CRITICAL THINKING
THE BASICS
Critical Thinking: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the field of critical thinking, drawing on philosophy, communication and psychology. Emphasising its relevance to decision-making (in personal, professional and civic life), academic literacy and personal development, this book supports the reader in understanding and developing the knowledge and skills needed to avoid poor reasoning, to reconstruct and evaluate arguments, and to engage constructively in dialogues.
Topics covered include:
• the relationship between critical thinking, emotions and the psychology of persuasion
• the role of character dispositions such as open-mindedness, courage and perseverance
• argument identification and reconstruction • fallacies and argument evaluation.
With discussion questions and exercises and suggestions for further reading at the end of the main chapters, this book is an essential read for students approaching the field of critical thinking for the first time, and for the general reader wanting to improving their thinking skills and decision-making abilities.
Stuart Hanscomb is a Lecturer in Philosophy and Communication at the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, UK.
THE BASICS
Available:
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY NANCY STANLICK
ANIMAL ETHICS TONY MILIGAN
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE KEVIN WARWICK
BIOETHICS ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
EASTERN PHILOSOPHY (SECOND EDITION) VICTORIA HARRISON
EVOLUTION SHERRIE LYONS
FOOD ETHICS RONALD SANDLER
FREE WILL MEGAN GRIFFITH
HUMAN GENETICS (SECOND EDITION) RICKI LEWIS
METAPHYSICS MICHAEL RAE
PHENOMENOLOGY DAN ZAHAVI
PHILOSOPHY (FIFTH EDITION) NIGEL WARBURTON
Forthcoming:
CONSCIOUSNESS KEITH FRANKISH
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS BEN DIXON AND MAHESH ANANTH
GLOBAL JUSTICE CARL DEATH
LOGIC (SECOND EDITION) J.C. BEALL
PHILOSOPHY OF MIND AMY KIND
CRITICAL THINKING
THE BASICS
Stuart Hanscomb
First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Stuart Hanscomb
The right of Stuart Hanscomb to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Hanscomb, Stuart, author. Title: Critical thinking : the basics / Stuart Hanscomb. Description: 1 [edition]. | New York : Routledge, 2016. | Series: The basics | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016023190| ISBN 9781138826236 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138826243 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315739465 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Critical thinking. Classification: LCC B105.T54 H363 2016 | DDC 160—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016023190
ISBN: 978-1-138-82623-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-138-82624-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-73946-5 (eBook)
Typeset in Bembo Std and Scala Sans by Book Now Ltd, London
CONTENTS
List of boxes vi Acknowledgements vii
Introduction: waking up to bad arguments 1
1 Rationality, cognitive biases and emotions 26
2 Critical thinking and dispositions 57
3 Arguments and argument reconstruction 78
4 Argument forms and fallacies 100
5 Arguments and social power: authority, threats and other features of message source 115
6 Causal arguments, generalisations, arguments from consequences and slippery slope arguments 167
7 Arguments from analogy 206
8 Further fallacies 218
