Critical Thinking

Some basic concepts

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Are you convinced?
 In daily life we are faced with many
situations where we are being
convinced of many things
 Advertisements
 Media coverage
 Promotions
 Marketing products
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Are you convinced?
 Thinking critically is a defense against a world
of too much information and too many people
trying to convince us.

 Many animals have better abilities than

humans but they cannot plan, they cannot
think through, they cannot discuss to improve
understanding or relationships

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Are you convinced?
 We need to analyse our decisions, beliefs and
ideas
 We need to question assumptions
 We need to reason well
 Critical thinking is part of study of philosophy:
the love of wisdom
 You may not reach the ultimate truth but you
obtain a better understanding of the issue in
the process

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Claims
 The process of convincing – someone
trying to do the convincing and
someone who is supposed to be
convinced
 Someone tries to convince you.
 You try to convince someone else.
 You try to convince yourself

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Claims
 Instead of using the term ‘convincings’
we may refer to an attempt to convince
as ‘argument’.
 Argument – not fighting/quarrelling
 We try to reason with arguments

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Claims
 An attempt to convince should be in
plain language that can be true or false
declarative sentences

 For example:
 This course is a delight.
 The author of this book writes well.

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Claims
 The following are not declarative
sentences:

 Shut the door! (command/imperative)

 Dear God, please get me out of this
trouble. (more like a prayer)

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Claims
 Not every declarative sentence is a true
or false statement
 Example: Green dreams sleep
peacefully.
 Sentences which are true or false –
have a truth-value

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Claims - Definition
 Claim – A declarative sentence used in
such a way that it is either true or false
(but not both)

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 Examples
 Your instructor for this course is male. (C)
 Your teacher is short. (NC) (vague)
 Cats are nasty. (C)
 2+2= 4 (C)
 Todo cachorro pode latir. (NC) (Not understood –
cannot reason)
 Every mollusc can contract myxamotosis. (C)
(May not understand but can be checked)
 I wish I could get a job. (NC) (prayer/sigh)

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Arguments
 Argument is an attempt to convince
someone (or yourself), using language,
that a claim is true.
 The only language that we should allow
in an argument, then, should be
sentences that are true or false.

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Definition of argument
 An argument is a collection of claims,
one of which is called the conclusion
whose truth the argument is intended
to establish; the others are called the
premises, which are supposed to lead
to, or support, or convince that the
conclusion is true.

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Argument
 The point of an argument is to convince
that a claim - the conclusion - is true.
 The conclusion is sometimes called “the
point of argument” or the issue that is
being debated.

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Critical Thinking
 Critical thinking is evaluating whether
we should be convinced that some
claim is true or some argument is good,
as well as formulating good arguments.

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Is this an argument?

The nurse is making an argument. She’s trying to convince the

doctor that “Your patient in Room 47 is dying” is true. She
offers the premise “He’s in cardiac arrest.” Sounds pretty
convincing.

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 Is this an argument?

Dick is making an argument, trying to convince the police officer that

the following claim is true: “The accident was not my fault”
(reworded). He uses two premises: “She hit me from the rear” and
“Anytime you get rear-ended it’s not your fault”

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Summary
 An argument is convincing someone
that a sentence is true.
 A claim is a declarative sentence used
in such a way that it is true or false
 Arguments will be attempts to convince
using claims

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Summary
 Because your reasoning can be
sharpened, you can understand more,
you can avoid being duped

 CT helps you to reason well and make

better decisions

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Which of the following are
claims?
1. Justin Bieber is a woman.
2. I am 2 metres tall.
3. Power corrupts.
4. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
5. 2+2=4
6. Feed Kitty.
7. No se puede vivir sin amar.
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Analyzing an argument
 Sheep are the dumbest animals. If the
one in front walks off a cliff, all the rest
will follow it. And if they get rolled over
on their backs, they can’t right
themselves

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Analyzing an argument
Argument : Yes
Conclusion : Sheep are the dumbest
animals.
Premises : If a sheep walks off a cliff, all
the rest will follow it.
If a sheep gets rolled over on its back,
it can’t right itself.

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Writing Lesson 1
 Write an argument either for or against
the following:
“Student athletes should be given special
leniency when the instructor assigns
course marks.”

Your argument should be at most one page long.

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Questions
1. Write down five sentences, four of
which are claims and one which is not.
2. What is an argument?
3. What is a premise? What is a
conclusion?

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Argument or not?
1. (Advertisement) The bigger the
burgers, the better the burgers, the
burgers are bigger at Burger King.
2. Your friend goes outside, looks up at
the sky, and it’s cloudy. She returns
home and gets her raincoat and
umbrella. Is she making an argument?
Explain.
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THANK YOU

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