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Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide. 5th Edition

Bowell, T. , Cowan, R. and Kemp, G. (2019) Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide. 5th Edition. Routledge: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY. ISBN 9780815371427 (doi: 10.4324/9781351243735 )

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Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide PDF

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We are frequently confronted with arguments. Arguments are attempts to persuade us – to influence our beliefs and actions – by giving us reasons to believe this or that. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide will equip students with the concepts and techniques used in the identification, analysis and assessment of arguments whatever the subject matter or context. Through precise and accessible discussion, this book provides the tools to become a successful critical thinker, one who can act and believe in accordance with good reasons, and who can articulate and make explicit those reasons. Key topics discussed include: Core concepts in argumentation How language can serve to obscure or conceal the real content of arguments How to distinguish argumentation from rhetoric How to avoid common confusions surrounding words such as ‘truth’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘opinion’ How to identify and evaluate the most common types of argument How to distinguish good reasoning from bad in terms of deductive validity and induction. This fifth edition has been revised and extensively updated throughout, including a significantly expanded range of ‘complete examples’, the introduction of Venn diagrams and the discussion of fake news and related phenomena arising in the contemporary scene. The dynamic Routledge Critical Thinking companion website provides thoroughly updated resources for both instructors and students, including new examples and case studies, flashcards, sample questions, practice questions and answers, student activities and a testbank of questions for use in the classroom. Visit www.routledge.com/cw/bowell....

Table of Contents

Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface to the fifth edition Introduction and preview 1 Introducing arguments Beginning to think critically: Recognising arguments Standard form Identifying conclusions and premises Arguments and explanations Intermediate conclusions Chapter summary Exercises Notes 2 Language and rhetoric Linguistic phenomena Aspects of meaning Rhetorical ploys Chapter summary Exercises Notes 3 Logic: Deductive validity The principle of charity Truth Deductive validity Prescriptive claims vs descriptive claims Conditional propositions The antecedent and consequent of a conditional Argument trees Deductive soundness The connection to formal logic I: Sentential and quantificational logic The Connection to formal logic II: Venn diagrams Chapter summary Exercises Notes 4 Logic: Probability and inductive reasoning Implicit quantifiers: A reminder Inductive force Inductive soundness Inductive inferences Evidence Conversion of induction to deduction A programme for assessment The connection to probability theory Chapter summary Exercises Notes 5 The practice of argument-reconstruction Extraneous material Defusing the rhetoric Logical streamlining Implicit and explicit Connecting premises Covering generalisations Relevance Ambiguity and vagueness More on generalisations Practical reasoning Balancing costs, benefits and probabilities Explanations as conclusions Causal generalisations A shortcut Chapter summary Exercises Notes 6 Issues in argument-assessment Rational persuasiveness Some strategies for logical assessment Refutation by counterexample Engaging with the argument I: Avoiding the ‘who is to say?’ criticism Engaging with the argument II: Don’t merely label the position Argument commentary Complete examples Commentary on the commentaries Chapter summary Exercises Notes 7 Pseudo-reasoning Fallacies Faulty argument techniques Too much maths! Chapter summary Exercises Notes 8 Truth, knowledge and belief Truth and relativity True for me, true for you Truth, value and morality Post-truth, alt-facts, fake news Theories Belief, justification and truth Justification without arguments Knowledge Justification failure Knowledge and rational persuasivenes Philosophical directions Chapter sumary Exercises Notes Glossary Answers and hints to selected exercises Index

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Book Review: Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide

Valentin gravet.

1 Département de Psychologie, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France

Mathieu Hainselin

2 CRP-CPO, UR UPJV 7273, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France

Tracy Bowell, editor. Robert Cowan, editor. Gary Kemp, editor. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide. 2020. New York, NY: Routledge. 348 p. ISBN: 9780815371434.

“To believe or not to believe, that is the question” should be an automatic question we ask ourselves. Thus, scientists' aim should be to provide reasons and evidence when many people do not believe in science. These kinds of questions are even more important during health crisis when the general population have to follow scientists' recommendations [i.e., coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)]. Indeed, multiple factors can lead people to relay misinformation or be victim of false reasoning (Apuke and Omar, 2020 ). Bowell, Cowan, and Kemp's book (Bowell et al., 2020 ) is a great start to learn how to distinguish good arguments from false reasoning or rhetorical techniques. Synthesis and simplification of information, logical and analytical reasoning, as well as systematical evaluation of verbal content will be taught in this book, which come close to the very definition of critical thinking (Jacobs et al., 1997 ). To help the reader through the book, the authors made a chapter summary in the introduction and at the beginning and the end of each chapter. While some of the eight chapters are quite independent, a few of them are bonded together (3 and 4, 5, and 6).

Evaluation of the Book's Content

The first chapter introduces us to the critical thinking with lots of definitions. Basics of argumentation, are explained and many practical examples (i.e., Martin Luther King's “I have a dream” speech) are put forward. Open-mindedness and self-questioning are explicitly promoted and encouraged.

Chapter 2 leads to a non-exhaustive list of rhetoric methods seeking to persuade without using arguments. Many tips are provided to spot these attempts in a speech and to judge the relevance of arguments without being under the influence of rhetorical elements. Overall, it is an easy-to-read chapter that teaches how to dodge non-argumentative ploys.

Both Chapters 3 and 4 are dedicated to logical reasoning. They are the most elaborated chapters of the book and introduce a lot of principles, models, and definitions. Chapter 3 starts with the question of deductive validity, which will be discussed through the concepts of true, false, valid, or invalid concerning arguments and their components. Chapter 4 introduces probabilistic reasoning and logic. Probabilities, mathematics models, and methods to judge the relevance of an argument are at the center of this chapter.

Again, both Chapters 5 and 6 are paired, as they are, respectively, dedicated to argument reconstruction and judgment. Longer than the other ones, Chapter 5 focuses on the process of extracting an argument in order to reconstruct it in its simplest form. Chapter 6 deals with argument analysis in two parts. The first part is about methods to assess both validity and relevance of a given argument. The second part includes some practical tips and advices to provide constructive criticism of an argumentation. After reading Chapter 6, you will be able to successfully pass the Ennis–Weir Critical Thinking Test (Ennis and Weir, 1985 ), a critical thinking test based on a flawed arguments letter.

The last two chapters are mostly independent from the rest of the book and are easy to read, although you do not have mathematical skills. Chapter 7 is probably the most on time chapter these days. It introduces pseudo-reasoning, fallacious, and misleading arguments (i.e., uses of ad hominem fallacy when responding to someone's argument by making an attack upon the person rather than addressing the argument itself). Beyond the concept, the authors explain a very interesting paradox: why these arguments should not be considered as reliable and why so many of us still tend to accept them.

The last chapter is a philosophical opening on epistemological and sociological questions. Concepts of truth or false, knowledge, and believing are discussed, leaving the reader to make up his own mind on the subject. The main purpose of this chapter is to add nuance to what we may consider as true, or not, even before analyzing logical structures and relevance of arguments.

Researchers in philosophy, psychology, and education agree that critical thinking covers skills of analysis, logical reasoning, judgment, and decision making (Lai et al., 2011 ). All these topics are explored in this book, allowing the reader to have an insight on what can be defined as critical thinking such as the mastery of language, logic, argumentation, and problem solving. Technical concepts are explained by different methods such as the schematization of arguments into syllogisms with premise(s) and conclusion(s) and the use of extended examples to decompose and analyze a speech. In addition, this fifth edition introduces the use of Venn diagrams to illustrate categorical deductive logic. Many detailed examples have also been added, as well as the discussion of current phenomena (i.e., fake news). We strongly encourage librarians and teachers to recommend this book to train critical thinking psychology students in university (Lacot et al., 2016 ) and earlier at school when possible (Hand et al., 2018 ). Indeed, from both practical and academic point of view, this book could be addressed to undergraduate students to enable them to develop an open-mindedness and a deep reflection around their own knowledge and the concepts addressed during their training and practice (i.e., therapies, models). Anyone, regardless of their previous knowledge, could benefit from this book, as there are lots of example, practical exercises and definitions. Finally, this book's additional contribution compared to previous books is to provide a methodical, simple, and complete explanation of the fundamental concepts related to critical thinking in a practical, playful, and concrete manner with numerous illustrations drawn from the real world. We hope this book will be translated in different languages in the future, as the flawed arguments and shortcuts are well-spread in the world.

Author Contributions

VG wrote the manuscript. MH drafted it. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Nabila Terchani for kindly handling all administrative issues.

Funding. This book was bought with funding from the ANR Education à l'Esprit Critique (EEC)—grant number ANR-18-CE28-0018-07.

• Apuke O. D., Omar B. (2020). Fake news and COVID-19: modelling the predictors of fake news sharing among social media users . Telemat. Inform. 56 :101475. 10.1016/j.tele.2020.101475 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Bowell T., Cowan R., Kemp G. (2020). Critical Thinking: A concise guide, 5th Edn . New York, NY : Routledge. 10.4324/9781351243735 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ennis W. R., Weir E. E. (1985). The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test : An Instrument for Teaching and Testing . Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications. [ Google Scholar ]
• Hand B., Shelley M. C., Laugerman M., Fostvedt L., Therrien W. (2018). Improving critical thinking growth for disadvantaged groups within elementary school science: a randomized controlled trial using the Science Writing Heuristic approach . Sci. Educ. 102 , 693–710. 10.1002/sce.21341 [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Jacobs P. M., Ott B., Sullivan B., Ulrich Y., Short L. (1997). An approach to defining and operationalizing critical thinking . J. Nurs. Educ. 36 , 19–22. [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lacot E., Blondelle G., Hainselin M. (2016). From Bill Shankly to the Huffington post: how to increase critical thinking in experimental psychology course? Front. Psychol. 7 :538. 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00538 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Lai E., Bay-Borelli M., Kirkpatrick R., Lin A., Wang C. (2011). Critical Thinking: A Literature Review Research Report . London, UK: Pearson. [ Google Scholar ]

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Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide 5th Edition

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We are frequently confronted with arguments. Arguments are attempts to persuade us – to influence our beliefs and actions – by giving us reasons to believe this or that. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide will equip students with the concepts and techniques used in the identification, analysis and assessment of arguments whatever the subject matter or context. Through precise and accessible discussion, this book provides the tools to become a successful critical thinker, one who can act and believe in accordance with good reasons, and who can articulate and make explicit those reasons.

Key topics discussed include:

• Core concepts in argumentation
• How language can serve to obscure or conceal the real content of arguments
• How to distinguish argumentation from rhetoric
• How to avoid common confusions surrounding words such as ‘truth’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘opinion’
• How to identify and evaluate the most common types of argument
• How to distinguish good reasoning from bad in terms of deductive validity and induction.

This fifth edition has been revised and extensively updated throughout, including a significantly expanded range of ‘complete examples’, the introduction of Venn diagrams and the discussion of fake news and related phenomena arising in the contemporary scene.

The dynamic Routledge Critical Thinking companion website provides thoroughly updated resources for both instructors and students, including new examples and case studies, flashcards, sample questions, practice questions and answers, student activities and a testbank of questions for use in the classroom. Visit www.routledge.com/cw/bowell.

• ISBN-10 081537142X
• ISBN-13 978-0815371427
• Edition 5th
• Publisher Routledge
• Publication date August 20, 2019
• Language English
• Dimensions 7 x 0.75 x 10 inches
• Print length 348 pages
• See all details

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Editorial Reviews

Reviews of the previous edition:

'The way in which this text combines clear and detailed explanations of technical concepts with a comprehensive set of contemporary and relevant examples is excellent. Whilst the focus is largely on developing the practical skills of argument reconstruction and analysis, the authors never lose sight of the larger philosophical picture, and this makes the book a joy both to teach with, and to learn from.' - Joel Walmsley, University College Cork, Ireland

'Critical Thinking is the best textbook by some distance for undergraduate students approaching the subject for the first time. It is clearly written and introduces the fundamental concepts of the subject in an accessible and systematic way. The fourth edition contains welcome new material on probabilistic reasoning, as well as continued improvements throughout the book. It remains the clear first-choice textbook for my course.' - Graham Stevens, University of Manchester, UK

'The fourth edition is a clear improvement over previous editions. The book is still the best guide around to the habits of reflective argument reconstruction and assessment―that undergraduate philosophy majors are expected to form.' - Steven Jauss, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA

Reviews of earlier editions:

'This concise guide offers relevant, rigorous and approachable methods … The authors focus on analysing and assessing arguments in a thoughtfully structured series of chapters, with clear definitions, a glossary, plenty of examples and some useful exercises.' - Will Ord, Times Educational Supplement

'In my view this is the most useful textbook on the market for its stated audience. It provides exceptionally clear explanations, with sufficient technical detail, but without over-complication. It is my first-choice text for teaching critical thinking to first-year undergraduate students.' - Dawn M. Wilson, University of Hull, UK

'This is the best single text I have seen for addressing the level, presumptions, and interests of the non-specialist.' - Charles Ess, University of Oslo, Norway

About the Author

Tracy Bowell is Associate Professor in Philosophy and Pro Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning at the University of Waikato, Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Robert Cowan is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, UK.

Gary Kemp is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Glasgow, UK.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge; 5th edition (August 20, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 348 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 081537142X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0815371427
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 16 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.75 x 10 inches

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Vaughn, Concise Guide to Critical Thinking 2e

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Lewis Vaughn

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