ARGUMENT

- An argument is a claim defended with reasons.

✔ Rhetorical question ( câu hỏi tu từ)
✔ Ought imperatives: commands, orders, suggestions, proposals
- Premises Indicators: because, since, for, given that, as, judging from

- Conclusion Indicators: Therefore, hence, so, as a results, consequently

❖ Deduction indicator words : • Indicator words:

- certainly - probably
- it is logically that - one would expect that -
- definitely likely
- it is logical to conclude that - it is a good bet that
- absolutely - it is plausible to suppose that - chances
- this logically implies that - are that
conclusively - it is reasonable to assume that - odds are
- this entails that that

CRITICAL THINKING STANDARDS

1. Clarity: gateway standard (know what you say)
2. Precision (độ chính xác= detail)
- it is often necessary to insist on precise answers
precise questions: What exactly is the problem we’re facing?
What exactly are the alternatives?
What exactly are the pros & cons of each alternative?
EX: Yao Ming is tall (how tall?)
John is overweight (is he 1kg or 100kg?)

3. Accuracy (True or not) :a statement not just clear + need accurate

Ex: this chicken weighs over 150kg
4. Relevance( liên quan)
EX: I studied hard all semester, therefore I should get A+
-> How hard? all time?
5. Consistency: Logical & practical : Nhất quán
EX: Spiderman sees through anything
Spiderman sees through walls
Spiderman sees through you

▪ Practical inconsistency (thực tế ko nhất quán) : which involves saying one

thing and doing different action

A: Hey,Yao, what do you say we eat at Toot’s tonight?

B: That place is old. Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded
6. Completeness Thinking is better when it is deep rather than shallow,
thorough rather than superficial.
7. Fairness : open-minded, impartial, and free of distorting biases and
preconceptions
8. Depth (superficial: hời hợt)= intensive
9. Breadth : chỉ nhìn 1 khía cạnh, quan điểm hẹp

5 COMMON PATTERNS OF DEDUCTIVE REASONING

1. Hypothetical Syllogism

• Modus ponens: (*) If A then B.

A.
Therefore, B.
• Denying the antecedent: If A then B.
(~*) Not A.
Therefore, not B.
• Modus Tollens: (^) If A then B.
Not B.
Therefore, not A
• Affirming the consequent: If A then B.
(~^) B.
Therefore, A.

• Chain arguments: (bắc If A then B

cầu) If B then C.
 Therefore, if A then C.

2. Categorical Syllogism begins with the word all, some, or no

. EX: All bats are mammals
All mammals are warm-blooded
So, all bats are warm-blooded

3. Argument by elimination : either….or

Either Joe walked to the library or he drove.
But Joe didn’t drive to the library.
Therefore, Joe walked to the library.
4. Argument Based on Mathematics
8>4
4>2
=> 8>2

5. Argument from definition :being true by definition ( obviously)

Janelle is a cardiologist. Therefore, Janelle is a doctor.
Joan is an extrovert. It follows that she is outgoing
 6 COMMON PATTERNS OF INDUCTIVE REASONING
1. Inductive generalization: claim to be probably true based on info abt some
members of a particular class
a) What is the sample ?
b) What is the characteristic ?
c) What is popular as a whole?

Ex: All dinosaur bones so far discovered have been more than sixty-five million
years old. Therefore, probably all dinosaur bones are more than sixty-five million
years old.

2. Predictive argument, Based on reliable source

NOTE: Wikipedia and google are UNRELIABLE source
EX: It has rained in HCMC every September since the weather record has been
kept. Therefore, it will probably rain in HCM next September.

3. Argument from authority asserts a claim and then supports that claim by
citing some presumed authority or witness who has said that the claim is true.
Whatever the Bible teaches is true.
The Bible teaches that we should love our neighbors.
Therefore, we should love our neighbors.
4. Causal argument : conclusion based on the cause( nhân quả)
ex:
• There are no visible signs of forced entry. It seems certain, therefore, that
the burglar had a key.
• Tom ingested a large dose of rat poison just before he died. Therefore, the
rat poison must have caused Tom’s death.

5. Statistical argument: percentage (%).

73% of Ft. Gibson residents enjoy fishing. Lonnie is a Ft.

Gibson resident. So, it’s likely that Lonnie enjoys fishing.

6. Argument from analogy: the conclusion is claimed to depend on an

analogy (i.e., a comparison or similarity) between two or more things.
Hershey Park has a thrilling roller-coaster ride. Dorney Park, like
Hershey Park, is a great amusement park.
Therefore, probably Dorney Park also has a thrilling roller-coaster ride.
Standard-Form Categorical Statements
REMEMBER:

No S are P = No P are S
Some S are not P ≠ Some P are not S
MANY = SOME = SEVERAL

Common Stylistic Variants of “All S are P”

Every S is P Whoever is an S is a P

Any S is P The only P are S

Something is a S only if it’s a P If anything is S then P

Common Stylistic Variants of “No S are P”

No P are S. All S are non-P.

S are not P. Not a single S is P
No one who is an S is a P. If anything is an S, then it is not a P.

Common Stylistic Variants of “Some S are P”

Several/many S are P. A few S are P.

Most S are P. Nearly all S are P.
There are S that are P The only P are S
Common Stylistic Variants of “Some S are not P”

Not all S are P. At least 1 S is not P

Not everyone who is an S is a P. A few S are not P

S are not always P Most S are not P.
3 rules to draw:
1. ALL/ No statements should be done 1st ( some vẽ sau)
2. Place the “X” in the unshaded part
3. Place the “X” precisely on the line separating the 2 parts

Rules to place “X”

1. Ưu tiên vẽ ALL/NO 1st, some vẽ sau

2. Khi đặt “X”, nếu 1 phần đã bị delete thì X phải ở phần còn lại
3. Khi đặt “X” nếu chưa có part nào bị delete, X phải đặt ở trên đường line (
giao nhau) của 2 phần
Truth Table
1. Conjunction: and, but, yet, though, while, although, however…-> “&”

P Q P&Q
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

Rules: both side True -> VALID

1 side False -> INVALID

2. Negation (~): Phủ định

P Q
T T
T F
F T
F F
~P ~Q
F F
F T
T F
T T
3. Negation & Conjunction (3x3)
Tips: 4-2-1
r: xen kẽ
Q: couple

4-2-1: 4 True-2 True-1 True

P Q R
T T T
T T F
T F T
T F F
F T T
F T F
F F T
F F F

4. Disjunction (v) : either… or

FALSE if BOTH SIDE FALSE, còn lại true

P Q PvQ
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

Note:
It's not the case that -> ~ (...)
~(PvQ) ≠ ~p v ~q
 5. Condition: P -> Q, if P then Q
a conditional is false when : P TRUE, Q FALSE
ex: if it rains, then the ground is wet
It rained, so the ground is wet

p->q
p
.
..q

P Q P->Q P* Q (C)
T T T T T
T F F T F
F T T F T
F F T F F
=> VALID
 BARRIERS TO CRITICAL THINKING
1. Egocentrism ( tư duy tự quan tâm) is the tendency to see reality as
centered on oneself.
- are selfish, self-absorbed people who view their interests, ideas, and values
as superior to everyone else’s. All of us are affected to some degree by
egocentric biases.
● Self-interested thinking is the tendency to accept and defend beliefs
that harmonize with one’s self-interest.
�� Most factory workers support laws requiring advance notice of plant
closings; most factory owners do not.

● Self-serving bias is the tendency to overrate oneself—to see oneself as

better in some respect than one actually is.
�� know-it-alls who claim to be more talented or knowledgeable than they
really are

2. Sociocentrism (Chủ nghĩa XH) can hinder rational thinking by

focusing excessively on the group.

- group-centered thinking: focusing excessively on the self. can hinder

rational thinking by focusing excessively on the group.
● Group bias is the tendency to see one’s own group (nation, tribe,
sect, peer group, and the like) as being inherently better than others.

�� If you didn’t have any nationality and you were given a free choice of

nationality, which would you choose ? nationality. Why? Because I

was born in France
- Conformism refers to our tendency to follow the crowd—that is, to
conform (often unthinkingly) to authority or to group standards of
conduct and belief.

- Unwarranted assumption is something taken for granted without good

reason, believed to be true without any justification or conclusive evidence.
�� If the weather report calls for rain, we take an umbrella because we
assume that the meteorologist is not lying, that the report is based on a
 scientific analysis of weather patterns, that the instruments are accurate, and
so forth.
- Assumption: Giả định
● Stereotype:(rập khuôn) When we form an opinion of someone that is based
not on his or her individual qualities but, rather, on his or her membership
in a particular group, we are assuming that all or virtually all members of
that group are alike.
�� If we meet one South Bergian who is rude, we might jump to the
conclusion that all South Bergians are rude.

- Relativistic thinking: Tư duy tương đối

● Subjectivism is the view that truth is a matter of individual
opinion. -> Truth is" Just a matter of opinion"
� Suppose Bobby believes that abortion is wrong and Alice believes that
abortion is not always wrong. According to subjectivism, abortion is
always wrong for Bobby and not always wrong for Alice
● Cultural relativism (Thuyết tương đối văn hóa). This is the view that
truth is a matter of social or cultural opinion.
-> In other words, cultural relativism is the view that what is true for person
A is what person A’s culture or society believes is true.

� Drinking wine, for example, is widely considered to be wrong in Iran but is

not generally considered to be wrong in France.

● Moral subjectivism (chủ nghĩa đạo đức) is the view that what is morally
right and good for an individual, A, is whatever A believes is morally
right and good.
� If Andy believes that premarital sex is always wrong, and Jennifer believes
that it is not always wrong, according to moral subjectivism premarital
sex is always wrong for Andy and is not always wrong for Jennifer.

• Cultural moral relativism: the view that what is morally right and good
for an individual, A, is whatever A’s society or culture believes is morally
right and good.

�If culture A believes that polygamy (đa thê) is wrong, and culture B believes
that it is right, then culture A must agree that polygamy is right for culture
B, no matter how offensive the practice may be to culture A.
- Wishful thinking: Believe sth is true because 1 wish true