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Critical Thinking Perceptions

Critical Thinking Perceptions. Facts Inferences Assumptions Opinions Viewpoints. Facts. A fact is something known through experience, observation, testimony, record, or measurement Some things people considered facts in the past are no longer believed.

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Critical Thinking Perceptions

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  1. Critical Thinking Perceptions • Facts • Inferences • Assumptions • Opinions • Viewpoints

  2. Facts • A fact is something known through experience, observation, testimony, record, or measurement • Some things people considered facts in the past are no longer believed. • Ex: The sun revolves around the earth • Some facts are not absolutes – they are really probability statements. • Ex: The sun will rise in the east tomorrow • Ex: The third pitch was a strike • State a belief you are certain about and one you are uncertain about

  3. Facts and Social Pressure • The human need for confirmation leaves us vulnerable to manipulation • Sometimes people are willing to deny the evidence of their own senses if other members of the group interpret reality differently • Ex: Comparing lines • Ex: The emperor's new clothes

  4. Standards to determine facts • Verifiability • Reliability • Probability • Plausibility • People who don’t verify facts can get taken advantage of through scams.

  5. Inferences • When we infer we bring our imaginations to fill in for missing facts • Example: when we see dark clouds we infer that it will rain • Sometimes we connect the dots correctly, sometimes we don’t. • Exercise: Give an example of a time you jumped to a conclusion or made a hasty inference which later turned out to be incorrect

  6. Assumptions • We assume something when we take it for granted without thinking about it • Examples: • The sun will rise tomorrow • The United States will still exist tomorrow • It will be warmer in July than now • There will be oranges in the grocery store • Your examples?

  7. Example • You are a guard at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater. One day a prisoner is found to be missing. When you inspect his cell you find a hole dug through the concrete under his bed. All that is next to the hole is a bent metal spoon. • What assumption of the guards did the prisoner exploit in order to escape? • Additional examples Marlys Mayfield book (p 146)

  8. Cultural Assumptions • How we act in our society is assumed to be the norm, and we project that onto other cultures. • If any of you have traveled outside the U.S. have you found behavior that you found surprising? • My examples

  9. Opinions • Opinions express our decisions about Life • We collect them from experiences or adopt them from others. • They may be based on a careful study of evidence or they may not. • An opinion is a belief stronger than an impression and not as strong as positive knowledge

  10. Rating Opinions • A – An opinion I would accept and act on • B – An opinion worthy of consideration • C – I’d want another opinion • D – Forget it, you’re nuts!

  11. Types of Opinions • Judgments; • This is good; This is bad; This is right; This is wrong. • Advice: • You need a haircut; you should get a new car; Drop your boyfriend. • Generalizations • There is no free lunch; We work too hard

  12. Types of Opinions – cont’d • Personal Taste • I like this; I don’t like that. • Public Sentiment • We should restrict illegal immigration • We need to have a guest worker program • We need to reduce fossil fuels because of the danger of global warming • Global warming is an unproven theory. • We should tax the rich more • We should lower taxes

  13. From Fact to Opinion • Fact: There are more Americans now (310 million) than there were 10, 30, 50 years ago • Inference: Our population will continue to grow • Assumption: Population growth is normal and to be expected • Opinion 1: We should limit immigration so that population grows more slowly • Opinion 2: This is good news – there will be more people to support us when we get on Social Security

  14. Fact to Opinion Exercise: Life Expectancy • Fact: Life expectancy is rising each year. It is now 78. In 1960 it was 71. In 1930 it was 61. • Put together a Fact- Inference – Assumption – Opinion scenario

  15. Viewpoints • Fundamental way of looking at the world. Similar to Worldview of Philosophy (from Chapter 1 of text) • Can be analyzed pertaining to different categories.

  16. Viewpoints based on categories • Socioeconomic • Ethnic • U.S. High school youth • Occupation • Pastimes • Education • Political • Describe viewpoints under each category • Describe the characteristics of one sub-group

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