Basic logic and critical Thinking

1
Basic logic and critical Thinking

• Be ready for the challenge
• Upcoming exam
• Real time demonstration of critical thinking in
  your argumentation essay

2
Key questions

• What is critical thinking? Is it negative? Can it
  be creative? Explain.
• How does critical thinking relate to evaluations
  of evidence and credibility of sources?
• How should critical thinking be applied to
  composing your essay?
• What are ethos, pathos, and logos and how do they
  relate to writing argument effectively?
• How do deductive arguments, inductive ones, and
  uncovering premises relate to this task?

3
Wow! This is, as Oprah would say, BIG!

• Remember that the premises are often hidden, that
  is, the assumptions are often unstated
  (suppressed) in tricky arguments, and you are
  left to dig them out plus decide whether they are
  valid. Click on this site for 2 bonus points
  comment on the fallacies in the top two tv ads in
  a typed paragraph.

4
Know two distinct methods of arriving at
conclusions (forms of argument).

• What is induction? How is it used on a daily
  basis? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
• What is deduction? How is it used on a daily
  basis? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
• How do logical fallacies relate to critical
  thinking?

5
Be able to provide homegrown examples of
logical fallacies.

• The fact that the source is in print does not
  mean that it is sacred. Analyze it. Any
  agendas? Biases? Fallacies?
• Here we go again take those critical thinking
  tools out of the toolbox and use them by directly
  integrating them into the text of your
  argumentation essay.

6
Cavalcade of Fallacies

• What are fallacies?
• Why is spotting them important in critical
  thinking and writing an argumentation essay?
• Click on the following items in sequence and test
  yourself on which fallacy may have been committed.

7

• Everyone likes a wild fling now and then.
• Hasty generalization. You might, but that does
  not mean everyone does.
• If you dont support the action (war in Iraq) you
  cant support the troops.
• Either or. Other options are possible, but this
  argument makes it look like only two exist.
  Also, irrelevant argument. You can support the
  troops without thinking the war is the best
  option.
• Erik Santos visited moveon.org two times last
  week and he also saw Moores Farenheit 911. He
  has several Islamic friends. Hes surely an
  unpatriotic Muslim sympathesizer.
• Where do we start? Guilt by association.
  Ambiguity. What is patriotic supposed to mean in
  this context?

8

• Jesus Lemus, Hollywood movie star, uses levitra
  and swears by it. You should use it, too.
• False or irrelevant authority.
• You cant prove that the Iraqui people dont want
  the U.S. occupying their country. They must want
  us there.
• Appeal to ignorance.

9

• After smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes
  last year, a well-know 101A student started doing
  cocaine this fall. Its easy to see that the pot
  caused the coke habit.
• False cause.
• The vice president stated that if we had made
  the wrong choice in voting for president
  chances are that we could be hit again by
  terrorists.
• Red herring. The veep is using scare tactics on
  the gullible and avoiding the real issues. Also,
  note the suppressed premise of the argument The
  administration in power at the time may be
  responsible for terrorist attacks like
  9/11hmmmm.
• If you voted to support the war in the first
  place, and if you changes your mind afterwards,
  you are an untrustworthy flip flopper
• Irrelevant argument. If the conclusion were
  true, it would suggest that the only virtue of
  leadership is refusing to change ones mind or
  policy, and that changing course is automatically
  suspect.
• The President is unfit to lead. He cant even
  pronounce the word sovereignty and he scowled
  during the debates.
• Irrelevant argument. Also attacking the person
  (ad hominem). Making fun of his gaffes is not
  the same as proving he lacks leadership
  qualities.