Core 101:  The Monsters We Make

 

 

= Critical Thinking Presentation=

 

Michael O’Rourke

Philosophy

 

October 10, 2002

 

 

Critical Thinking: What?

 

 

I.       Definition:   Critical thinking is thinking that involves (a) the evaluation of options (b) for the purpose of deciding between them (c) in the pursuit of a goal.  In other words, it is evaluative thinking that generates belief or action.

 

A.               The evaluation consists in holding the options up to certain standards, e.g., “Is it economical?”  “Is it rational?”  “Is it beautiful?”, and then ranking them according to these standards.

 

B.                Once the options are ranked, you are in a position to make a deliberate decision about them.

 

C.               The goal could be to believe something (i.e., a theoretical goal) or to do something (i.e., a practical goal).

 

 

II.      Critical thinking is a basic intellectual skill.

 

A.               As such, it is similar to reading, writing, and speaking.

 

B.                There are better ways to go about it and worse ways.

 

C.               Explicit instruction in critical thinking skills can help one improve.

 

 

III.     What critical thinking is not: 

 

A.               Creative thinking, Procedural thinking, Dogmatic thinking

 

B.                Always relevant or valuable

 

C.               In conflict with the passions

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Who?

 

 

I.       You.

 

A.               You have been thinking in this way since you can remember.

 

B.                Whenever you evaluate options, you engage in this.

 

C.               Thus, we are all critical thinkers, although some of us may be better than others.

 

 

II.      Us.

 

A.               Because it is a basic intellectual and so critical to your success in college, we will emphasize it in this class.

 

B.                You will be expected to exercise these skills in homework and in class discussion.

 

C.               It isn’t always the case that you are asked to use these skills, but if you can wield them, they will come in handy throughout the rest of your college career.

 

 

Critical Thinking: When?

 

 

I.       There are some times when it will come in handy, e.g., “Do I move out and get my own apartment?”  “Do I major in philosophy or just minor in it?”  “Do I eat the third piece of cake or just stick with two?”

 

A.               Life is full of choices, and deliberation will come in handy in many of these cases.  When it does, that is when you will likely think critically.

 

B.                This is especially true when a lot rides on the quality of the choice you make.

 

C.               In this class, you will be given many opportunities to think critically, such as when authors, professors, and peers ask you to believe something about monsters, or when you are asked to write evaluative or analytic essays.

 

 

II.      But there are also times when it won’t come in handy.

 

A.               This is true when you are not asked to evaluate options.

 

B.                Given that resources such as time or energy can be limited, it is also possible that it won’t come in handy even when there are options to evaluate.

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Where?

 

 

I.       There are many places where you are expected to think critically.  Examples include:

 

A.               Many university classrooms

 

B.                Voting booth

 

C.               Courtroom

 

D.               Public meetings

 

 

II.      There are also many places where it would behoove you to think critically.  Examples include:

 

A.               Car dealership

 

B.                Your TV room

 

C.               When dealing with a college recruiter

 

 

III.     In addition, there are many places where you can expect to find critical thinking, beyond the ones mentioned above:

 

A.               Op/Ed pages in newspapers

 

B.                Political columns in magazines

 

C.               Billboards and advertisements

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Why?

 

 

I.       Because there are times when you need to make a good decision.

 

A.               In situations like this, there may be seriously negative consequences associated with a bad decision, or seriously positive consequences associated with a good decision, or both.

 

B.                Exercising critical thinking skills in these circumstances ensures that you will have a hand in determining what the decision will be, i.e., it gives you a certain measure of control.

 

C.               Further, it ensures that the decision will be systematic and principled.

 

D.               Critical thinking can’t guarantee that you will make a good decision, but so long as you are a skilled critical thinker and you have the knowledge you need about the situation, it will certainly increase your odds.

 

 

II.      More generally, critical thinking is an essential part of thinking for yourself, of exerting autonomy over your decisions and your life. 

 

A.      It allows you to put your own stamp of approval on the decisions you make.  After all, your life is really yours if you are making the decisions.

 

B.      It is also what you should demand from any university education you get.  An educated person is someone who can think like this and do so effectively when the need arises.

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: How?

 

 

I.       Fundamentally, critical thinking boils down to evaluating options by determining what can be said for them.  Put another way, it involves looking for reasons to believe a claim or reasons to perform an action.  Thus, critical thinking requires that you assess reasons for conclusions, and this combination of reasons and their conclusion is an argument.

 

A.               Arguments are ubiquitous—they are all around us, all the time.  In fact, once you think of the term “argument” in this broad way, you may see them everywhere you look, even in places where you might not expect them, like shopping lists or public service announcements. 

 

B.                These arguments come in all shapes and sizes, and the standards that we use to evaluate them depend on their character; thus, we find that we must learn to wield various standards if we are to think critically in those circumstances where we find it useful.

 

 

II.      Thus, critical thinking is argument analysis.

 

A.               When we think critically, we evaluate arguments by applying standards appropriate to their form and content with a view to determining whether they establish their conclusions.

 

B.                Argument analysis consists of three stages:

 

1.                 Identification:  Is there an argument?

 

2.                 (Re)construction: What are its steps?

 

3.                 Evaluation: Is it any good?

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Example 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·        What does Keefe want us to believe here? 

 

·        What are his reasons?

 

·        What must we assume/know to follow his reasoning?

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Example 2

 

 

 

“I am not a Frankenstein, and I don’t create monsters.”

 

--- University of Kentucky professor emeritus Panayiotis Zavos, on working outside the country to develop the first human clone.  (From Newsweek 10/14/02)

 

 

 

 

 

·        Is Zavos making an argument here?  If so, what is it?

 

·        What is his conclusion?

 

·        What are his reasons? 

 

·        How might you respond to it?

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Example 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This painting, “Sowers” by Thomas Hart Benton, was created to mobilize public opinion during World War II.  Benton believed that it was the artist's role either to fight or to "bring the bloody actual realities of this war home to the American people."  The monstrous skull sowers are enemy soldiers.  Given the context of its creation and the purpose it was intended to serve, does this painting make an argument?   If so, how might you reconstruct it?