WELLINGTON
September30, 2022
  

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Getting started
•What is critical thinking?
•Can you give examples of critical thinking?
•Would you say that critical thinking is a vital skill? Why/Why not?
•How can someone improve their critical thinking skills?
It´s a path.

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Vocabulary practice
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Replace the words in bold with those in the box. [part 1/2]

compelling      concerning         counter    dismiss evaluate   faulty    sound            

1.Accepting valid/  arguments rather than seeing them as a personal attack is rather uncommon
nowadays.
2.Most politicians deliberately use flawed/ reasoning to mislead people.
3.Opinionated people are more likely to reject/ an argument without giving it proper thought.
4.Being able to refute/ a scientific argument requires advanced knowledge of the subject matter.
5.Ad campaigns are becoming more and more persuasive/  .

6.Children should study logic at school to be able to assess/ whether other people’s opinions are
reasonable.
7.Arguments about/ sensitive issues like personal beliefs get emotional by definition.

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Let´s talk

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 Share your thoughts about the statements below.

• Accepting sound arguments rather than seeing them as a personal attack is rather uncommon nowadays.
• Most politicians deliberately use faulty reasoning to mislead people.
• Opinionated people are more likely to dismiss an argument without giving it proper thought.
• Being able to counter a scientific argument requires advanced knowledge of the subject matter.
• Ad campaigns are becoming more and more compelling.
• Children should study logic at school to be able to evaluate whether other people’s opinions are reasonable.
• Arguments concerning sensitive issues like personal beliefs get emotional by definition. 

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 Let´s evaluate some arguments
Discuss whether the arguments below are sound. If they are not, explain what makes them faulty or
how you would refute them.

• We need to stop using cars. Otherwise, the planet will be doomed.

• Having all documents in print has always worked fine for us. And yet she wants to change that.
• My wife reads a lot of books about healthy living and she says that drinking coffee is bad for you.

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 Discuss whether the arguments below are sound. If they are not, explain what makes them
faulty or how you would refute them.

• If you don’t do your homework, you’ll fail the course. And if you fail, you won’t graduate. This, in turn,
will lead to limited job prospects, and eventually, a life of poverty.
• You voted for Mr. Smith regardless of the fact that he won’t allocate more funds for education? You must
hate children.
• Since you’ve never been a CEO, I don’t think your opinions about business matter. 

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Watch the first part of a video
[https://youtu.be/n_P5GMbj2j4] (to 00:52) and  explain
what a logical fallacy is.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_P5GMbj2j4

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Watch the second part of the video (from 00:53) in which six
logical fallacies  are presented. Then, discuss the questions . 
 
• How aware were you of the logical fallacies presented in the video?
• What other examples of these logical fallacies have you heard?
• Why do people use faulty arguments such as those presented in the video? Do you think using
them is dangerous? Why/Why not?

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Look at the logical fallacies and decide which of the
arguments below  exemplifies each of them. Then, watch the
second part of the video (from  00:53) again and check if your
ideas were right. 

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LOGICAL FALLACIES: 

a) authoritative argument

b) slippery slope

c) appeal to tradition

d) personal attack

e) false dilemma

f) strawman argument

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Have your say
How aware were you of the logical fallacies presented in the video?
• What other examples of these logical fallacies have you heard?
• Why do people use faulty arguments such as those presented in the video? Do you think using them is
dangerous? Why/Why not?

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Let´s put ideas together

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 Choose the correct conjunction.
Sometimes two answers are possible. [part 1/2]

1.She runs a successful company even though/regardless of the fact that/despite that she never graduated.
(= even though= muito embora,
2.Some jobs bring people empowerment, whereas/in turn/since others limit their potential.
(enquanto que)
3. Smoking should be banned entirely as/since/in spite of the fact that studies show that it only causes
diseases.
4..Prices are higher, and yet/regardless/whereas food quality is down.

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5.He decided to invite them due to/despite/regardless the fact that I specifically told him not to.
6.If you don’t stop using social media, you’ll get addicted. This in turn/therefore/otherwise will make you
miserable. 
7.Stop eating chocolate, even though/otherwise/and yet you’ll get fat.
8.We decided to start the meeting due to/despite/even though his absence.
9.We should be quiet so as/whereas/in order not to disturb her.

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Let´s practice
Rewrite the arguments below using the words in brackets. Make any necessary changes. [part 1/2]

1.You have to go to school because you'll be grounded if you don't. (OTHERWISE)

2.New experiences might be exciting for many people, but this doesn’t change the fact
that living in a foreign country makes them miss home. (REGARDLESS)
3.People in New York are very rude. This is why you shouldn’t move there. (SINCE)
4.Nobody wants to ban knives even though, just like guns, they can be used to kill.
(YET)

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Rewrite the arguments below using the words in brackets. Make any necessary changes. [part 1/2]

1.If we trust AI with different areas of our lives, we will lose our freedom bit by
bit. Next thing you know, we will be completely dependent on machines.
(TURN)
5.Free internet access should be considered a basic human right. Otherwise, the
development of poorer regions will be stalled. (AS)
6.More than five million people have watched her video, but only twenty people
watched mine. She must be smarter. (WHEREAS)

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 How important is critical thinking in these professions?

Restaurant manager
Researcher
Life coach
Management consultant
Therapist
Factory worker

and yet               in turn                despite            otherwise

regardless          since              so as (not) to      whereas

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