Study Notes on Critical Reasoning and Critical Thinking

In this unit, we will study the concept of critical thinking as well as important terms such as logic, knowledge, belief, and truth.

Critical Thinking: Defined as the rational evaluation of one's own and others' thinking.
- Purpose: To reach correct conclusions and establish justified true beliefs.
- According to philosopher Richard Paul: Critical thinking improves quality of thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it.
- Summary: Critical thinking is careful reasoning aimed at the formation of justified true beliefs that guide wise decisions and actions.

Logic: The study and application of the rules of reasoning.
Reasoning: A mental process of drawing conclusions from reasons or evidence.
Logical Thinker: Someone who can construct and evaluate arguments effectively.

Argument: A set of statements consisting of:
- Conclusion: The statement that the argument attempts to prove.
- Premises: The reasons or statements that support the conclusion.
Critical Thinker's Goal: To obtain knowledge through well-supported and accurate conclusions.

Three Types of Knowledge:
1. Propositional Knowledge: Knowledge of facts.
- Example: "Tolstoy wrote War and Peace."
1. Know How: Procedural knowledge that encompasses skills.
- Example: Knowing how to change the oil in a car.
1. Knowledge by Acquaintance: Personal or experiential knowledge, such as knowing a friend.
Focus on Propositional Knowledge:
- Defined as a belief that is both rationally justified and true.
- Necessary for true knowledge is the belief being based on good reasons.
- Example Proposition: "Tolstoy is the author of War and Peace."
- Condition Met: The proposition is true.
- Importance of Justification: Belief must be based on good reasons; mere belief from unreliable sources (e.g., Internet comments) does not constitute knowledge.

Four Main Theories of Truth:
1. Correspondence Theory:
- Asserts that truth is correspondence to reality.
- True propositions correspond with the reality to which they point.
- Example: A statement about an apple tree is true if there is indeed an apple tree in the backyard.
1. Coherence Theory: Further details should be provided (not covered in the transcript).
2. Pragmatic Theory: Further details should be provided (not covered in the transcript).
3. Cognitive Relativism: Further details should be provided (not covered in the transcript).

Relation of Belief to Knowledge:
- A belief is necessary for knowledge; one cannot know something without believing it.
- Belief: A mindset or viewpoint that accepts something as true, influencing actions.
- Synonyms for belief include trust, confidence, conviction, and faith.

Three Important Distinctions:
1. Belief is Not Identical to Truth: Example - John's belief in the Loch Ness monster doesn't equate to truth.
2. Distinction Between Mere Belief and Truth Value Belief:
- Mere Belief: Lacks truth value; subjective opinions cannot be true or false (e.g., preference for coffee over tea).
- Truth Value Belief: Beliefs with truth value; they are either true or false (e.g., "Cats are mammals").
1. Distinction Between True Belief and False Belief:
- Example of a true belief: "George Washington was the first president of the United States."
- Example of a false belief: "Julius Caesar was the first president of the United States."

Knowledge is defined as justified true belief.
If Jack knows proposition p, then the following must hold:
- Jack accepts p as true.
- Jack acts consistently with the view that p is true.
- Jack believes p based on adequate reasons.
- p actually is true.

Check Understanding: Drag terms on the left to their matching definitions on the right (interactive exercise suggested).