INTRODUCTION TO

CRITICAL THINKING

Chapter 1 – Recognizing
Arguments
 OUTLINE
1. What is thinking? Types of thinking
2. What is critical thinking? Benefits of Critical Thinking
3. What is an argument? Identifying Premises and Conclusions
4. What is NOT an argument?
 Reports
 Unsupported assertions
 Conditional statements
 Illustrations
 Explanations
WHAT IS THINKING?

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WHAT IS THINKING?

http://www.slideshare.net/zaid/introduction-to-critical-thinking
TYPES OF THINKING

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WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

http://www.slideshare.net/zaid/introduction-to-critical-thinking
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

http://www.slideshare.net/zaid/introduction-to-critical-thinking
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

http://www.slideshare.net/zaid/introduction-to-critical-thinking
WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

http://www.slideshare.net/zaid/introduction-to-critical-thinking
BENEFITS OF CRITICAL THINKING - CLASSROOM
 Improve your ability to understand the arguments and issues discussed
in your college textbooks and classes.
 Help you critically evaluate what you are learning in class.
 Help you write paper successfully. You will also be asked to develop your
own arguments on particular topics or issues. To write such a paper
successfully, you must do more than simply find and assess relevant
arguments and information.
 Help you to marshal arguments and evidence in a way that convincingly
supports your view.
BENEFITS OF CRITICAL THINKING - WORKPLACE
 Employers are looking not for employees with highly specialized career
skills, since such skills can usually best be learned on the job, but for
employees with good thinking and communication skills—quick learners
who can solve problems, think creatively, gather and analyze information,
draw appropriate conclusions from data, and communicate their ideas
clearly and effectively.
These are exactly the kinds of generalized thinking and problem-solving
skills that a course in critical thinking aims to improve.
 BENEFITS OF CRITICAL THINKING - LIFE
 Help us avoid making foolish personal decisions. All of us have at one
time or another made decisions about consumer purchases, relationships,
personal behavior, and the like that we later realized were seriously
misguided or irrational.
 Can help free us from the unexamined assumptions and biases of our
upbringing and our society. It lets us step back from the prevailing
customs and ideologies of our culture and ask, “This is what I’ve been
taught, but is it true?
How well does one….
1. Determine what information is or is not pertinent
2. Distinguish between rational claims and emotional
ones
3. Separate fact from opinion
4. Recognize the ways in which evidence might be
limited or compromised
5. Spot deception and holes in the arguments of others
6. Present his /her own analysis of the data or
information
7. Recognize logical flaws in arguments
8. Draw connections between discrete sources of data
and information
9. Attend to contradictory, inadequate, or ambiguous
information
10. Construct cogent arguments rooted in data rather
than opinion
11. Select the strongest set of supporting data
12. Avoid overstated conclusions
13. Identify holes in the evidence and suggest
additional information to collect
14. Recognize that a problem may have no clear
answer or single solution
15. Propose other options and weigh them in the
decision
16. Consider all stakeholders or affected parties in
suggesting a course of action
17. Articulate the argument and the context for that
argument
18. Correctly and precisely use evidence to defend the
argument
19. Logically and cohesively organize the argument;
20. Avoid extraneous elements in an argument’s
development;
21.Present evidence in an order that contributes to a
persuasive argument?
 background..
critical thinking is the careful application of reason in the
determination of whether a claim is true.
Not so much coming up with claims, true or otherwise, that
constitutes critical thinking;
It’s the evaluation of claims, however we come up with them.
Critical thinking concerned with reasons: identifying reasons,
evaluating reasons, and giving reasons.
In critical thinking, passages that present reasons for a claim
are called arguments.
The Basic: Claims, Issues and Arguments
 Claims are basic elements in critical thinking; they are the
things we say, aloud or in writing, to convey information.
 Claims or statements are the kinds of things that are true or
false.
 For examples:
 Tutong is most populated city in Brunei.
 Cheating in academic is wrong for several reasons.
 I should marry the person I am dating right now.
 Facebook and Instagram should be banned in secondary
school.
 Ali Baba is taller than Bujang Lapuk.
The Basic: Claims, Issues and Arguments
 Whenever we call a claim into question—that is, when we ask
questions about its truth or falsity—we raise an issue.
 Issue is nothing more than a question.
 The question is simply whether a given claim is true or not.
Here are two ways of stating an issue:
[1] Is cheating in academic wrong?
[2] Whether cheating is wrong in academic.
 We answer the question or settle the issue by determining
whether the claim “Cheating is wrong for several reasons” is
true or false.
The Basic: Claims, Issues and Arguments
Once we identify an issue, the next task is to weigh the reasons
for and against the claim and try to determine its truth or
falsity.
This is where arguments enter the picture.
 Arguments - are the single most important ingredient in critical
thinking.
 We produce an argument when we give a reason for
thinking that a claim is true.
What is an argument?
A claim defended with reasons.
Arguments are composed of one or more premises and a conclusion.
Premises - statements in an argument offered as evidence or reasons
why we should accept another statement, the conclusion.
The conclusion is the statement in an argument that the premises are
intended to prove or support.
An argument, accordingly, is a group of statements, one or more of
which (called the premises) are intended to prove or support another
statement (called the conclusion).
What is an argument?
Let’s say the issue is whether Sam should be excused for missing
class.
 Sam says to his instructor, “My grandmother died, and I had to
miss class to attend the funeral.”
 He has offered a reason for thinking he should be excused for
missing class, so he has produced an argument.
Premise: Sam’s grandmother died, and he had to attend the
funeral.
Conclusion: Sam should be excused for missing class.
 Whether his argument is any good is another matter, of course.
Arguments
Some sentences that look like nonstatements are actually
statements and can be used in arguments
Example No 1
Alyssa, you should quit smoking. Don’t you realize how
bad that is for your health?
-Contains a rhetorical question (has the grammatical form of a
question but is meant to be understood as a statement)
-Assertion is made (smoking is very bad for one’s health). This
assertion is offered as a reason (premise) to support the
conclusion that Alyssa should quit smoking.
Example No 2
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you
feel ugly.
-Includes an ought imperative (form of an imperative or command but
is intended to assert a value or ought judgment about what is good or
bad or right or wrong)
-Clearly making an assertion: that you should not read beauty
magazines. Her statement that reading such magazines will only make
you feel ugly is offered as a reason to support this value judgement
Identifying Premises and Conclusions
Premises - statements in an argument offered as evidence or
reason why we should accept another statement, the conclusion.
The conclusion is the statement in an argument that the premises
are intended to prove or support.
To identify premises and conclusions, we often use indicator words
Indicator words – phrases or words that provide clues that premises
or conclusions
Premise indicators – indicate that premises are being offered
Conclusion indicators – indicate that conclusions are being offered
Common Premises indicators
Having fun can be the spice of life but not its main course, since
because when it is over, nothing of lasting value remains. considering that
(Harold Kushner)
for

as
Since effective reasoning requires reliable information, it’s
important to be able to distinguish good sources and seeing that
trustworthy experts from less useful ones. (Drew E. Hinderer) as indicated by
because
Women are not by any means to blame when they reject the inasmuch as
rules of life, which have been introduced into the world, seeing
that it is men who have made them without their consent. given that
(Michel de Montaigne) in view of the fact that
I think that, as life is action and passion, it is required of a man judging from
that he should share the passion and action of his time, at peril
on account of
of being judged not to have lived. (Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.)
Common Conclusion indicators
Therefore
There’s probably no God, so stop worrying and enjoy your life.
hence
(ad on London bus).
so

Rapid economic improvements represent a life-or-death it follows that

imperative throughout the Third World. Its people will not be that is why
denied that hope, no matter the environmental costs. As a
result, that choice must not be forced upon them. (Al Gore) consequently
for this reason
this suggest that
Your life is what your thoughts make it. That is why it is
important for all of us to guard our minds from unhealthy habits as a result
of thinking, habits that hold us back from what we could be
we may infer that
accomplishing. (Tom Morris)
which shows that
wherefore
 I haven’t seen you since high school.
You’ve had that jacket for as long as I’ve known you.
Thus far everything has been great.
It was so cold that even the ski resorts shut down.
I wouldn’t mind seeing that movie again
There is a water on the floor because the sink overflowed.

The italicized and bold text (in red) DOES NOT function as
indicator word.

This shows why is it so important to consider the context when

determining the meaning of an expression.
Many arguments contain no indicator words at all to help us
identify the premises and conclusions

Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through snow.
(Jeff Valdez)

I can’t be completely responsible for my life. After all, there are many factors outside my
control, people and forces that create obstacles and undermine my efforts. And we are
subject to pressures and influences from within ourselves: feelings of greed, fear of
death, altruistic impulses, sexual compulsions, need for social acceptance, and so on.
( John Chaffee, emphasis omitted)

Many arguments contain no indicator words at all to help us identify

the premises and conclusions. Reading carefully, however, we can see
that the point of the first passage is to support the claim, “Cats are
smarter than dogs,” and the point of the second passage is to support
the claim, “I can’t be completely responsible for my life.”
Tips on finding the conclusion of an Argument

• Find the main issue, and ask yourself what position is the speaker or writer
is taking on that issue

• Look at the beginning or end of the passage, the conclusion is often (but
not always) found in one of those places
• Ask yourself, “What is the writer or speaker trying to prove?” That will be
the conclusion
• Try putting the word therefore before one of the statements. If it fits, that
statement is probably the conclusion.
• Try the “because” trick. That is, try to find the most appropriate way to fill
in the blanks in the following statement: The speaker or write believes
________________ (conclusion) because ________________ (premise).
The conclusion will naturally come before the word because
What argument IS NOT?
It’s important to realize that not everything that might look like
an argument is one.
Identity theft is up at least tenfold The number of people who have
over last year. learned how to steal identities has
More people have learned how easy doubled in the past year. So, you
it is to get hold of another’s Identity are now more likely to become a
Card numbers, bank account victim of identity theft than you
numbers, and passport number. The were a year ago.
police department reminds
everyone to keep close watch on
who has access to such information.

Which one is an argument?

What is not an argument?
How can we distinguish arguments from nonarguments?
Something counts as an argument when:
1. It is a group of two or more statements
2. One of those statements (the conclusions) is claimed or intended to be
supported by the others (the premises)

• Five types of non-argumentative discourses

1. Reports
2. Unsupported assertion
3. Conditional statements
4. Illustrations
5. Explanations
 What is not an argument?
Report Convey information (aim is to narrate and inform, not to offer
reasons why one statement should be accepted on the basis of
the others).

Unsupported Statement about what a speaker or writer happens to believe.

assertion

Conditional If(antecedent) p then(consequent) q. Chain argument is when

Statement the antecedent of the 1st statement is linked to the consequent

Illustrations Provides examples of claim rather than prove or support the

claims
Explanations What was the cause rather than what proves that it is a case.
Reports
Simply convey information about a subject

Brunei’s unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent in 2017

from 6.9 percent in 2014, data from the Department of
Statistics, Department of Economic Planning and
Development (JPKE) indicated. The latest statistics, which
were the findings from the Labour Force Survey 2017, puts
the number of unemployed persons at 19,200, out of which
18,200 are locals. (The Scoop, Jan 2019)
Unsupported Assertion
Statement about what a speaker or writer happens to believe.

I believe that it is not dying that people are afraid of.

Something else, something more unsettling and more tragic
than dying frightens us. We are afraid of never having lived,
of coming to the end of our days with the sense that we were
never really alive, that we never figured out what life was for.

No claim that any of these statements follow from, or imply any

other statements, this is not argument.
Conditional Statements

If-then statement
• If it rains, then the picnic will be canceled.
• You must speak French if you grew up in Quebec.
• If at first you don’t succeed, don’t try skydiving.
• Should it rain, the picnic will be cancelled
• In the event of rain, the picnic will be cancelled
• Pete will graduate, provided he passes Critical Thinking

Made up of two basic parts:

1. Statement(s) following the word if - antecedent
2. Statement(s) following the word then - consequent
If(antecedent) p then(consequent) q. Chain argument is when the antecedent
of the 1st statement is linked to the consequent
Conditional Statements
Although conditional statements are not arguments, some conditional
statements do involve a process of reasoning.

If Bandar Seri Begawan were larger than Seria, and Seria were larger than
Kuala Belait, then Bandar Seri Begawan would be larger than Kuala Belait

No argument has been given. Assertion that if the first two are true, then the
third must be true. No claim that any of these statements are true.

Conditional statements however, can be parts of arguments :

Illustrations
Intended to provide examples of a claim, rather than prove or support the
claim
Many wildflowers are edible. For example, daisies and day lilies are
delicious in salads.
Purpose is to provide notable or representative examples of a claim, not to
provide convincing evidence for a conclusion
Many of the world’s greatest philosophers were bachelors. For instance,
Descartes, Locke, Hume, and Kant were all unmarried.

This is a borderline case between an argument and an illustration. Without

more information, we cannot tell whether the author’s purpose was to provide
convincing evidence for a claim or merely to illustrate the claim. Such cases
are fairly commonplace and rarely pose any serious difficulty. The general rule
here, as with other borderline cases, is simple. Critical thinkers call it the
principle of charity
 Principle of Charity
When interpreting an unclear passage, always
give the speaker or writer the benefit of the
doubt. Never attribute to an arguer a weaker
argument when the evidence reasonably
permits us to attribute to him or her a stronger
one. And never interpret a passage as a bad
argument when the evidence reasonably
permits us to interpret it as not an argument at
all.
Explanations
What was the cause rather than what proves that it is a case.

1. Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg.

2. Capital punishment should be abolished because innocent people may
be mistakenly executed.
Very much alike. Both give reasons, and both use the indicator word
“because”. But one of statement is explanation, and the other is argument.

Explanation tries to show why something is the case, not to prove that it is
the case.
Speaker isn’t trying to argue that Titanic sank – explain why it sank
Speaker is ‘explaining’ why capital punishment should be abolished.
Explanations
What was the cause rather than what proves that it is a case.

Explanation has two parts:

1. The statement that is explained – explanandum
2. The statement that does the explaining - explanans

I fell down because I tripped.

Explanation has two parts:
1. I fell down – explanandum
2. I tripped - explanans
Explanations
How to distinguish arguments from explanations?

Four (4) basic tests:

1. The common-knowledge test
2. The past-event test
3. The Author’s intent test
4. The principle of charity test
Explanations
How to distinguish arguments from explanations?
Test 1 - the common-knowledge test
• Is the statement that the passage seeks to prove or explain
a matter of common knowledge?
• If it is, the passage is probably an explanation

The North won the American Civil War because it

had a larger population and a greater industrial
base
Explanations
How to distinguish arguments from explanations?
Test 2 - Past Event test
• Is the statement that the passage is seeking to prove or
explain an event that occurred in the past? If so, the
passage is probably an explanation rather than an argument
because it is much more common to try to explain why past
events have occurred rather than to prove that they
occurred.

Mel flunked out because he never went to class

Explanations
How to distinguish arguments from explanations?
Test 3 – Author’s Intent test
• Is the speaker’s or writer’s intent to prove or establish that something
is the case – that is, to provide reasons and evidence for
accepting a claim as true? (argument)
• Or is it his intent to explain why something is the case – that is, to
offer an account of why some event has occurred or why
something is the way it is? (explanation)

Kevin is majoring in political science because he wants to go

to law school
Explanations
How to distinguish arguments from explanations?
Test 4 – Principle of Charity test
• Requires that we always interpret unclear passages generously, and, in
particular, that we never interpret a passage as a bad argument when the
evidence reasonably permits us to interpret it as not argument at all.
• Proves helpful when the other tests yield no clear answer
Jeremy won’t come to the frat party tonight because he has an important
exam tomorrow

• Interpreted as argument, the reasoning is weak.

• If a choice must be made then either the passage is a weak argument or an
apparently satisfactory explanation.
• Principle of charity dictates that we interpret the passage as an explanation
Summary
 Critical thinking is concerned primarily with
understanding, constructing, and critically evaluating
arguments, thus recognizing arguments is an important
skill.
 An argument - a claim defended with reasons.
Arguments are composed of one or more premises and a
conclusion.
 Premises are statements in an argument offered as
evidence or reasons in support of another statement.
 A conclusion is the statement in an argument that the
premises are intended to support or prove.
 Summary
Indicator words provide clues that premises or conclusions are being
offered.
Common indicator words include therefore, consequently, thus,
because, and since.
Indicator words, however, should be approached with caution because
not all arguments contain indicator words, and sometimes indicator
words are used in passages that are not arguments.
It is important to distinguish arguments from various kinds of
nonargumentative discourse, such as reports, unsupported assertions,
conditional statements, illustrations, and explanations.