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Full Download pdf of (Original PDF) The Power of Critical Thinking 4th Canadian Edition all chapter
Full Download pdf of (Original PDF) The Power of Critical Thinking 4th Canadian Edition all chapter
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Pr
e Contents
Glossary 521
Notes 527
Index 529
Credits 535
FROM THE PUBLISHER
T
he fourth Canadian edition of The Power ofCriticalThinlting builds on
the successful approach used in the previous Canadian editions that
have served instructors and students so well. It gives first-time students
a comprehensive, engaging, and clear introduction to critical thinking and its
application in the real world.
This latest edition retains the best features of previous editions while adding
new features to help students use their critical thinking skills in their everyday
life. Highlights include the following:
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Extensive treatment of scientific: reaaoning.
The book offers a chapter each on inductive
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Enhanced Pedagogy
This edition of 1he Power of Critical 1hinking builds on the pedagogical
approach that has successfully hdped students practise and refine their critical
thinking skills.
Consumer purchases can be important decisions: if they are going to be personal, that should be
your decision. not someone else's!
__
..--
-----
...- ..
Conflicting Claims
• If a claim conflicts with other daims that we have good reason to accept. we have good grounds fur
doubting it.
• If a claim conflicts with our background information, we have good reason to doubt it.
• We should proportion our belief to the evidence.
• It's not reasonable to believe a claim when there is no good reason fur doing so.
• If a claim conflicts with expert opinion, we have good reason to doubt it.
• When the experts disagree about a claim, we have good reason to suspend judgment.
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JUDGING NIO UM ENl
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.,....,
_ . . . _ ... _ ABUNDANT EXERCISES
cover a wide range
. , Wi. et--~ sw
of top1cs th s ~u:u an ers given at the
back of the book (Append
ix B). 1here are
hundreds of~ fou
nd throu~ each
chapter, presented progre
to complex. elementary
familiar to unusual
ssively
to more
. :c:':nd
C on te m po ra ry Desig
n
The design of th e four
th Canadian edit~on
reflectS thev t"brancy an d ex cit em en t of learmng
how to think critically wi . .
thout sacrificmg con-
tent or authoritativeness.
From the Publisher e
Aids to Student Learning
______________________________________
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8 From the Publisher
e
CJ.tttPritJI ltltcmMII!
2. Whu.-c the tWO qwltlu cha un be cxptacd in cwpical
Re•Ot'IS tar Bek4 atd ocu..b t a.anen11!
3. Wh:at.-clhcfour ••d.-d-(ounokp)licalsarcmmu?(Sp«fythcm
bJ' qualty and quaNityand by lr:acr dap._icnt.)
For cxho(lkcfolowi"C••nwNJ. idrNtydat •b;«t..d prulic:ac~t-mu,
the~~~~ Ike quaNity, and cbc Rime of chc form (un.iYCHai affirmuivt>. uni-
ftl'li1l rwp:M. pvdculu 'lffirma.dvc.or panku.lu ncp~i~).
-----
e PAftTON( S...tic.t
From the Publisher 8
Supplements
The Power of Critical Thinking also includes a comprehensive online ancillary
package, available at www.oupcanada.com/MacDonaldVaughn4Ce. An
instructor's manual, a test generator, and a robust set of PowerPoint slides--ani-
mated for maximum pedagogical effectiveness-are available to those teaching
the course. (Please contact your OUP sales representative for login and pass-
word information). A student study guide is also available online (no password
required); this effective resource allows students to take advantage of a number
of study notes, quizzes, and additional exercises.
A
s we enter our fourth edition, the Canadian version of 1he Power of
Critical1hinking continues to evolve. The original American version,
with its US spelling and cultural references, is an increasingly distant
cousin. The current edition features many new end-of-chapter questions, and
five new Essays for Evaluation at the back of the book-all on topics of current
interest, and all by Canadian authors. Every chapter also now includes one or
more Everyday Problems and Decisions boxes, illustrating the application of
that chapter's material to the reader's everyday life. Among many other changes,
we've also updated many of the end-of-chapter Field Problems, added new
material on the dangers of fooling ourselves, and included a useful new textbox
on the use of propositional logic in essay-writing in Chapter 7. Overall, we've
worked hard to keep the book practical and informal, while at the same time
retaining its philosophical rigour and integrity. We've tried to keep the book
reasonably fun, and useful.
Acknowledgements
As I'm sure you've heard, critical thinking textbooks are produced by elves in
caverns deep in the Earth. Just kidding. They are the product of a lot of hard
work by real people, including people other than those whose names you see
on the front cover. First and foremost, I'd like to thank, as always, my friends
at Oxford University Press, including especially Stephen Kotowych and Meg
Patterson, for their patience and suppon and for the very high quality of their
work. In addition, I would like to thank several anonymous reviewers and two
anonymous, expen proofreaders for their excellent contributions. (I'd also like
to blame the reviewers and proofreaders for any mistakes that you may find. But
you're a critical thinker, so you'll see right through me.) In fact, of course, the
mistakes that remain are my own fault. If you spot one, let me know. Finally,
as always, I would like to thank Professor Nancy Walton, who on a daily basis
teaches me the value, and the proper place, of critical thinking, and does so
more often than not with a smile.
Reviewers
We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following reviewers, whose
thoughtful comments and suggestions have helped to shape this new edition:
Kelvin Booth, Thompson Rivers University
Laura Byrne, University of Onawa
Antoine Goulem, Seneca College
Preface G
Sam Hillier, University ofAlberta
Gregory Lavers, Concordia University
JeffVancha, University of Regina
Patrick Walsh, University of Manitoba
Chris MacDonaltJ
Ryerson University
This page intentionally left blank
THE POWER OF CRITICAL THINKING
• To understand the meaning of critical thinking and the importance and meaning
of the terms systematic, evaluation, formulation, and rational standards.
• To understand how critical thinking is related to logic, the truth or falsity of
statements, knowledge, and personal empowerment.
Why It Matters
You will be able to
• appreciate why critical thinking is better than the passive acceptance of beliefs.
• appreciate the relevance of the claim "The unexamined life is not worth living" to
critical thinking.
• understand why the following claims are dubious: "Critical thinking makes people
too critical or cynical," "Critical thinking makes people cold and unemotional," and
"Critical thinking is the enemy of creativity."
• appreciate the usefulness of critical thinking in all human endeavours.
How It Works
You will be able to
• distinguish between statements and non-statements.
• understand the basic concepts of reasons, argument, inference, premise, and
conclusion.
• use indicator words to help pinpoint premises and conclusions.
• distinguish between passages that do and do not contain an argument.
• identify arguments in various contexts and distinguish between arguments and
superfluous material, arguments and explanations, and premises and conclusions.
1 I The Power of Critical Thinking 0
W
hen you were born, you were completely without opinions or
judgments or values or viewpoints-and now your head is over-
flowing with them. Opinions help you make your way through
the world. They guide you to failure and success, ignorance and understanding,
good and bad, paralysis and empowerment. Some of your beliefs truly enable
you, and some blind you. Some are true; some are not. But the question is,
which ones are which? This kind of question-a question about the quality of
your beliefs-is the fundamental concern of critical thinking. critical thinking The system-
Determining the quality or value of your beliefs is a function of thinking, atic evaluation or formulation
of beliefs or statements by
and the kind of thinking that does this job best is critical thinking-a skill that rational standards.
a university or college education seeks to foster. This means that critical think-
ing is not direcdy about what you think, but rather how you think.
The quality of beliefs is not about what factors caused you to have the beliefs •The recipe for perpetual
that you do. A sociologist might tell you how society has influenced some of ignorance is: be satisfied
your moral views. A psychologist might describe how your emotions cause you with your opinions
and content with your
to cling to certain opinions. Your best friend might claim that you have uncon- knowledge.•
sciously absorbed most of your beliefs direcdy from your parents. But none of
-Elbert Hubbard
these speculations have much to do with the central task of critical thinking.
Critical thinking focuses not on what causes a belief, but on whether it is
worth believing. A belief is worth believing, or accepting, if we have good reasons
to accept it. The better the reasons, the more likely the belief is to be true. Crit-
ical thinking offers us a set of standards embodied in techniques, attitudes, and
principles that we can use to assess beliefs and determine if they are supported
by good reasons. After all, we want our beliefs to be true, to be good guides
for dealing with the world-and critical thinking is the best tool we have for
achieving this goal.
Here's one way to wrap up these points in a concise definition:
A noi non sono noti tutti i giudici, ed anzi non è nemmeno noto il loro
numero. Ma sappiamo che v'erano tra loro M. Cesonio, anch'esso,
insieme a Cicerone, creato edile per l'anno successivo [695] e noto
già pel processo di calunnia [696] contro Cluenzio [697]; Q. Manlio; Q.
Cornificio, homo sobrius et sanctus e di famiglia che avea dato
consoli allo Stato [698]; M. Crepereio, C. Cassio, Cn. Tremellio, P.
Sulpicio, M. Metello, P. Servilio, Q. Lutazio Catulo, Q. Titinio [699], C.
Marcello [700]. Verre, che, per la sua qualità di senatore, non avea
ristretto a tre soltanto il numero de' giudici da ricusare [701], ricusò sei
giudici: P. Cervio, che era stato suo legato in Sicilia e con cui
probabilmente era venuto in disaccordo [702]; Sesto Peduceo, che
l'avea preceduto nel governo della Sicilia, e che non poteva avere
verso lui i migliori sentimenti, sopratutto per l'impedimento posto ad
una manifestazione del Senato di Syracusae in suo onore [703]; Q.
Considio, uomo di animo forte [704], giudice probo, amico di Cicerone
probabilmente, se tale possono farlo credere le lodi con cui sempre
lo menziona [705]; C. Cassio, uomo consolare, giudice severo, della
cui moglie avea offeso gl'interessi nel Leontino [706]; Q. Junio,
avverso a Verre per la tradizione popolare della sua gente, e ancor
più, se come è probabile, congiunto al iudex quaestionis,
condannato in seguito al giudizio di Oppianico ed al pupillo Junio,
vessato per l'appalto del tempio di Castore [707]; P. Galba, appresso
competitore di Cicerone nel consolato [708]. Sesto Peduceo, Q.
Considio, Q. Junio li ricusò, nonostante che Hortensio ne lo
dissuadesse [709]. Nel collegio giudicante, così come riuscì
composto, v'erano familiari di Verre, amici del padre; almeno egli ne
menava vanto [710]; e, stando infatti anche a quelli soli qui nominati,
era notevole per lui il nome di M. Metello. Tuttavia, per quello che
Cicerone ne dice, il complesso de' giudici sarebbe riuscito affatto
contrario a' suoi desiderî: egli anzi ne sarebbe stato sgominato e
disanimato al punto di credere senz'altro perduta la sua causa; e gli
altri credevano altrettanto con lui [711]. In verità, parecchi di questi
nomi non erano fatti per alimentare le sue buone speranze. Cesonio,
candidato all'edilità, in quell'anno, con Cicerone e trionfato indi con
lui, era probabilmente del suo stesso partito; e in ogni modo il
processo di corruzione, a lui intentato per la causa di Oppianico, cui
avea preso parte, se anche era finito con la sua completa
assoluzione, non gli avea potuto lasciare l'animo ben disposto verso
Verre, che avea avuto in quel processo la parte che sappiamo [712].
Q. Manlio e Q. Cornificio, oltre a tutti i caratteri personali, che
potevano renderli contrarî a Verre, o refrattarî alle sue corruzioni e
che Cornificio specialmente sembrava avere [713], erano stati eletti
tribuni della plebe per l'anno seguente [714] e, per coerenza alla loro
carica stessa, doveano essere avversi al dispregiatore della plebe, al
puntello della fazione sillana. Di P. Sulpicio, di cui come si è visto, è
stata confusa la persona, non si sa molto. Anzi, mentre il Pseudo
Asconio [715] lo dà come tribuno della plebe, v'è chi [716] mette in
dubbio tale dato, per il cominciare che faceva l'anno tribunizio il 10
Decembre, e non il 5. L'esclusione di questa carica è anche meglio
dimostrata, benchè non incontrastabilmente, dalla sua qualità di
patrizio e dalla considerazione, che Cicerone l'avrebbe menzionato
insieme a' due altri tribuni, Manlio e Cornificio. Al tempo stesso non
poteva essere edile, perchè tali erano Cicerone e Cesonio. Non
resta dunque a ritenere se non che egli fosse questore, e come tale
entrava in ufficio alle none di Decembre [717]. L'esempio recente tra i
Sulpici di un altro P. Sulpicio (Rufo), che avea aderito alla parte
mariana, poteva non farlo prevedere favorevole a Verre; e, in ogni
modo, per tale non dovea darlo la sua qualità di iudex iustus et
integer [718]. C. Cassio, oltre all'appartenere alla famiglia di quel L.
Cassio, la cui severità era passata in proverbio [719], dovea risentire
le ire del console C. Cassio, offeso e danneggiato da Verre in Sicilia.
M. Crepereio apparteneva ad una famiglia equestre, e ciò dovea
bastare a renderlo avverso a Verre; per giunta poi, nella sua
famiglia, era ereditaria l'acrimonia e la severità [720]. Cn. Tremellio,
se è quello stesso che ci appare poi legato in amicizia con
Cicerone [721], non poteva nemmeno essergli benevolo; e, studioso
di cose agricole [722], dovea vie maggiormente sentirsi spinto a
prendere le parti degli agricoltori siciliani. P. Servilio era nipote di Q.
Metello il Macedonico [723]; ma l'alta posizione, ch'egli avea, poteva
far concepire a Cicerone la speranza di un retto giudizio. Del resto,
un altro P. Servilio, preposto della società de' pubblicani, e che non
sappiamo in che rapporti fosse con questo, avea avuto a dolersi
degli abusi di Verre [724]. Q. Lutazio Catulo apparteneva, è vero, alla
fazione sillana, anche per tradizione paterna, ed era divenuto, o
dovea divenire, il cognato di Ortensio; ma, oltre all'essere di