Obstacles to Critical thinking Chapter 2 Obstacles to Critical thinking

Common Impediments to Critical Thinking Category 1—hindrances that arise because of how we think Category 2—hindrances that occur because of what we think

Self-Interested Thinking Accepting a claim solely on the grounds that it advances, or coincides with, our interests. Overcoming self-interested thinking: Watch out when things get very personal. Beware of the urge to distort your thinking to save face. Be alert to ways that critical thinking can be undermined. Ensure that nothing has been left out. Avoid selective attention. Look for opposing evidence.

Group Thinking Peer pressure—appeal to the masses (appeal to popularity), appeal to common practice, prejudice, bias, racism. Stereotyping—drawing conclusions about people without sufficient reasons.

Social relativism—The view that truth is relative to societies. Subjective relativism—The view that truth depends solely on what someone believes; truth is relative to persons. Social relativism—The view that truth is relative to societies. Problems with these views: They imply that persons and societies are infallible. They are self-defeating.

Social Relativism Social Relativism implies that societies are infallible – even about such horrors as the Nazis’ imprisonment and murder of millions of people in World War II.

Philosophical Skepticism The view that we know much less than we think we know or nothing at all. 1. One form of this view says that knowledge requires certainty. 2. If knowledge requires certainty, we know very little. 3. But we sometimes do seem to have knowledge—even though we do not have absolutely conclusive reasons.