-
Contents
- Temple University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
contents List of Comics ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Pre-tests 3 Pre-test 1: What Kind of Thinker Are You? 4 Pre-test 2: Demonstrating the Need for Logic 5 PART I n Theory section 1 The Possibility of Freedom 9 THE GOAL, SURELY, MUST BE FREEDOM 10 HOW IS FREEDOM POSSIBLE? 10 Negative Freedom, or Self-Direction 11 Positive Freedom, or Autonomy 11 The Dynamics of Value 13 Getting Control of Your Own Values 18 Freedom through the Impartial Examination of Values 18 section 2 Impartial Thinking 23 BIAS NEUTRALIZATION IS AN INTER- (NOT INTRA-) SUBJECTIVE PROCESS 25 JUDGING QUALITY: ESTIMATING “TRUTH” THROUGH FALSIFICATION 28 Establishing “Truth” through a Falsification Process Is Not Possible, but Estimating “truth” Is 29 Truth Seeking in Ethics 31 Practical Reasoning Is Inevitably a Two-Step Falsification Process 31 Talking to the Relativist 34 The Message 36 POSTSCRIPT: FREEDOM NEEDS DETERMINISM 40 REVIEW QUESTIONS 41 ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS 42 vi Contents PART II n Practice section 1 Learning the Intricacies of Practical Reasoning 49 1. KNOWING WHAT TO LOOK FOR: REASONS VERSUS EVIDENCE 52 2. PUSHING TOWARD PRECISION 58 3. TAKING A LOOK AT YOUR OWN VALUES (AND COMING UP WITH GOOD THESIS STATEMENTS) 62 4. COMMON “INFORMAL“ FAULTS OR FALLACIES 76 1. Begging the Question 76 2. Ad Hominem/Ad Feminam Attack 80 3. Appeal to Authority 83 4. Strawperson 86 5. Slippery Slope 87 6. False Dilemma 88 7. Distinction without a Difference 90 8. Post Hoc Fallacy 91 9. Analogies: Good and Faulty 93 10. Fallacy of the Golden Mean 98 5. WHAT KIND OF ARGUMENT IS IT? 102 6. SEEING THE WHOLE ARGUMENT: A VALID DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT IS A NECESSARY CONDITION FOR EVALUATING REASONS (SOUNDNESS) 105 7. EVALUATING REASONS OR SOUNDNESS (LOCAL SUFFICIENCY) 112 8. EVALUATING THE LOCAL SUFFICIENCY OF YOUR OWN AND YOUR OPPOSITION’S POSITIONs 127 9. EVALUATING THE GLOBAL SUFFICIENCY OF YOUR OWN POSITION 131 10. AVOIDING “ROTTWEILER FLIPS”: GETTING YOUR COUNTEREXAMPLES STRAIGHT 136 11. ARE YOU MAKING A CLAIM ABOUT A SUFFICIENT OR A NECESSARY CONDITION? 142 12. BACK TO SEEING THE WHOLE ARGUMENT: FINDING THE Hidden PREMISE in forced-choice situations 156 13. RESPONDING TO INCORRECT COUNTEREXAMPLES 159 14. DEDUCING FROM CONDITIONAL OR “ALL” CLAIMS: VALID AND INVALID MOVES 163 15. OVERVIEW 180 Post-tests 184 Post-test 1: What Kind of Thinker Are You? 185 Post-test 2: Logic 186 A Personal Good-bye 188 vii Contents section 2 Thinking and Writing Your Way to Truth 189 INTERACTIVE LEARNING IN YOUR IMAGINATION 190 WHAT A GOOD (IMPARTIAL) ARGUMENT LOOKS LIKE 190 DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE FIVE ESSENTIAL ARGUMENT CONSTITUENTS 191 1. A Clear Thesis Statement in Support of One Side of a Highly Contentious Issue 191 2. A Convincing Support for the Thesis Statement 193 3. Articulation of a Strong Opposition 196 4. A Convincing Response to the Opposition 198 5. A Convincing Resolution or Conclusion to the Posed Problem 201 Summary for evaluating the five essential argument constituents 204 interactive reasoning 206 appendix I Answers to Exercises 207 appendix II Analyzing Arguments 233 appendix III Examples of Good Arguments 255 appendix IV What “Good” and “Poor” Thinkers Look Like 265 appendix V Answers to Pre-tests and Post-tests 267 Pre-test 1: What Kind of Thinker Are You? Scoring 267 Post-test 2: Logic Answers 268 Notes 269 Glossary 273 Index 277 ...