Critical thinking Mid Term

What is critical thinking?

Systematic formulation and evaluation of beliefs according to rational standards
Judicious reasonings about what to believe and what to do

What counts as a claim?

Something that can be accepted as true or false

What is an argument?

A series of claims that support a claim (has to be at least 2 claims total, true? why?, well becasue of this other claim)

Premises

Another word for a claim

conclusions

does not have to be in the end, is the general claim that you are trying to prove(you use the other claims to support this claim)

What are some indicator words that indicate the premise of the conclusion?

Therefore
Thus
Indicating
Hence
So
Accordingly
Ergo
It must be that

What are some indicator words that indicate a premise?

Because
If
Seeing as though, Seeing that
Due to the fact that
Since
Assuming that

Obstacles to critical thinking

availability error, homophily, False consensus, Dunning-Kruger effect, Exposure effect

Homophily

the tendency to give more credit to a statement if it comes from our friends.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

The phenomenon of being ignorant of how ignorant we are.

what do indicator words do?

Words that indicate if the statement is just a premise or a premise to a conclusion

What makes a argument Valid?

a deductive argument form in which the conclusion MUST follow from the premises

What makes an argument Sound?

a valid deductive argument in which the premises are true

Confirmation Bias

We notice what first with pre-existing theories

Availability Error

Give greater weight to striking evidence

Gamblers Fallacy

The belief that previous outcomes can affect some random event at hand

What kinds of factors contribute to an expert being and expert?

• Experience work in that area, making good judgments / being successful in some way

• Express accurate views typically

• Education / pass exams / attain credentials

• Licenses

• Works in approved sources