English | 2020 | Original PDF | 3 MB | 349 Pages
Tracy Bowell, Gary Kemp, Robert Cowan, B07X754VP9, 081537142X, 0815371438, 9780815371427, 9780815371434, 9781351243711, 9781351243735, 9781351243704, 9781351243728, 978-0815371427, 978-0815371434, 978-1351243711, 978-1351243735, 978-1351243704, 978-1351243728
We are frequently confronted with
arguments. Arguments are attempts to persuade us – to influence our
beliefs and actions – by giving us reasons to believe this or that.
Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide will equip students with the concepts
and techniques used in the identification, analysis and assessment of
arguments whatever the subject matter or context. Through precise and
accessible discussion, this book provides the tools to become a
successful critical thinker, one who can act and believe in accordance
with good reasons, and who can articulate and make explicit those
reasons.
Key topics discussed include:
- Core concepts in argumentation
- How language can serve to obscure or conceal the real content of arguments
- How to distinguish argumentation from rhetoric
- How to avoid common confusions surrounding words such as ‘truth’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘opinion’
- How to identify and evaluate the most common types of argument
- How to distinguish good reasoning from bad in terms of deductive validity and induction.
This
fifth edition has been revised and extensively updated throughout,
including a significantly expanded range of ‘complete examples’, the
introduction of Venn diagrams and the discussion of fake news and
related phenomena arising in the contemporary scene.
