1. Concise Guide to Critical Thinking
Chapter 1

2. Critical Thinking
The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational standards.
Systematic—because it involves distinct procedures and methods.
Evaluation and formulation—used to assess existing beliefs and devise new ones.
Rational standards—beliefs are judged by how well they are supported by reasons.

3. To critically examine your beliefs is to critically examine your life, for your beliefs in large measure define your life.
Socrates: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

4. Critical Thinking offers…
Skills for learning and exploring.
Defense against error, manipulation, and prejudice.
Tools for self-discovery.

5. Critical Thinking is about…
determining what we are justified in believing, and that involves an openness to other points of view, a tolerance for opposing perspectives, a focus on the issue at hand, and fair assessments of arguments and evidence.

6. Critical Thinking does NOT mean…
Passively absorbing the ideas we encounter.
Refusing to consider any alternative explanations or theories.
Automatically conforming our ideas to the wishes of the group.
Letting our thinking be controlled by bias, stereotypes, and wishful thinking.

7. Argument:
A group of statements in which some of them (the premises) are intended to support another of them (the conclusion).

8. Arguments vs. Explanations
An argument gives us reasons for believing that something is the case.
An explanation tells us why or how something is the case.

9. Statement (claim): An assertion that something is or is not the case
Statement (claim): An assertion that something is or is not the case. Premise: A statement given in support of another statement. Conclusion: A statement that premises are used to support.

10. Best advice for anyone trying to uncover or dissect arguments:
Find the conclusion first. Ask, “What claim is this writer or speaker trying to persuade me to believe?”

11. Arguments and Persuasion
Persuading someone to agree with you is not the same thing as presenting a good argument.
Emotional language and lies can persuade. But arguments can show that a claim is worthy of acceptance.

12. Arguments and Persuasion
The presentation of a good argument can sometimes be psychologically compelling.
And there are times when persuasion through psychological or emotional appeals is appropriate.
But persuading and arguing (in the critical thinking sense) are distinct functions.

13. Arguments in the Rough
Arguments usually come imbedded in a thicket of other sentences that serve many other functions besides articulating an argument.
The central task is to identify the conclusion and premises without getting lost in all the verbiage.