Introduction to

Critical Reasoning
 Logical or Critical thinking
• Logic is part of philosophy
• The word logic comes from the Greek logos, which
can be translated as reason.
• Logic as a discipline is about studying the
fundamental principles of how to reason correctly.

• Science of valid argument

 Historical view
• Philosophical Logic / Aristotelian Logic - Language
– 500 BC to 19th Century
• Symbolic Logic/ Modern Logic
– Mid to late 19th Century
• Mathematical Logic
– Late 19th to mid 20th Century
• Logic in Computer Science
 Philosophical Logic

• 500 B.C – 19th Century

• Logic dealt with arguments in the natural
language used by humans.
• Example
– All men are mortal.
– Socrates is a man
– Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
 Philosophical Logic
• Natural language is very ambiguous.
– Eric does not believe that Mary can pass any test.
– I only borrowed your car.
– Tom hates Jim and he likes Mary.

• Double Meaning
• Different languages
• Different in meanings
• …..There’s glory for you.
• --what do you mean by “glory”?
–
 Philosophical Logic
• Ordinary language leads to many paradoxes.
– “This sentence is a lie.” (The Liar’s Paradox)
• Liar Paradox - statement of a liar who states that they are lying:
– for instance, declaring that "I am lying" or "everything I say is false".
– If they are indeed lying, they are telling the truth, which means they
are lying.
 Types of Thinking

1. Critical Reasoning/ thinking

2. Creative Thinking
 Types of Thinking
• Analyzing
• Evaluating Problem Solving
•Reasoning Decision Making

New
Ideas

Critical Left Right Creative

Reasoning Thinking
 Meaning of Critical
1. General life: Negative / Fault finding

2.Involving / exercising skilled judgement /

observation
 What is C/ Reasoning?
 C/R is the first step towards in problem solving – To solve
problem, we should think critically
 C/R is the ability to engage in reflective and independent
thinking and being able to think clearly and rationally
 Supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds which
support it and further conclusion to which it tends
(John Dewey)
 C/R is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on
deciding what to believe / do
(Norris & Ennis)
 C/R does not mean being argumentative or being critial of others
A definition…
• It is about
discovering and
applying meaning
• to what you see,
• hear,
• and read.
How it’s done…
It involves, among other things,
 actively looking at an issue,
 examining what you have already
experienced about the issue,
 and comparing and contrasting
that to what other authentic
sources have researched and said
about this issue.
 Definitions of Reasoning ( cont.)
In summary,
It gives a wide range of cognitive and intellectual
skills needed to:
- Effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments
- Discover and overcome personal prejudices and biases ( girls)
-Formulate and present convincing reasons in support of
conclusion
-Make reasonable and intelligent decisions about what to believe
and what not to ( Astrology / Aliens)
What is Critical Reasoning ?
Reasoning

Analyzing CRITICAL Evaluating

THINKING
SKILLS

Decision Making Problem Solving

 What is Critical Reasoning?
• Analyzing
• Evaluating Problem Solving
• Reasoning
Decision Making

Critical Left Right

Reasoning
 Not just restricted to the laboratory!
• Examples of recent public / media debates that require clear, rational thought and have
all suffered from a complete lack of it.

» MMR vaccine & autism (no evidence)

» Human pollution & global warming (link not established)

» Student fees (why should you pay? Why should you get it for free?)

» Free speech (does a view being classed as offensive – make it

wrong?)

» Evolution vs creationism (science vs religion)

» Predictions of Astrologists
 Asking the Questions
• It begins with asking questions about the problem and about
ways to address it:
• ■ What is the purpose behind the problem?
• ■ What is a good way to begin?
• ■ Do I have all the information I need to start solving the
problem?
• ■ What are some alternative ways (Highway) of solving the
problem assigned?
• ■ Can the problem be solved? Does it even make sense?.
C/ R Careers and Professions
 STANDARDS
1. Clarity
2. Accuracy
3. Precision
4. Relevance (Focus)
5. Consistency
6. Logical correctness
7. Completeness (Depth)
8. Fairness
 C/ R Standards
Clarity
- Helps in avoiding miscommunication
- Defines goals and priorities
- Assessing our talents and abilities
- It is the gateway standard
“ Blah,Blah,Blah”
Accuracy

- Recognize the importance of accurate and timely

information in making good decisions

Relevance
- Critical reasoning demand that evidence be relevant to
the conclusions drawn from it
Consistency

- Be able to recognize when two beliefs or claims are

logically inconsistent
- Be able to discern when a person is guilty of practical
inconsistency
- 1. Logical Consistency
Example: P & ~P
- 2. Practical Consistency
Not saying one thing and doing another
 Logical Correctness

- When the combination of thoughts are mutually

supporting and make sense in combination, the thinking
is logical
All humans are animals.
Most animals can climb trees.
Therefore, most humans can climb trees
Completeness
- C/ R strives to understand an issue in its
completeness
Fairness
- C/ R demands that our thinking be fair
open minded
impartial
Free of distorting biases
and preconceptions
Depth

- C/ R should address the complexities in an issue

- It should deal with the most significant factors
Breath
- Look for another way/ different views

Precision
- More details and specific
Good / Critical reasoning is about....
Clear ratherthan muddled
Accurate ratherthan inaccurate
Relevance ratherthan irrelevant
Consistent ratherthan inconsistent
Logical ratherthan illogical
Complete ratherthan incomplete
Fair ratherthan biaed
Precise ratherthan vague
 The benefits of C/ reasoning

In academic performance
- Understand the arguments and beliefs of others
- Critically evaluating those arguments and beliefs
- Develop and defence one's own well supported
arguments and beliefs
@ Workplace
- Help us to reflect and get a deeper understanding of
our own and others' decisions
- Encourage open mindedness
- Aid us in being more analytical in problem solving
Daily Life
- Help us to avoid in making foolish decisions
- Promotes an informed and concerned citizens capable
of making good decisions on important issues
 Barriers to Critical Reasoning
- Most people are educated
then,
why is it that there are uncritical thinking?
Is critical reasoning difficult?
- Every day, we expose to things that hinder our ability to
think clearly, accurately, and fairly

- As Good and Critical thinkers, we must understand how to

recognize and avoid those !!!
 Five important barriers to C/R
Egocentrism
- Tendency to see reality as centered on oneself -serving
bias
- Two common form egocentrism are
1. Self interested thinking: accept and defend beliefs that
accord with one's own self interest
2. Self serving bias: overrate oneself
- There are selfish, absorbed and people who are keen in
their interests, ideas, and values as superior to others
Sociocentrism
- Group centered thinking
- Similar to E/C, S/C can hinder Good thinking by
focusing excessively on the group
- It can distort C/T in two ways
1. Group bias: It sees one's group ( nation, tribe, sect,
peer group,and school) better than others
- It is common throughout the history and across
cultures
- My family / culture / religion is better than others
- Disfavor to 'Outsiders' – 'discrimination'
2.Conformism: tendency to follow the crowd

- To confirm ( unthinkingly) to authority / group

standards of conduct or belief
- Result of conformism: we leave our own beliefs, values,

perspectives, and doubt our own perception

Unwarranted assumption and Stereotypes
- Beliefs that are presumed to be true without adequate
evidence / justification
- Everything is based on assumptions
e.g. Weather reports
- They are unreasonable and take the form of stereotypes

Stereotype: Generalizations about a group of people in

which identical characteristics are assigned to all members of
the group, often without regard to whether such attributions
are accurate or not
-
Relativistic Thinking
- There is no objective or absolute truth because truth is
simply a matter of opinion (Relativism)
- Two forms of relativism
1. Moral relativism
- Truth is a matter of individual opinion (Subjectivism)
- What is morally right and good varies from individual
to individual
2. Cultural relativism
- Truth is a matter of social or cultural opinion
- What is morally right and good varies from culture to
culture
Wishful thinking
- Believing that something is true because one wishes it
were true not because there is good reason for thinking
that is true
- Some people excited about having extra ordinary
personal powers and accept uncritically accounts of
psychic prediction, levitation, and ESP
ex. Tabloids stories
 Mini Quiz
Despite the fact that multiple studies show that
advertising is effective and does impact the decision
making of a large percentage of people, polls indicate
that the majority of people believe they are basically
immune to the influences of ads. This indicates that at
least some of these people are guilty of
1. Sociocentrism
2.Stereotyping
3. Superstition
4. Self serving bias
Many politicians oppose any legislation that would limit how
much of their personal money they could use to fund their
own campaigns. At least some of these politicians hold this
perspective only because they are very wealthy and such law
would effectively remove any advantage this wealth would
bring them. Such politicians likely hold their view as a result
of

1. Self serving Bias

2.An unfounded assumption
3. Conformism
4. Self interested thinking
According to the text, which of the following is not
true about assumptions?

1) The practice of thinking critically demands that we

become aware of our own thinking, including our
assumptions.
2) Unwarranted assumptions are unreasonable.
3) Some assumptions are reasonable.
4) It is both possible and beneficial to uncover every
assumption that informs our thinking.
Open-mindedness and impartiality are key
ingredients of fairness.

1) TRUE

2) FALSE
Egocentrism is the tendency to see one's own
culture as superior to others.

1) TRUE

2) FALSE
 Differences between critical and uncritical
reasoning
Critical reasoning Uncritical Thinking
See.. Textbook See textbook
The End