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m e n t a ls
Fund a l
Cr it ic a
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A. Are Critical thinkin g h e lp s u s t o

You e e n t h e g o o d
distinguish betw b e c a us e
e b a d c o nv ic t io n s
and th o f
e s
Convinced? t o fa c e m a n y p ie c
we ha v e
a n d p e r s p e c t iv e s
inf or m a tio n
y b e w e n e v e r g e t
eve ry d a y. M a
t o th e t r u th , b ut a t
clos e e n o u g h
o u r b e st to u s e
least we try n g a b o ut
in g b e fo r e a g r e e i
reaso n
e x a m p le , t he
something. For
earth is round.
C la i m s
se n t e n c e u se d in
A dec la r a ti v e
a t it is e i t h e r tr u e
such a w a y th
o t b o th ) . F o r
or false (but n
c a t s a re na s t y,
exa m p l e , th e
th e te a c h e r i s a
2+ 2= 4 , a n d
male.
 An argument is an attempt to
convince someone (possibly yourself)
that a particular claim, called the
Argument conclusion, is true. The rest of the
argument is a collection of claims
called premises, which are given as
the reasons for believing the
conclusion is true. For example, he is
smart (argument) because he is
mastering algebra in one week
(premise).