Critical Thinking

These flashcards cover the key concepts of critical thinking, including its qualities, stages, structures of arguments, logical fallacies, and specific examples.

What are the qualities of a critical thinker?

Open-mindedness, knowledge, mental activity, curiosity, independent thought, skillful discussion, insightfulness, self-awareness, humility, and creativity.

What is the first stage of critical thinking?

Appeal to authority, where individuals rely on the knowledge of experts.

What does a valid argument require?

A valid argument features premises that consistently lead to a conclusion; it does not require the premises to be true.

What must a sound argument contain?

A sound argument must have both truthful premises and a valid structure.

Define a logical fallacy.

A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning or a weak form of reasoning.

What is a strawman argument?

Setting up an opposing point of view in the weakest possible way to easily challenge it.

What is the slippery slope fallacy?

Arguing that one action will lead to a series of increasingly undesirable consequences.

What is a red herring fallacy?

Introducing an unrelated issue to distract from the main argument.

What does false dichotomy mean?

Limiting possibilities to two extreme alternatives, ignoring other viable options.

What is the definition of post hoc, ergo propter hoc?

Arguing that because one event follows another, the first event must be the cause of the second.

What is the bandwagon fallacy?

An appeal to emotion suggesting that one does not belong or is inferior if not conforming to a belief or action.

What is hasty generalization?

Making a broad conclusion based on a limited sample.

What does misidentification of cause refer to?

A poor understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship, attributing a direct consequence to a factor without proper evidence.

What is the ad hominem fallacy?

Attacking a person's character rather than the argument they are making.

What does begging the question mean?

Avoiding a question by restating an argument without providing additional evidence.