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Becoming a Critical Thinker A User Friendly Manual

by: Diestler, Sherry

Becoming a Critical Thinker A User Friendly Manual

by: Diestler, Sherry

ISBN 13:
9780205063451
ISBN 10:
0205063454
Edition: 6th
Format: Paperback
Copyright: 07/13/2011
Publisher: Pearson
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Becoming a Critical Thinker A User Friendly Manual > ISBN13: 9780205063451

Summary

BECOMING A CRITICAL THINKER: A USER FRIENDLY MANUAL, 6/e trains students to distinguish high-quality, well-supported arguments from arguments with little or no evidence to support them. Additionally, it develops the skills required to effectively evaluate the many claims facing them as citizens, learners, consumers, and human beings, and also to be effective advocates for their beliefs.

Author Biography

Sherry Diestler serves as chair of the Communication Studies department at Contra Costa College, where she teaches Critical Thinking, Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, and Speaking in the Community. She founded the college's competitive Speech and Debate Team and also created the college's Communication Lab to help students across the curriculum prepare and present speeches for their classes. Her department won a POWER award for Outstanding Program Outcomes Assessment (Student Learning Outcomes) from the Research Planning Group of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges.

Sherry received bachelor's degrees in English and Speech at Pennsylvania State University and earned membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Her master's degree in Communication Arts and Sciences/Media Studies is from Queens College of the City University of New York, where she was fortunate to be trained under Joseph DeVito and Gary Gumpert. She has worked as a communications consultant for the Office of Personnel Management, Western Region, as well as for a number of private corporations. In addition to the six prior editions of Becoming a Critical Thinker, she has edited three editions of her department custom text with Fountainhead Press entitled Public Speaking for College, Competition, and Career. Her online interpersonal communication text, The Interpersonal Project: Tools for Building, Maintaining, and Repairing Relationships, is being used across her department. She serves as chair of the Professional Development Committee and on the Board of Gateway to College and is a member of the National Communication Centers Association and the National Communication Association.

IN THIS SECTION:

1.) BRIEF
2.) COMPREHENSIVE

BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

PREFACE 000

Chapter 1 Foundations of Arguments 2

Chapter 2 Values and Ethics 36

Chapter 3 Reality of assumptions 74

Chapter 4 Inductive arguments: Statistical and causal generalizations 120

Chapter 5 Inductive generalizations: Controlled studies and analogies 170

Chapter 6 Reasoning errors 224

Chapter 7 The power of language 274

Chapter 8 Suggestion in media 320

Chapter 9 Fair-mindedness 400

Chapter 10 Persuasive speaking 442

CREDITS 483

INDEX 000

COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

PREFACE 000

Chapter 1 Foundations of Arguments 2

Who Is a Critical Thinker and When Do You Need to Be One?

The Structure of Argument 4

Individual or Class Exercise: Making a Decision 15

Chapter Review 16

Summary 16

Checkup 16

Exercises 17

“Educational Ticket” 19

“War on Drugs Fails: We Need New Approach” 19

“Drugged Driving” 19

Articles for Discussion 21

“16-Year-Old Sailor Was Already Off Course” 21

“LeBron James’ Decision a Cruel Blow to His Hometown” 25

“Roundup: NBA Team Owner Backs LeBron James’ Decision” 27

“Onstage and Backstage: Two Jobs. One Actor. What Do You Choose?” 28

“Talk-Show Host Angers Disabled Community” 29

“Radio Show on Rights of Disabled Defended” 30

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 32

“The Road Not Taken” 33

Films for Analysis and Discussion 34

Similar Films and Classics 34

Chapter 2 Values and Ethics 36

What Price Ethics and Can You Afford Not to Pay?

VALUE ASSUMPTIONS AND CONFLICTS 39

CLASS EXERCISE 42

ETHICS––AN IMPORTANT DIMENSION OF VALUES 44

IDEAL VALUES VERSUS REAL VALUES 47

ETHICS IN ARGUMENTATION 49

ETHICAL DECISION MAKING 50

Chapter Review 55

Summary 55

Checkup 56

Exercises 56

“Salvation Army Turns Down $100,000 Donation” 60

Articles for Discussion 60

“You Make the Call: Is It Goo Baseball Strategy or a Weak Attempt to Win?” 61

“Staffer Gets Subpoenaed” 63

“National Public Radio” 64

“Schools’ Peanut Bans Spark Backlash” 66

“Texas College Admissions Law Under Fire: Kids in Top 10% Get in Automatically” 68

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 70

Films for Analysis and Discussion 72

Similar Films and Classics 72

Chapter 3 Reality of assumptions 74

It’s Eleven O’Clock. Do You Know Where Your Assumptions Are?

REALITY ASSUMPTIONS 75

DETECTING REALITY ASSUMPTIONS 77

THE IMPORTANCE OF EXAMINING ASSUMPTIONS 83

DEDUCTIVE REASONING 88

USING TOULMIN’S METHOD TO UNDERSTAND DEDUCTION 93

THE USES OF DEDUCTIVE REASONING 95

Chapter Review 105

Summary 105

Checkup 105

Exercises 106

Articles for Discussion 108

“Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits” 108

“Can Blacks Be Racist?” 112

“Wasted Food, Discovered Souls” 114

“Bearer of Bad News” 115

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 116

Films for Analysis and Discussion 117

Similar Films and Classics 118

Television Shows for Analysis and Discussion 000

Chapter 4 Inductive arguments: Statistical and causal generalizations 120

Prove It to Me—What Are the Statistics?

INDUCTIVE REASONING 121

STATISTICAL EVIDENCE 125

THE MANY USES OF STATISTICS 125

HOW THE RESEARCH IS DONE 132

CHECKLIST FOR POLLS AND STATISTICAL STUDIES 135

USING SURVEYS AS EVIDENCE 136

STATISTICAL GENERALIZATIONS 139

THE REPORTING OF STATISTICAL STUDIES: TRUTHS, HALF-TRUTHS, AND DISTORTIONS 141

CAUSAL GENERALIZATIONS 142

HUME’S CONDITIONS FOR CAUSE AND EFFECT 148

TECHNICAL CAUSATION 149

MULTIPLE CAUSES 149

MILL’S ANALYSIS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT 152

USING DIFFERENCE AND SIMILARITY TOGETHER TO DETERMINE CAUSE 154

Chapter Review 155

Summary 155

Checkup 156

Exercises 156

“What Are the Risk Factors for Breast Cancer?” 157

“Multiple Causes of Suicide” 157

“Self-Segregation” 157

“Why Do People Start to Smoke?” 158

Articles for Discussion 160

“The Meth Epidemic” 160

“Understanding Facebook Addiction: Why Is Social Networking So Addictive? How Did We Get Addicted? 162 “ISU Researcher Studies Consequences of ‘Hooking Up’” 164

“Drugs, Gangs on the Rise in Schools: Survey Shows Increase in Gang Activity and Drug Use in Nation’s Schools” 165

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 167

Longer-Term Writing Assignment 168

Films for Analysis and Discussion 169

Similar Films and Classics 169

Chapter 5 Inductive generalizations: Controlled studies and analogies 170

Who Said So? And Who Are They Anyway?

RESEARCH DESIGN 172

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING RESEARCH FINDINGS 173

CONTROVERSY IN RESEARCH FINDINGS 181

CHECKLIST FOR MAKING, EVALUATING, REPAIRING, AND REFUTING ARGUMENTS 187

USE OF AUTHORITY: EXPERT TESTIMONY 189

PROBLEMS WITH EXPERT TESTIMONY 193

REASONING BY ANALOGY 201

Chapter Review 204

Summary 204

Checkup 204

Exercises 205

Articles for Discussion 211

“Food News Blues” 211

“$27 Million to Change NYC Signs from All-Caps” 216

“Could a Pill Help Fade Traumatic Memories?” 218

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 221

Films for Analysis and Discussion 223

Similar Film Classics 223

Chapter 6 Reasoning errors 224

I Know What I Think—Don’t Confuse Me with Facts

INADEQUATE REASONS AS FALLACIES 225

FALLACIES THAT MISLEAD 241

Chapter Review 255

Summary 255

Checkup 255

Exercises 255

Key Terms 000

Chapter Checkup 000

Chapter Exercises 000

Articles for Discussion 260

“Ashamed of Strug’s Sacrifice” 261

“Kerri Strug Made Reader Cheer” 261

“Keep Women Off the Streets” 262

“E-mail Chain Letters Deceive” 262

“Sunday Times Reveals Some Eco-Celeb Shame” 264

“Rwanda Is So Hot Right Now” 264

“On Comparing Global Warming Denial to Holocaust Denial” 267

“Does Facebook Make You Dumber? Study Shows Users of Social Networking Site Get Lower Grades” 269

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 272

Films for Analysis and Discussion 272

Chapter 7 The power of language 274

What’s in a Name?

DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION 276

THE POWER OF CONNOTATION 280

REIFICATION: WHEN WORDS TAKE ON MORE POWER THAN REALITY 284

MEANINGS ARE IN PEOPLE 287

THE PROBLEM OF VAGUENESS 291

AMBIGUITY IN LANGUAGE 293

DOUBLESPEAK, INCLUDING WEASEL WORDS 294

Chapter Review 303

Summary 303

Checkup 304

Exercises 304

Articles for Discussion 308

“What’s in a Name?” 308

“Race-Based Team Names Not Tolerated in Wisconsin” 310

“Jennifer Aniston, The R-Word and the Aftermath” 311

“Weasel Words Rip My Flesh!” 314

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 316

Films for Analysis and Discussion 318

Chapter 8 Suggestion in media 320

Is What You See What You Get? Do You Really Want It?

SUGGESTION IN DAILY LIFE 322

TELEVISED SUGGESTION 326

SUGGESTION IN PRINT MEDIA 333

THE POWER OF MEDIA TO SHAPE INFORMATION 341

A BAG OF MARKETING AND ADVERTISING TRICKS 345

STORYTELLING AS PERSUASION 371

CITIZENS, CONSUMERS, AND RELATIONSHIPS IN AN AGE OF TECHNOLOGY 373

Chapter Review 375

Summary 375

Checkup 375

Exercises 376

Articles for Discussion 381

“U.S. Mayor Uses Twitter to Help Snowbound” 381

“Scents and Sensibility” 382

“Five Fake Viral Video Campaigns: Great Gimmicks or Bad for Business?” 385

“The Tyranny of E-Mail” 388

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 395

Films for Analysis and Discussion 398

Similar Films and Classics 398

Chapter 9 Fair-mindedness 400

It’s You and Me, Kid, and I’m Not So Sure About You

HOW WE DEFEND OUR EGOS 402

CONFORMITY AND WAYS TO OVERCOME IT 407

EMOTIONAL REASONING AND RATIONAL RESPONSES 410

WAYS TO DEAL WITH EMOTIONAL REASONING 414

POINTS OF LOGICAL VULNERABILITY 415

ACTIVELY AND ACCURATELY LISTENING: DEVELOPING EMPATHY 418

THE ART OF LISTENING WELL 419

PRECAUTIONS ABOUT ACTIVE LISTENING 420

Chapter Review 423

Summary 423

Checkup 423

Exercises 424

Articles for Discussion 427

“Excerpts from How Doctors Think” 427

“Create Your Own Path” 429

“The Lock: They Argue and I Argue Back. But I Never Seem to Win. The Key: Listen—Just Listen, and You’ll Start to Win.” 431

“It Happened” 432

“For Women Only—What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men” 434

“Breakfast and Tousled Cornrows” 436

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 439

Films for Analysis and Discussion 440

Similar Films and Classics 440

Chapter 10 Persuasive speaking 442

What’s Your Point? How Do You Sharpen It?

BEING AN ADVOCATE OF IDEAS: COMMUNICATING PUBLICLY 444

THE BEST WAYS TO DEAL WITH SPEECH FEAR 445

AUDIENCE ANALYSIS 446

THE THREE ELEMENTS OF A PERSUASIVE ARGUMENT: ETHOS, LOGOS, AND PATHOS 447

PROBLEM SOLVING AND COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING 463

THE PROBLEM-SOLVING METHOD 464

Chapter Review 468

Summary 468

Checkup 468

Exercises 469

Articles for Discussion 473

“Don’t Be Shy” 473

“The Gettysburg Address” 476

Ideas for Writing or Speaking 477

Films for Analysis and Discussion 479

CREDITS 483

INDEX 000

Supplemental Materials

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