Today’s Quote Use soft words and hard arguments English Proverb
Parts of an Argument I Claim: an expressed opinion or conclusion e.g. “CSI” is an excellent TV show”
Parts of an Argument II Claim Evidence: observable or previously accepted statements e.g. It has good acting, good writing and good production.
Parts of an Argument III Claim Evidence Reasoning: constructs a reasonable and rational link between the evidence and the claim. e.g. Good acting, writing and production are the key elements of a good TV drama.
Listen UP! Decide if the statement you hear is an argument or not.
Foundations of Critical Thinking Questioning Habit Perspective Taking Clarifying Meaning and Assumptions Evaluating Support Engaging in Critical Inferences and Comparison
Characteristics of Critical Thinking Clarity: could you illustrate what you mean? Accuracy: could we find out if that is true? Precision: could you be more specific?
Characteristics of Critical Thinking Relevance: how does that help us with this issue? Depth: what factors make this a difficult problem? Breadth: what other points of view need to be considered?
Characteristics of Critical Thinking Logic: does what you say follow from the evidence? Significance: how important is this factor in the overall discussion? Fairness: have we represented various positions honestly?
Characteristics of Critical Thinking Clarity Accuracy Precision Relevance Depth Breadth Logic Significance Fairness
Application Work with a partner to take either the list just discussed or the attributes listed in chapter 10 of the Debater’s Guide and prioritize your top three. Be able to offer arguments for your choices.
Induction vs. Deduction Major Premise Categorical truth Minor Puts specific case in a category Conclusion Necessarily follows from premises Reasons from “known” to “known” Induction Series of minor premises that lead to a probable general conclusion Reasons from what is “known” to what is probable.
Induction Conclusion Inference Information
Next Time Quiz on readings so far and readings due that day. Discussion of Chapt. 3 in CT Discussion of what makes up a good debate topic and hearing some of your suggestions.