Identify Reasons	p. 29
Kinds of Reasons	p. 29
Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight	p. 31
Reasons First, Then Conclusions	p. 33
"Fresh" Reasons and Your Growth	p. 33
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 34
Practice Exercises	p. 34
What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?	p. 37
The Confusing Flexibility of Words	p. 38
Locating Key Terms and Phrases	p. 39
Checking for Ambiguity	p. 40
Determining Ambiguity	p. 41
Context and Ambiguity	p. 43
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary	p. 45
Ambiguity and Loaded Language	p. 47
Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity	p. 48
Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 48
Summary	p. 49
Practice Exercises	p. 50
What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?	p. 53
General Guide for Identifying Assumptions	p. 55
Value Conflicts and Assumptions	p. 55
Discovering Values	p. 56
From Values to Value Assumptions	p. 58
Typical Value Conflicts	p. 59
The Communicator's Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions	p. 61
Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions	p. 61
More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions	p. 62
Avoiding a Typical Difficulty When Identifying Value Assumptions	p. 63
Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own	p. 64
Values and Relativism	p. 67
Summary	p. 67
Practice Exercises	p. 67
What Are the Descriptive Assumptions?	p. 71
Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions	p. 72
Clues for Locating Assumptions	p. 74
Applying the Clues	p. 77
Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions	p. 78
Assumptions and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 79
Summary	p. 79
Practice Exercises	p. 80
Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?	p. 83
A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies	p. 85
Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point	p. 85
Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies	p. 88
Looking for Diversions	p. 94
Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question	p. 96
Summary of Reasoning Errors	p. 97
Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies	p. 98
Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 99
Practice Exercises	p. 99
How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?	p. 103
The Need for Evidence	p. 104
Locating Factual Claims	p. 105
Sources of Evidence	p. 106
Intuition as Evidence	p. 107
Dangers of Appealing to Personal Experience as Evidence	p. 108
Personal Testimonials as Evidence	p. 109
Appeals to Authority as Evidence	p. 110
Summary	p. 113
Practice Exercises	p. 114
How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, Case Examples, and Analogies?	p. 117
Personal Observation	p. 117
Research Studies as Evidence	p. 118
Generalizing from the Research Sample	p. 123
Biased Surveys and Questionnaires	p. 124
Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument	p. 127
Case Examples as Evidence	p. 128
Analogies as Evidence	p. 129
Summary	p. 133
Practice Exercises	p. 133
Are There Rival Causes?	p. 137
When to Look for Rival Causes	p. 138
The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes	p. 139
Detecting Rival Causes	p. 142
The Cause or A Cause	p. 142
Rival Causes and Scientific Research	p. 143
Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups	p. 145
Confusing Causation with Association	p. 146
Strong Support for a Cause	p. 148
Confusing "After this" with "Because of this"	p. 148
Explaining Individual Events or Acts	p. 150
Evaluating Rival Causes	p. 151
Evidence and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 152
Summary	p. 152
Practice Exercises	p. 152
Are the Statistics Deceptive?	p. 155
Unknowable and Biased Statistics	p. 156
Confusing Averages	p. 156
Concluding One Thing, Proving Another	p. 158
Deceiving by Omitting Information	p. 159
Risk Statistics and Omitted Information	p. 160
Summary	p. 161
Practice Exercises	p. 162
What Significant Information Is Omitted?	p. 165
The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information	p. 166
The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning	p. 166
Questions That Identify Omitted Information	p. 167
The Importance of the Negative View	p. 172
Omitted Information That Remains Missing	p. 173
Missing Information and Your Own Writing and Speaking	p. 174
Practice Exercises	p. 174
What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?	p. 179
Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions	p. 180
Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions	p. 180
Two Sides or Many?	p. 181
Searching for Multiple Conclusions	p. 183
Productivity of If-Clauses	p. 184
Alternative Solutions as Conclusions	p. 185
The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions	p. 186
Summary	p. 186
Practice Exercises	p. 187
Practice and Review	p. 191
Question Checklist for Critical Thinking	p. 191
Asking the Right Questions: A Comprehensive Example	p. 192
What Are the Issue and Conclusion?	p. 194
What Are the Reasons?	p. 194
What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?	p. 195
What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?	p. 196
What Are the Descriptive Assumptions?	p. 196
Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?	p. 197
How Good Is the Evidence?	p. 198
Are There Rival Causes?	p. 199
Are the Statistics Deceptive?	p. 199
What Significant Information Is Omitted?	p. 200
What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?	p. 201
Final Word	p. 203
The Tone of Your Critical Thinking	p. 203
Strategies for Effective Critical Thinking	p. 204
Index	p. 205
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