The Power of Critical Thinking 6th Edition by Lewis Vaughn, ISBN-13: 978-0190852719

Description

The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning about Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims 6th Edition by Lewis Vaughn, ISBN-13: 978-0190852719

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• Publisher: ‎ Oxford University Press; 6th edition (September 20, 2018)
• Language: ‎ English
• 600 pages
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0190852712
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0190852719

The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning About Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims, Sixth Edition, provides the broadest range of tools to show students how critical thinking applies in their lives and the world around them. It explores the essentials of critical reasoning, argumentation, logic, and argumentative essay writing while also incorporating important topics that most other texts leave out, such as “inference to the best explanation,” scientific reasoning, evidence and authority, visual reasoning, and obstacles to critical thinking.

Table of Contents:

The Power of Critical Thinking

Dedication

BRIEF CONTENTS

CONTENTS

PREFACE

PART ONE: BASICS

CHAPTER 1: The Power of Critical Thinking

Why It Matters

How It Works

Claims and Reasons

Reasons and Arguments

Arguments in the Rough

KEY WORDS

Summary

EXERCISES

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 2: Obstacles to Critical Thinking

Psychological Obstacles

The Almighty Self

The Power of the Group

Philosophical Obstacles

Subjective Relativism

Social Relativism

Skepticism

KEY WORDS

Summary

EXERCISES

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 3: Making Sense of Arguments

Argument Basics

Judging Arguments

Finding Missing Parts

Argument Patterns

Diagramming Arguments

Assessing Long Arguments

KEY WORDS

Summary

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

PART TWO: REASONS

CHAPTER 4: Reasons for Belief and Doubt

When Claims Conflict

Experts and Evidence

Personal Experience

Impairment

Expectation

Innumeracy and Probability

Fooling Ourselves

Resisting Contrary Evidence

Looking for Confirming Evidence

Preferring Available Evidence

Evaluating Sources: The Internet and Beyond

Fake News

Advertising and Persuasion

Identification

Slogans

Misleading Comparisons

Weasel Words

KEY WORDS

Summary

EXERCISES

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 5: Fallacies and Persuaders

Fallacies: Irrelevant Premises

Genetic Fallacy

Composition

Division

Appeal to the Person

Equivocation

Appeal to Popularity

Appeal to Tradition

Appeal to Ignorance

Appeal to Emotion

Red Herring

Straw Man

Two Wrongs Make a Right

Fallacies: Unacceptable Premises

Begging the Question

False Dilemma

Decision-Point Fallacy

Slippery Slope

Hasty Generalization

Faulty Analogy

Persuaders: Rhetorical Moves

Innuendo

Euphemisms and Dysphemisms

Stereotyping

Ridicule

Rhetorical Definitions

KEY WORDS

Summary

EXERCISES

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

PART THREE: ARGUMENTS

CHAPTER 6: Deductive Reasoning: Propositional Logic

Connectives and Truth Values

Conjunction

Disjunction

Negation

Conditional

Checking for Validity

Simple Arguments

Tricky Arguments

Streamlined Evaluation

Proof of Validity

Rules of Inference

Rules of Replacement

KEY WORDS

Summary

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 7: Deductive Reasoning: Categorical Logic

Statements and Classes

Translations and Standard Form

Terms

Quantifiers

Diagramming Categorical Statements

Sizing Up Categorical Syllogisms

The Square of Opposition

Categorical Equivalence

KEY WORDS

Summary

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 8: Inductive Reasoning

Enumerative Induction

Sample Size

Representativeness

Opinion Polls

Analogical Induction

Causal Arguments

Testing for Causes

Causal Confusions

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

KEY WORDS

Summary

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

PART FOUR: EXPLANATIONS

CHAPTER 9: Inference to the Best Explanation

Explanations and Inference

Theories and Consistency

Theories and Criteria

Testability

Fruitfulness

Scope

Simplicity

Conservatism

Telling Good Theories from Bad

A Doomed Flight

An Amazing Cure

KEY WORDS

Summary

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 10: Judging Scientific Theories

Science and Not Science

The Scientific Method

Testing Scientific Theories

Judging Scientific Theories

Copernicus Versus Ptolemy

Evolution Versus Creationism

Science and Weird Theories

Making Weird Mistakes

Leaping to the Weirdest Theory

Mixing What Seems with What Is

Misunderstanding the Possibilities

Judging Weird Theories

Crop Circles

Talking with the Dead

Summary

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

CHAPTER 11: Critical Thinking in Morality and the Law

Moral Arguments

Moral Premises

Moral Theories

Evaluating Moral Theories

Two Important Theories

Legal Reasoning

A Coherent Worldview

KEY WORDS

Summary

EXERCISES

Field Problems

Self-Assessment Quiz

Integrative Exercises

Writing Assignments

APPENDIX A: The Truth About Philosophy Majors

Appendix B: Essays for Evaluation

Essay 1 Death Penalty Discriminates Against Black Crime Victims

Essay 2 Marine Parks

Essay 3 A Feminist Defense of Pornography

Essay 4 A Defense of Homosexuality

Essay 5 More Innocents Die When We Don’t Have Capital Punishment

Essay 6 What’s Wrong with Adultery?

Essay 7 A Pat-Down Is Better Than a Blow-Up

Essay 8 The Cohabitation Epidemic

Essay 9 Not Being Vaccinated Is Not Acceptable

Essay 10 Women and the Afghanistan Peace Process

Essay 11 A Deviance from God’s Norm

Essay 12 Marriage Still Evolving, as Ever

Essay 13 Slouching Toward Chimeras

Essay 14 Fighting Islamic Extremists Who Stifle Free Speech

Essay 15 Is Sluttishness a Feminist Statement?

Essay 16 Torture: Time for Congress to End the Debate

Essay 17 Torture: Severe Interrogations Work

Essay 18 Freedom of Expression: Protect Student Speech—Even “Unwise” Bong Banner

Essay 19 Freedom of Expression: Policy Reflects Common Sense

Essay 20 It’s Irresponsible to Spread Fear of Vaccine

Essay 21 Flag Amendment: Flag Needs Protection

Appendix C: Answers to Exercises

Appendix D: Answers to Self-Assessment Quizzes

Appendix E: Critical Thinking and Writing

NOTES

GLOSSARY

CREDITS

INDEX

Lewis Vaughn is the author or coauthor of several textbooks, including Philosophy Here and Now, Third Edition (2018), Writing Philosophy, Second Edition (2018), Living Philosophy, Second Edition (2017), and Concise Guide to Critical Thinking (2017), all published by Oxford University Press.

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