Critical Thinking-

References
 RECAP

• Thinking
• Left & Right Brain (Critical and Creative sides)
• Critical Thinking definition , Importance, applications
• Critical Thinking Process – (OAILDC & & 8 W2H)
• Critical Thinking Skills – (OAPCS – RAANI)
• Critical & Creative Thinking- Linkages
• Essential Aspects of Critical Thinking & Reasoning
tools
• Barriers of Critical Thinking
 RECAP

• Linear( Convergent) and Non-linear (Divergent/Out of

Box)Thinking
• Argument= Premises + Conclusion
• Indicators of Premises
Since, Because, After all, Given, Being, For the reason
• Indicators of Conclusion
Therefore, Thus, Hence, So, Consequently
• Premises
• Explicit (stated& written) and Implicit (not stated but implies)
• Reconstruction of Argument
• Principle of Charity
 RECAP

• Cause & Loop analysis

• Info mapping
 RECAP

• Evaluation of Premises
• True/False/Acceptable
• Type of Reasoning
• Deductive
• Inductive
• Abductive
 RECAP

• Evaluation of Arguments

• Good or Bad
• Logical reasoning from Premises to
Conclusion
• Valid or Invalid- Deductive Reasoning
• Strong or Weak- Inductive Reasoning
• Sound or Un-Sound
• Cogent or Un-Cogent
 RECAP

• Red Herrings
• Fallacies
• Rhetoric
• Debate
Critical Thinking
 Critical Thinking
FALLACIES
• A mistake in reasoning

• When reasoning given in an argument, in

support of a claim fails to justify the
acceptance itself.
 Critical Thinking
RHETORIC
Any verbal or written attempt to persuade
some one to believe, desire or do something;
That does not give sufficient good reasons to
believe ,desire or action ;
But still attempts to motivate/
convince/Persuade to accept that belief,
desire or action
 Common Fallacies
Fallacy-Ad Hominem

• An ad hominem fallacy is one that attempts to

invalidate an opponent’s position based on a
personal trait or fact about the opponent
rather than through logic.
• Example: Katherine is a bad choice for mayor
because she didn’t grow up in this town.
 Fallacy-Straw man

• A Straw man argument is one that argues

against a hyperbolic, inaccurate version of the
opposition rather than their actual argument.
• Example: Erin thinks we need to stop using all
plastics, right now, to save the planet from
climate change.
 Fallacy-Slippery Slope

• With a slippery slope fallacy, the arguer claims a specific

series of events will follow one starting point, typically
with no supporting evidence for this chain of events.
• Example: If we make an exception for Bijal’s service dog,
then other people will want to bring their dogs. Then
everybody will bring their dog, and before you know it,
our restaurant will be overrun with dogs, their slobber,
their hair, and all the noise they make, and nobody will
want to eat here anymore.
 Fallacy-Equivocation

• An equivocation is a statement crafted to

mislead or confuse readers or listeners by
using multiple meanings or interpretations of
a word or simply through unclear phrasing.
• Example: While I have a clear plan for the
campus budget that accounts for every dollar
spent, my opponent simply wants to throw
money at special interest projects.
 Fallacy- Hasty-Generalization

• A Hasty Generalization is a statement made after

considering just one or a few examples rather than
relying on more extensive research to back up the
claim. It’s important to keep in mind that what
constitutes sufficient research depends on the issue
at hand and the statement being made about it.
• Example: I felt nautiated both times I ate pizza from
Domino, so I must be allergic to something in pizza.
 Fallacy- Appeal to Authority

• In an Appeal to Authority, the arguer claims

an authority figure’s expertise to support a
claim despite this expertise being irrelevant or
overstated.
• Example: If you want to be healthy, you need
to stop drinking coffee. I read it on a fitness
blog.
 Fallacy- False Dilemma

• A false dilemma, also known as a false

dichotomy, claims there are only two options
in a given situation. Often, these two options
are extreme opposites of each other, failing to
acknowledge that other, more reasonable,
options exist.
• Example: If you don’t support my decision,
you were never really my friend.
 Fallacy-Bandwagon

• With the bandwagon fallacy, the arguer claims

that a certain action is the right thing to do
because it’s popular.
• Example: Of course it’s fine to wait until the
last minute to write your paper. Everybody
does it!
 Fallacy-Appeal to Ignorance

• An Appeal to Ignorance is a claim that something

must be true because it hasn’t been proven false.
It can also be a claim that something must be
false because it hasn’t been proven true. This is
also known as the burden of proof fallacy.
• Example: There must be fairies living in our attic
because nobody’s ever proven that there aren’t
fairies living in our attic.
 Fallacy-Circular Argument

• A circular argument is one that uses the same

statement as both the premise and the
conclusion. No new information or
justification is introduced.
• Example: Peppers are the easiest vegetable to
grow because I think peppers are the easiest
vegetable to grow.
 Fallacy-Sunk Cost

• With the sunk cost fallacy, the arguer justifies

their decision to continue a specific course of
action by the amount of time or money
they’ve already spent on it.
• Example: I’m not enjoying this book, but I
bought it, so I have to finish reading it.
 Fallacy-Appeal to Pity

• An appeal to pity attempts to sway a reader’s

or listener’s opinion by provoking them
emotionally.
• Example: I know I should have been on time
for the interview, but I woke up late and felt
really bad about it, then the stress of being
late made it hard to concentrate on driving
here.
 Fallacy-Casual

• A Casual Fallacy is one that implies a

relationship between two things where one
can’t actually be proven.
• Example: When ice cream sales are up, so are
shark attacks. Therefore, buying ice cream
increases your risk of being bitten by a shark.
 Critical Thinking
RHETORIC
• Rhetoric ploys typically make a more less
direct appeal to feelings and emotions rather
than reasons/ reasoning.

• Political leaders, Advertisers tend to use

Rhetoric ploys maximum.
 Critical Thinking
Three Ingredients of Rhetoric
1.Ethos:
How character/Image/reputation/Tone of
the speaker or writer affects the audience.
2.Pathos: How one uses emotions in
arguments/speech
3. Logos: How one structures the
argument/premises/statements using logic.
 Argument & Rhetoric
• An argument is a logical and reasoned discussion or
presentation of a particular point of view, usually with the
goal of persuading others to agree with that point of view. It
involves presenting evidence, reasoning, and supporting
details to support a claim or position.

• Rhetoric, on the other hand, is the art of effective or

persuasive speaking or writing. It encompasses the use of
language and communication techniques to influence an
audience or readership. Rhetoric is often used to enhance
the persuasive power of an argument, but it can also be
employed independently of argumentation to achieve
various persuasive or aesthetic effects.
 Critical Thinking
DEBATE
An organized argument or contest of ideas in
which the participants discuss a topic from
two opposing sides.

A debate is an effective way to improve Critical

Thinking.
 Critical Thinking
DEBATE
It has 3 components
• Case/Arguments construction
• Refutation of Opposition
• Rebuilding the case arguments
 Critical Thinking
DEBATE
In activity of debating both sides learn how to be good
active listener to better analyze and evaluate thinking.
Then how to present their arguments in organized and
persuasive ways.

It involves problem solving attitude, innovative thinking,

research, quick analysis, examining different
perspectives and helps to build links between words and
ideas that make concept/argument/counter argument
more logical and meaningful
 Critical Thinking
DEBATE
• In arguments/counter arguments correct
tense makes a difference
Past is - Blame
Current is - values
Future is - Choice/Focus
 Cognitive Bias
• A Cognitive bias is a systematic thought process
caused by the tendency of the human brain to
simplify information processing through a filter of
personal experience and preferences.
• A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation
from norms or rationality in judgment. Individuals
create their own "subjective reality" from their
perception of the input.

• Thus, cognitive biases may sometimes lead to

perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical
interpretation, and irrationality.
 Cognitive Bias- Common Types
• Racial Bias
• Gender Bias
• Age Bias
• Ego Centric Bias
• Memory or Consistency Bias
• Framing effect bias
• Anchoring bias
• Neglect of probability bias
 Cognitive Bias- Types
• Anchoring Bias is the tendency to adjust our judgments (especially numerical judgments) toward
the first piece of information
• Availability bias is the tendency by which a person evaluates the probability of events by the ease
with which relevant instances come to mind
• Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, to interpret, to favor, and to recall information that
confirms or supports one’s prior personal beliefs
• Disposition effect is the tendency among investors to sell stock market winners too soon and hold
on to losers too long This tendency is typically related to loss aversion
• Hindsight bias is a propensity to perceive events as being more predictable, once they have
occurred
• Omission bias is the preference for harm caused by omissions over equal or lesser harm caused by
acts
• Outcome bias is the tendency to judge the quality of a decision based on the information about the
outcome of that decision. These judgments are erroneous in respect to normative assumption that
“information that is available only after decision is made is irrelevant to the quality of the decision”
• Overconfidence bias is a common inclination of people to overestimate their own abilities to
successfully perform a particular task
• Relative risk bias is a stronger inclination to choose a particular treatment when presented with the
relative risk than when presented with the same information described in terms of the absolute risk
• Susceptibility to framing is the tendency for people to react differently to a single choice depending
on whether it is presented as a loss or a gain
 Briefing for Final Exam – 24 Apr
• A long case story will be given, mostly some court
verdict type.
• You must read it twice/thrice very slowly, using pencil
analyzing & looking for various Logics/Rhetoric
/Fallacy / Cognitive biases etc
• Critically look for logics/reasoning including types
based on which verdict/decision has been given.
• Your views may also be asked based on your critical
thinking and analysis of the case.
• It is going to be an open book exam. You can refer
your notes. But mobiles will not be allowed.