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COR1701
CRITICAL THINKING
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Brief self-introduction
Tan Yoo Guan
Associate Professor of Philosophy (Education), SOSS
Join SMU in 2002
Research Interest:
• Philosophy of Language
• Moral Philosophy
Courses taught:
• Introduction to Philosophy
• Analytical Skills
• Critical Thinking
Email: ygtan@smu.edu.sg; Office: SOSS 04-062; Tel: 68280851
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What is critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and
skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation,
experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief
and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual
values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision,
consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and
fairness. (Scriven and Paul, 2008, “Defining Critical Thinking”)
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Course objectives

 Able to analyse the structure of an argument

 Able to evaluate an argument
 Able to identify common fallacies
 Able to construct a good argument
 Develop good thinking habits
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Assessments

1. Class participation 10%

2. Weekly exercises 20%
3. Mid-term test 1 20% (10th week)
4. Group presentation 20% (10th -12th week)
5. Mid-term test 2 10% (13th week)
6. Individual essay 20% (15th week)
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Importance of asking questions

Questions uncover superficial reasoning, reveal bad logic, and expose
fake experts. .. People are forever using acronyms they can’t expand,
spouting jargon they cannot translate, trafficking in concepts they
don’t understand. They parrot shallow talking points and slogans and
other people’s reflection. When you take at face value everything said
to you, you are at risk of perpetuating everyone’s superficial
understanding of the matter at hand. - Preet Bharara, former US
Attorney
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What to ask?
1. Ask for clarity – What are you claiming? What is the meaning of
these words? How are you using these words?

2. Ask for reasons – Why do you think that this is true or the right thing
to do? What is your argument?

3. Interrogate the argument – How good are the reasons? Do the reasons
support the claim? Is the claim consistent with what I know? Are all
the assumptions true?
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Topics covered
1. Propositions, arguments and reasoning
2. Representing arguments
3. Evaluating deductive arguments
4. Deductive argument forms
5. Incomplete arguments
6. Evaluating inductive arguments
7. Moral and practical reasoning
8. The extended argument
9. Informal fallacies
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Lesson structure

1. Lecture + class discussion (12 to 1.30)

2. Break (1.30 – 1.45)
3. In class exercise (1.45 – 2.45)
4. Going over the exercise (2.45 – 3)
5. Q & A (3 – 3.15)
6. End
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Propositions, statements, claims

A proposition/statement/claim is a sentence that

is either true or false.
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Empirical propositions

An empirical proposition asserts or denies something about the

real world. As such, it cannot be established or refuted by logic
and reasoning alone, but only by experience.

“Experience” broadly defined includes not only sense

perception, but also memory and introspection.
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Examples
1. All lemons are sour.
2. Oil floats on water.
3. We use only 10% of our brains.
4. The COVID19 virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan.
5. The increase in CO2 is a cause of global warming.
6. The death penalty has no deterrent effect.
7. Many people believe in an afterlife.
8. There is life after death.
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Truths, facts and opinions

minds The
World
beliefs truths
opinions facts
correspondence
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Analytic propositions
An analytic proposition is a proposition whose truth depends
solely on its meaning. As such, it can be determined to be true
or false by reasoning alone.

A tautology is a proposition that cannot be false.

A contradiction is a proposition that cannot be true.

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Examples
1. 3 x 5 = 15.
2. There is no even prime number greater than 2.
3. All bachelors are unmarried men.
4. Today is either Monday or not Monday.
5. If a fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder.
6. For any three classes A, B and C, if every A is B and every B is
C, then every A is C.
7. Some rectangles are three-sided.
8. All birds can fly but some birds cannot fly.
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Examples of non-propositions
1. Wear a helmet when cycling.
2. Is there life after death?
3. Please pass the pepper.
4. I declare the Games open.
5. If you want more information about our school, please visit
our website.
6. We will find the culprit who did this.
7. Never believe anything without evidence.
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What arguments are not

An argument is not the same as an assertion or an opinion.
An argument is not the same as a speech.
An argument is not the same as a disagreement or a
contradiction.
An argument is not the same as an explanation.
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What is an argument?

An argument is a claim supported by reasons.

By this definition, an argument must have at least

two propositions.
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The basic argument structure

P because Q and R

Q and R; therefore P
 
Q
R
>P
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The basic components of an argument

Conclusion = the proposition which the argument is trying to

establish.

Premises = propositions that serve as reasons for the conclusion.

Inferential claim = the claim that the conclusion is supported by

the premises.
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Examples

A. The longest river in the world is the Nile, the second longest
is the Amazon, and the third longest is the Mississippi.

B. The longest river in the world is the Nile, and the Nile flows
through Sudan. Therefore, the longest river in the world
flows through Sudan.
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Examples

A portable washing machine would never be a success. Such a

device would be too heavy, too small in capacity, and too
expensive to run.

A portable washing machine would never be a success

(because) such a device would be too heavy, too small in
capacity, and too expensive to run.
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Examples

A. If the universe is 13.8 billion years old, then it is not true

that the universe was created by an intelligent designer 6000
years ago.

B. Since the universe is 13.8 billion years old, it is not true that
the universe was created by an intelligent designer 6000
years ago.
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Examples

A. Roses are red. Therefore, violets are blue

B. My dog has fleas. So all dogs have fleas

C. Ghosts exist because everyone thinks so.

A bad argument is still an argument.

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Some common conclusion indicators

Therefore, p
Hence, p
Thus, p
So, p
As such, p
In conclusion, p
For this reason, p
Consequently, p
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Some common premise indicators

Because p,
Since p,
Given that p,
As p,
For p,
On account of the fact that p,
Seeing as p,
As indicated by p,
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Uses of argument

1. To justify a belief/decision/policy.
2. To influence or persuade.
3. To determine what is true or false.
4. To determine what is the right thing to do.
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P because Q and R

Is abortion wrong?

Abortion is wrong because abortion kills innocent human

beings, and killing innocent human beings is wrong.
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Q and R. Therefore P

Should we preserve our dialects?

We should preserve our cultural heritage and our dialects

are part of our cultural heritage. Therefore, we should
preserve our dialects.
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Is there life after death?

1. There is life after death.

2. There is no life after death.
3. We can never know.
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Near death experiences

• Hearing doctors or others pronounce them dead.
• The experience of moving very rapidly through a dark space,
which many describe as a tunnel.
• Out of body experience, in which one looks down on one’s own
body and sometimes also on scenes in other rooms.
• Encounter with a very bright light, which is often identified as a
personal being of some kind.
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Beyond experience
1. The proposition that there is, or isn’t, life after death is an
empirical proposition.
2. An empirical proposition can only be established or refuted by
experience.
3. No living person can have the requisite experience.
4. Hence, no living person can know whether or not there is life
after death.
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Reasoning from experience

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What is required for P to be true?

What is required for “There is life after death” to be true?

1. Something must survive death.

2. That something must be conscious and aware of its own
identity.
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Standard argument format

1. Consciousness is a brain process.

2. There are no brain processes after death.
3. > There is no consciousness after death.
4. If there is no consciousness after death, then there is no
life after death.
5. > There is no life after death.
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Explanation

Sea water is salty because when rain, which is fresh water,

falls from clouds onto land and finds its way into lakes and
rivers back to the sea, it picks up salts and minerals. Once it
reaches the sea, the water is evaporated again to form new
clouds containing fresh water, and the salt is left behind, so
over millions of years the oceans have slowly been
accumulating salt washed off the land by fresh water.
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Explanation vs argument

Let (X) = P because Q, R …

Is the truth of P taken for granted by speaker and audience?

If the answer is YES, then (X) is an explanation.

If the answer is NO, then (X) is an argument.
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Importance of context

What makes Finland the happiest country in the world?

• Asked by a believer – seeking explanation
• Asked by a skeptic – seeking justification

Why a fourth university?

• Asked in 2005 – seeking justification
• Asked in 2021 – seeking explanation
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Conditional propositions
If the fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder.

(a) The fetus is a human being.

(b) Abortion is murder.

Not an argument because neither (a) nor (b) is claimed to be

true.
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Conditionals as parts of arguments

1. If the fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder.
2. The fetus is a human being.
3. Therefore, abortion is murder.

4. If the rain continues, the river will overflow.

5. If river overflows, the town will be flooded.
6. Therefore, if the rains continues, the town will be flooded.
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What we have covered today

1. What is a proposition?
2. What is an argument?
3. What is the difference between an argument, a
conditional proposition, and an explanation?
4. What are the parts of an argument?
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