1. Getting into Arguments
The Basics of Critical Thinking
Arguments and Explanations
Reports on Arguments and Counterarguments
Extracting and Editing Arguments
Identifying Implicit Assumptions
The Principle of Charity
2. Diagramming
Arguments
Independent and Co-dependent Premises
Arguments with Both Independent and Co-dependent Premises
Implicit Assumptions
More Difficult Arguments
Wordy Arguments
3. Where Arguments Go Wrong
Rhetoric and Informal Fallacies of Relevance
Fallacies of
Exaggerated Relevance
Rhetoric and Loaded Terms
Social Biases
Cognitive Biases
4. Constructing Arguments
Two Guides to Good Reasoning
The Three Laws of Reason
Introducing Deduction
5. Sentential Logic
Identifying Sentences
Connecting Sentences:
Logical Constants
Syllogisms
Some Tricky Readings
Longer and More Complicated Arguments
6. Testing for Validity
Truth Tables
Some More on Equivalents
Doing Validity Tests with Truth Tables
The Short Method
Natural Deduction
Appendix: How to Write Truth
Tables
7. Induction: The Basics
What Is Induction?
Abduction and Analogy
8. Induction: Some Applications
Assessing Probability
Casual Arguments
Methods of Induction
9. The Scientific Method
An Overview of the Issues
The Scientific
Method
The Scientific Method Revised
Answer Key
Glossary of Fallacies
Glossary of Terms
Index
Note: All chapters include:
- In-chapter exercises
- Summary
There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.
Andrew Lawless is a visiting professor and associate fellow of Victoria College at the University of Toronto. He has published articles on political philosophy in the Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory as well as a book, Plato's Sun (University of Toronto Press, 2005).
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