Critical thinking Study guides, Class notes & Summaries

Critical thinking refers to reflective judgment on what to believe or how to act. It involves recognizing good and bad reasoning and making rational judgments based on evidence. While our psychological and emotional side can influence our beliefs and actions, a rational decision is supported by reasons or evidence. Non-rational judgments include biases, commitment to existing beliefs despite new evidence, ignoring conflicting evidence, and relying on beliefs held by a group or psychological fact...

Exam #5: Format & Review PHIL 2303: Critical Thinking Thomas J. Brommage Fall 2023 The following concepts are important for the upcoming exam: 1. Subjectivity: While art judgments are subjective, they are not entirely subjective. Beauty is not solely in the "eye of the beholder." 2. Factual vs. Normative Judgments: Aesthetic and ethical judgments are normative, but they use different values. Ethical judgments involve moral blame and praise. 3. Authority/Expertise and Art: Authorit...

Exam #1 for PHIL 2303: Critical Thinking will include questions on various topics such as inquiry, critical evaluation, reasoned judgment, criteria, issues, reasons, comparative evaluation, justification, objections, public vs. private accessibility, widely-available vs. narrowly-available reasons, fallibility, fallacy, bias, counterexamples, context, state of practice, autonomy, confirmation bias, curiosity, open-mindedness, fair-mindedness, respect for reason, factual judgments, evaluative jud...

The third exam for PHIL 2303: Critical Thinking, taught by Thomas J. Brommage, will cover various topics related to critical thinking. Inductive arguments are claims about the world that provide evidence for why we should believe or act according to the claim. On the other hand, abductive arguments offer proposed explanations for a set of facts or evidence. Induction by enumeration involves generalizing from a set of instances describing properties or relations. Reductio ad absurdum argues again...

The text discusses the appropriate use of authority and expertise when evaluating claims. It emphasizes the importance of skepticism and critical thinking when faced with expert advice. The text also highlights the fallacy of inappropriate appeal to authority and provides several criteria for determining whether an appeal to authority is appropriate or not. The text further explains the concept of an appropriate domain of expertise, stating that certain subjective areas like ethics and aesthe...