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Critical Thinking for College Students

Jon Stratton

The purpose of critical thinking, according to this text, is rethinking: that is, reviewing, evaluating, and revising thought. The approach of Critical Thinking for College Students is pragmatic and pluralistic: truth is viewed in terms of public confirmation and consensus, rather than with regard to naive realism, relativism, or popular opinion. The value of empathy and the legitimacy of diverse points of view are stressed. Nevertheless, it is necessary to use specific linguistic, logical, and evidential standards in order to evaluate thought.

The primary elements of critical thinking are:
—proper definition
—paraphrasing
—reconstruction
—empathy
—analysis of arguments
—evaluation of reasoning
—brainstorming
—imagination
—problem solving

The opening chapters of the text provide a thorough discussion of linguistic standards of meaning. A detailed examination of logical inference and informal fallacies follows. The final chapters of the book cover standards of evidence and problem solving.

Instructor's Manual: ISBN 0-8476-9603-0
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • TOC
  • TOC
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Features
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 364 • Trim: 7½ x 9¼
978-0-8476-9602-4 • Paperback • October 1999 • $76.00 • (£58.00)
Subjects: Philosophy / Logic
Jon Stratton has taught critical thinking, informal logic, and symbolic logic at Walla Walla Community College in Washington State for over twenty-five years.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Thinking, the Body, the Brain, and Language
Chapter 3 A Closer Look at Critical Thinking
Part 4 Verbal Thinking
Chapter 5 The Nature of Language and the Standards of Critical Thinking
Chapter 6 Attitudinal Standards and Empathy
Part 7 Logical Thinking
Chapter 8 Elements of Organization of Argument
Chapter 9 Evaluating Arguments
Chapter 10 Fallacies and the Eight Steps of Argument Evaluation
Part 11 Verbal and Logical Thinking
Chapter 12 Evidence
Chapter 13 Application: The Format
Part 14 Verbal, Logical, and Intuitive Thinking
Chapter 15 Critical Thinking in the Home, at Work, and in the Community
Chapter 16 Appendix
Chapter 17 Suggested Reading
Chapter 18 Index
Chapter 19 About the Author
Finally, a text that is not only about critical reasoning but is itself an excellent piece of philosophical thinking in its own right. We have needed a book like this for a long time. . . . It meets students where they are and takes them to a fresh and interesting engagement with the world of thinking.
— Donn Welton, SUNY, Stony Brook


Jon Stratton's textbook is a welcome, well-written approach to the study of critical thinking. It analyzes the character of arguments comprehensively—not only by examining standards for good reasoning, but by looking at the underlying communicative and emotional structure of discourse.
— James Liszka, Ph.D., University of Alaska, Anchorage


—A large variety of exercises is offered—some exercises are suitable for written assignments, others are for class discussion.

—An Instructor's Manual provides

—pedagogical features

—suggested responses to all text questions

—twenty-five true/false questions and twenty-five multiple choice questions, with answers, for each chapter to be used for in-class testing

Critical Thinking for College Students

Cover Image
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • The purpose of critical thinking, according to this text, is rethinking: that is, reviewing, evaluating, and revising thought. The approach of Critical Thinking for College Students is pragmatic and pluralistic: truth is viewed in terms of public confirmation and consensus, rather than with regard to naive realism, relativism, or popular opinion. The value of empathy and the legitimacy of diverse points of view are stressed. Nevertheless, it is necessary to use specific linguistic, logical, and evidential standards in order to evaluate thought.

    The primary elements of critical thinking are:
    —proper definition
    —paraphrasing
    —reconstruction
    —empathy
    —analysis of arguments
    —evaluation of reasoning
    —brainstorming
    —imagination
    —problem solving

    The opening chapters of the text provide a thorough discussion of linguistic standards of meaning. A detailed examination of logical inference and informal fallacies follows. The final chapters of the book cover standards of evidence and problem solving.

    Instructor's Manual: ISBN 0-8476-9603-0
Details
Details
  • Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
    Pages: 364 • Trim: 7½ x 9¼
    978-0-8476-9602-4 • Paperback • October 1999 • $76.00 • (£58.00)
    Subjects: Philosophy / Logic
Author
Author
  • Jon Stratton has taught critical thinking, informal logic, and symbolic logic at Walla Walla Community College in Washington State for over twenty-five years.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1 Introduction
    Chapter 2 Thinking, the Body, the Brain, and Language
    Chapter 3 A Closer Look at Critical Thinking
    Part 4 Verbal Thinking
    Chapter 5 The Nature of Language and the Standards of Critical Thinking
    Chapter 6 Attitudinal Standards and Empathy
    Part 7 Logical Thinking
    Chapter 8 Elements of Organization of Argument
    Chapter 9 Evaluating Arguments
    Chapter 10 Fallacies and the Eight Steps of Argument Evaluation
    Part 11 Verbal and Logical Thinking
    Chapter 12 Evidence
    Chapter 13 Application: The Format
    Part 14 Verbal, Logical, and Intuitive Thinking
    Chapter 15 Critical Thinking in the Home, at Work, and in the Community
    Chapter 16 Appendix
    Chapter 17 Suggested Reading
    Chapter 18 Index
    Chapter 19 About the Author
Reviews
Reviews
  • Finally, a text that is not only about critical reasoning but is itself an excellent piece of philosophical thinking in its own right. We have needed a book like this for a long time. . . . It meets students where they are and takes them to a fresh and interesting engagement with the world of thinking.
    — Donn Welton, SUNY, Stony Brook


    Jon Stratton's textbook is a welcome, well-written approach to the study of critical thinking. It analyzes the character of arguments comprehensively—not only by examining standards for good reasoning, but by looking at the underlying communicative and emotional structure of discourse.
    — James Liszka, Ph.D., University of Alaska, Anchorage


Features
Features
  • —A large variety of exercises is offered—some exercises are suitable for written assignments, others are for class discussion.

    —An Instructor's Manual provides

    —pedagogical features

    —suggested responses to all text questions

    —twenty-five true/false questions and twenty-five multiple choice questions, with answers, for each chapter to be used for in-class testing

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