Critical Thinking

A conclusion needs reasons; a valid pattern alone does not make its premises true.

How to study this source

• How do we decide whether an argument is good?

  coreOpening definition and the sections on abilities and dispositions

  A conclusion needs reasons; a valid pattern alone does not make its premises true.

• When should we change a belief?

  coreDefinitions, abilities and assessment examples

  A reason can support a belief while remaining open to defeat by new evidence.

• What changes when we pay closer attention?

  coreStudy examples of critical inquiry; contrast your descriptions using the distinction between reasons and impressions

  Moral judgment can depend on how a situation and its people are described.

Ideas and questions

Read background definitions when a term blocks the argument. Then return to the source and reconstruct its claim in your own words.

Read alongside, read against