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- To understand the meaning of critical thinking and the importance and meaning of the terms systematic, evaluation, formulation, and rational standards.
- To understand how critical thinking is related to logic, the truth or falsity of statements, knowledge, and personal empowerment.
Why It Matters
You will be able to
- appreciate why critical thinking is better than the passive acceptance of beliefs.
- appreciate the relevance of the claim “The unexamined life is not worth living” to critical thinking.
- understand the flaws in the following claims: “Critical thinking makes people too critical or cynical,” “Critical thinking makes people cold and unemotional,” and “Critical thinking is the enemy of creativity.”
- appreciate the usefulness of critical thinking in all human activities.
How It Works
You will be able to
- distinguish between statements and non-statements.
- understand the basic concepts of reasons, argument, inference, premise, and conclusion.
- use indicator words to help identify premises and conclusions.
- distinguish between passages that do and do not contain an argument.
- identify arguments in various contexts and distinguish between arguments and superfluous material, between arguments and explanations, and between premises and conclusions.