Asking The Right Questions A Guide to Critical Thinking (8th ed.)

1. Asking The Right QuestionsA Guide to Critical Thinking (8th ed.) M. Neil Brown Stuart M. Keeley

2. Introduction • Critical Thinking • Awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions • Ability to ask and answer critical questions at appropriate times • Desire to actively use the critical questions • Benefits • Improve your writing and speaking since they will assist you to: • React critically to an essay or to evidence presented in a text, article, or website • Judge the quality of a lecture or speech • Form an argument • Write an essay based on a reading assignment • Participate in class

3. What Are The Alternative Thinking Styles? • Sponge Approach • Consists of absorbing information—it is a “passive” approach • You can know lots about the world this way; but it is passive and requires little mental effort • It is quick and easy; but the problem here is that it does not advise you about which information to reject or believe • Panning-for-Gold Approach (Preferred Method) • Where you ask questions about what you read and hear • It is an “interactive” approach; you interact and are challenged with the material presented to you

4. The Myth Of The “Right Answer” • Scientific questions about the physical world are the most likely to have answers reasonable people will accept because, the physical world is in certain ways more dependable or predictable than the social world • Questions about human behavior are different—since the causes of human behavior are complex • So we rely on probabilistic answers—like theories that will explain what unfolds most of the time • Also—we bring our baggage to how we think about issues and decisions we make—the baggage refers to dreams, values, socialization experiences, gender, culture, race, etc. • Remember—emotional involvement should not be the basis for accepting or rejecting a position

5. Critical Thinking Goal • Not to tear down others’ arguments but to “move the conversation forward” How is this done? • By knowing much more about what we do and do not know when we are finished with the evaluation than when we began • To understand the use of all critical thinking skills is dependent on the prior identification of the issue, conclusion, and reasons

6. Critical Thinking Types • Weak Sense • Is about using critical thinking to defend your position or beliefs • It is simply about being rigid and not progressive in thinking where you can grow by engaging in enlightened thought • Strong Sense • Is about challenging ourselves to think differently, to help protect against self-deception and conformity • You need to be courageous to do strong sense critical thinking

7. What Is An Issue? • An issue is a question or controversy responsible for the discussion • Descriptive Issues • Raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present, or future • Descriptive Example • Do families who own pets have fewer arguments with one another? • This statement demands an answer attempting to describe the way the world is, was, or is going to be; for example, “In general, families with pets have fewer arguments with one another.” • List another example of a descriptive issue: • How much will college cost in the year 2010?

8. What Is An Issue? (cont.) • Prescriptive Issues • Raise questions about what we should do • These issues are ethical or moral issues; they raise questions about what is right or wrong, desirable or undesirable, good or bad • It is about the way the world ought to be—so the responses include language such as “should…, what ought to be done…, and must…” • Prescriptive Example • What ought to be done about social security? • This statement demands an answer suggesting the way the world ought to be; for example, “We ought to increase social security benefits.” • List another example of a prescriptive issue: • Should capital punishment be abolished? 8

9. To Identify The Issue: Find The Conclusion • The structure of persuasive communication or an argument is: This because of that • This refers to the conclusion; that refers to the support for the conclusion, which represents the process of inference • Conclusions are inferred—they derive from reasoning; needing data to support them • The conclusion is preceded by indicator words like: consequently, proves that, indicates that, therefore, thus, it follows that, shows that… • The indicator words tell you the conclusion may follow in the beginning or the end • Conclusions will “not” be: examples, definitions, statistics, evidence, or background information

10. What Are The Reasons? • Reasons are explanations or rationales for why we should believe a particular conclusion, which include: • Beliefs • Evidence • Metaphors • Analogies • Statements offered to support or justify a conclusion • You cannot determine the worth of a conclusion until you identify the reasons • Reasons present evidence to prove a point that may include: • Statistics, facts, research findings, appeals to experts and authorities, personal testimonials, and examples from real life

11. Experiential Phase • Adult learners will meet in groups to survey the passage and highlight the conclusion. The groups will then ask the question, “Why?” and locate the reasons. Use indicator words to help. Keep the conclusions and reasons separate. Try to paraphrase the reason: putting the reasons in your own words helps clarify their meaning and function • Passage 1 • Public swimming pools can be a health hazard. Many public pools are not able to obey sanitation regulations and therefore allow for the contraction of waterborne bacteria. Studies have shown that only 60 percent of public pools are able to maintain the proper amount of chlorine in the water, allowing for those who use the pool to be infected. Many pool users have become ill after the use of a public swimming pool.

12. Experiential Phase (cont.) • Passage 1 (Sample Response) • Issue: What makes public pools a health hazard? • Conclusion: Inadequate sanitation • Reasons: • Sixty percent of public pools are not able to maintain proper chlorination levels • Many people have gotten sick using public pools

13. Reflective Phase • The Importance of Practice • Learning new critical thinking skills is like learning new physical skills • You cannot learn simply by being told what to do or by watching others • You have to practice, and frequently the practice will be rewarding and involve hard work • Critical thinking requires an emphasis on active learning and questioning, as well as openness to criticism, multiple points of view, and uncertainty • Most of us most of the time, prefer comfort over discomfort; yet hearing multiple sides of arguments, having someone question our beliefs or point out flaws in our arguments, and generally learning different ways of thinking can be uncomfortable experiences that raise levels of frustration and anxiety

14. Questions ?