Critical Thinking - Reasoning Flashcards
(105 cards)
1
Q
Uncritical Thinking
A
Automatically believing what you read or are told without pausing to ask whether it is accurate, true or reasonable
2
Q
Critical Thinking
A
Setting out actively to understand what is really going on by using reasoning, evaluating evidence and thinking carefully about the process of thinking itself
3
Q
Skepticism
A
Not automatically accepting something you hear, read or see as true
4
Q
Objectivity
A
Setting aside our own immediate feelings and preferences, and trying to identify the relevant facts of a situation as seen from the outside, rather than relying only on your own – or someone else’s – particular feelings or
point of view.
5
Q
Bias
A
Approaching something in a one-sided way that creates a distorted account of the way things actually are. Looking at things in a way that is entirely dominated by a particular prejudice or perspective.
6
Q
Conscious Bias
A
When someone deliberately presents a one-sided view of something, or explicitly holds a one-sided opinion about something
7
Q
Unconscious Bias
A
When someone’s opinions or decisions are distorted by factors that they are not even aware of. If, however, a bias is unconscious, it can be extremely difficult even to identify, let alone to challenge,
8
Q
What You See
Is All There Is:
A
from Daniel Kahneman the human tendency to pay attention only to what is immediately obvious, and to neglect the hidden complexities that exist in most situations. Relying too much on first impressions, feelings and the information we happen to have in front of us.
9
Q
Survivorship bias:
A
The tendency only to think about successful examples of something, failing to consider the bigger picture in which the vast majority of all cases are failures
10
Q
Confirmation Bias
A
We undervalue evidence that contradicts our beliefs And overvalue evidence that confirms them. The universal human tendency to use new information only to confirm existing beliefs, rather than seeking to improve and clarify your understanding.
11
Q
Dogmatism
A
The claim that certain principles or ideas are both absolutely true and immune to any form of critical scrutiny or discussion - whether this dogmatism is practiced by priests, scientists or politicians.
12
Q
Attention
A
The enemy of distraction
13
Q
Distraction
A
The enemy of attention
14
Q
Reasoning
A
Thinking about things in a sensible or logical way, and then presenting this thinking so as to permit meaningful debate, disagreement and collaboration
15
Q
Assertion
A
A statement of fact or belief, often delivered forcibly and provided without support or justification. It’s also something that, on its own, does little other than impart information.
16
Q
Argument
A
Persuasion through reasoning in support of a conclusion. An attempt to persuade someone through reasoning that they should agree with a particular conclusion. To attempt to provide reasonable justification for a particular conclusion
17
Q
Two elements of an argument
A
Broken down into two key elements: •• You are presented with a line of reasoning that… •• …seeks to convince you to accept a particular conclusion.
18
Q
Conclusion
A
the final point that someone making an argument is trying to convince you of. It's the point that everything else leads towards. One argument’s conclusion can be the starting point of another; but each argument only has one final conclusion.
19
Q
Searching for a conclusion
A
When you’re trying to work out whether someone is making an argument, begin by seeing if there is a particular conclusion they want to convince you of
20
Q
Non-argument
A
Any element of a piece of writing that does not attempt to persuade you of a conclusion through reasoning, and thus doesn’t qualify as part of an argument
21
Q
Description
A
Simply reporting information without any attempt at evaluating, commenting on or using the information to persuade. its purpose is to convey relevant information as clearly and neutrally as possible.
22
Q
Summary
A
A brief outline of key information, often setting out the main points covered in a longer piece of work.
23
Q
Opinion
A
Presenting a judgement without providing reasoning. Opinions tend to be personal judgements based on facts;
24
Q
Advice and Warnings
A
Opinions about what
someone should, or
should not, do
25
Clarification
```
spelling out or
demonstrating a
particular concept
Spells out what is
meant by
a particular phrase,
idea or line of
thought
```
26
Illustration
```
Provides
a particular instance
or specific example
to show how the point
may apply in a particular
instance.
```
27
Explanation
```
Reasoning backwards
from something
assumed
to be true.
Suggests the reason
or reasons that
something came to
be the way it is.
Answers "Why?"
```
28
Rhetoric
```
The
attempt to persuade
by appealing to
emotions rather than
by using reasoning.
A general term for the
art of persuasive speaking
or writing, dating back to
the ancient Roman and
Greek world.
```
29
Six rhetorical techniques
```
Flattery
Appeal to novelty
Appeal to popularity
Appeal to sympathy
Appeal to fear
Jargon
```
30
Flattery
praising someone in
order to get them to
do what you want.
31
Appeal to novelty
saying that something
is new and so it must
be true or good.
32
Appeal to popularity
saying that something
| is popular, so it must be true or good.
33
Appeal to sympathy
invoking sympathy as a sufficient reason for agreeing with something
34
Appeal to fear
trying to frighten someone
| into agreement.
35
Jargon
using fancy, largely
meaningless words in
order to sound smart.
36
Exaggeration
```
overstating
the case,
often as a rhetorical
tactic; like overgeneralization,
this is
a way of making a far
bigger claim than is
actually the case
```
37
Over-generalization
```
suggesting that
something is more
generally true than it
actually is, often as
a rhetorical tactic;
making a far broader
claim than is the
case in reality
```
38
Incentive-Caused Bias
```
We get whatever we
reward forPeople with
a vested
interest in something
will tend to guide you
in the direction of their
interest.
Incentives influence the
way people act. Change
the incentive, and you’ll
change the behavior.
```
39
Commitment & Consistency Bias
```
Our tendency to continue
to act according to the
previous commitments
we’ve made. It’s a reluctance
to change our course of
action once we’ve chosen it.
```
40
The contrast principle
```
The principle that says, in
effect, that our judgments
of things are often biased
by similar things we have
seen immediately before.
The way we judge pretty
much anything is in
comparison with something
else.
```
41
Premise
a claim
presented by an
argument in support
of its conclusion
42
Conclusion
the final
proposition in any
argument, supported
by its premises
43
Assumption
```
something relevant
to an argument that
has been taken
for granted by the
person presenting it,
rather than spelled
out
```
44
Principle of Charity
```
the assumption
that someone else
is truthful and
reasonable, and
that their argument
deserves stating in
its strongest form
```
45
Prejudice
```
holding
a belief without
consideration of
the evidence for or
against it; deciding in
advance of hearing
an argument what
you believe to be the
case
```
46
Straw Man
```
an
absurd simplification
of someone else’s
position that is
obviously wrong or
stupid, and that is
only expressed so
that it can easily be
defeated
```
47
Explicit premises
```
all the claims that
someone has set out
in support of their
conclusion.
this is in contrast to
those things they
have left unsaid and
have instead
left to be assumed.
```
48
Implicit Premises
```
all the claims
not spelled out by
the person stating an
argument, but are
assumed as part of
their reasoning and
need to be included
in reconstruction
```
49
Claim
a statement used
to support one's
argument.
50
Proposition
a statement or
assertion that
expresses a
judgment or opinion.
51
Belief
```
Presenting a
judgement without
providing reasoning.
Beliefs tend to be
convictions based
on morality, faith or
cultural context
```
52
Deduce
Arrive at (a fact or
a conclusion) by
reasoning
53
Fallacy
```
a flawed
general type of
argument that
establishes a
faulty connection
between premises
and conclusion,
thus failing to give
us a good reason
to accept the
conclusion
```
54
Fallacious argument:
```
an argument whose
conclusion does
not follow from its
premises, because
its reasoning rests on
an identifiable fallacy
```
55
Appeal to popularity
```
a fallacious form
of argument based
on the assumption
that whatever most
people think must
be true.
```
56
Appeal to irrelevant
| authority
```
a fallacious
form of argument
based on the
perceived opinion of
an authority without
any expertise in a
relevant area
```
57
Unwarranted hidden
| assumption
```
the
faulty, unstated
element of reasoning
that a fallacy relies
on, and that we aim
to spell out in order
to identify what is
at fault
```
58
Appeal to nature
confusing what you believe is ‘natural’ with a fundamental truth that everyone
ought to accept. Nobody should wash their hair: hygiene is unnatural!
59
Appeal to tradition
confusing something that people have done for a long time with something
that must, therefore, be right. There’s nothing wrong with performing surgery without anaesthetic:
people did it for hundreds of years!
60
Argument by
| appeal
```
the fallacy
of appealing to
external factors
such as authority or
popularity to justify
a conclusion, rather
than using rigorous
reasoning
```
61
Ad hominem
```
the
fallacy of attacking
the person making
an argument rather
than what they
actually say
```
62
Irrelevant conclusion
```
this takes what appears
to be a satisfactory piece
of reasoning and then
provides a conclusion
that isn’t connected to
what came before.
```
63
Equivocation
```
using
a word in two quite
different senses
while pretending that
they are the same
in order to create
the appearance of
reasoning
```
64
The fallacy of
| composition
```
mistakenly arguing
that whatever is true
of the individual
parts must also be
true of the whole
```
65
The fallacy of
| division
```
mistakenly arguing
that whatever is true
of the whole must
also be true of its
individual parts.
This book is amazing
and insightful. Thus,
every word in it must
be amazing and insightful
as well.
```
66
Begging the
| question
```
putting the
conclusion to
be proven into
your premises,
thus producing
something
convincing-sounding
that proves nothing.
Universal justice is
a great and noble
aspiration – and it is
thus excellent to pursue
the ideal of just
treatment afforded to all.
```
67
Circular reasoning
```
an argument whose
premise supports
its conclusion, and
whose conclusion
supports its
premise, making it a
closed loop.
I know that the Bible
is the word of God,
because we are told
by God in the Bible
that this is so.
```
68
Post hoc ergo
| propter hoc
```
the fallacy of
assuming that, when
one thing happens
after another, the
first thing must be
the cause of the
second thing.
My uncle gave up
smoking and drinking,
and two days later he
was dead. The shock
must have killed him!
```
69
Correlation is not
| causation
```
the fallacy
of assuming that, if
two phenomena or
sets of data closely
follow one another,
one must be caused
by the other
```
70
False dilemma
```
fallaciously claiming
that, in a complex
situation, it is only
possible for one of
two things to be true.
You either accept that
this course of action
is in the best interests
of our country, or you
give hope to our
enemies.
```
71
loaded question fallacy
```
asking a question
about one thing that
buries some information
surreptitiously in the
wording of an argument
in order to force an
unwarranted assumption
on someone.
```
72
Faulty generalization
```
using a small
amount of evidence
to justify a much
larger observation
that isn’t actually
warranted.
I don’t know anybody
who likes the current
government. They’re
hated by the entire nation!
```
73
Slippery slope
```
arguing on the
basis that, if one
small thing is
allowed to happen,
an inevitable and
increasingly serious
chain of further
events will be set in
motion.
Weed as a gateway.
```
74
Base rate neglect
```
ignoring the
underlying frequency
of one element in
an analysis, and
thus potentially
reaching an incorrect
conclusion about the
likelihood of a certain
result.
Most ideological
extremists are angry.
Few non-extremists are angry.
This person is angry. So she is
probably an ideological extremist.
```
75
Heuristic
```
a
cognitive short cut
or ‘rule of thumb’,
allowing for quick
decision-making and
judgement
```
76
Cognitive bias
```
a
particular situation
in which mental
heuristics introduce
a predictable
distortion into our
assessment of a
situation, resulting in
a flawed judgement
```
77
Affect heuristic
```
tendency to use
the strength of
positive or negative
emotional reactions
as a decision-making
short cut
```
78
Availability heuristic
```
a tendency to be
disproportionately
influenced by
whatever most easily
or vividly comes to
mind when making a
decision or assessing
options
```
79
Recency bias
```
a tendency to
over-estimate the
significance of
more recent things,
because they come
more easily and
vividly to mind
```
80
Anchoring effect
```
the ability of a
starting value or
frame of reference
to influence your
subsequent
judgements, even
when it has no
relevance to what
you’re considering
```
81
Focusing effect
```
the
tendency to focus
excessively on one
striking aspect of
something, thus
failing to give full
consideration to a
full range of other
relevant factors
```
82
Representativeness
| heuristic
```
the
tendency to be
influenced by the
plausibility of a story
or characterization,
at the expense of
underlying questions
of its probability.
Linda the bank teller.
```
83
Stereotype
```
a
commonly held,
simplified and
idealized view
of the typical
characteristics
of something or
someone of a
particular type
```
84
Social biases
```
a
general term for
instances of bias
in our judgments
about other people,
groups of people, or
social and cultural
institutions.
biases that specifically
affect our judgements
about other humans,
and that can combine
with structural social
inequalities to create
some of our world’s
most urgent injustices.
```
85
Framing effects
```
the way in which
presenting the same
scenario in different
ways can affect
judgement and alter
preference, based on
perceptions of loss
and gain, positive
and negative
```
86
Re-framing
```
deliberately selecting
a different way
of presenting
information in order
to challenge the
emphasis created
by a particular initial
framing
```
87
Loss aversion
```
the observation
that losses are
more painful than
equivalent gains, and
that people thus tend
to be biased towards
loss avoidance when
making decisions
```
88
Prospect theory
```
people are more
sensitive to losses
than they are to gains –
a sensible enough
strategy in evolutionary
terms – and that a
strong aversion to
perceived loss can
disproportionately
influence decision-making.
```
89
Confirmation bias
```
the tendency to pay
attention only to
things that confirm
our pre-existing
ideas, and to ignore
or seek to explain
away evidence that
contradicts them
```
90
The sharpshooter
fallacy/clustering
illusion
```
the tendency to see
a pattern where none
exists, by imposing
it after the event
on evidence while
ignoring whatever
doesn’t fit
```
91
Just world
| hypothesis
```
the belief that
everything balances
out in the end
and that the world
is fundamentally
arranged in a way
that is fair
```
92
Coherence effect
```
the tendency to
judge information
not by its accuracy
or likelihood, but
by how internally
coherent a story
```
93
Sunk cost fallacy
```
the
tendency to continue
expending energy on
something you are
emotionally invested
in beyond the point
at which it makes
sense to abandon it
```
94
Dunning–Kruger
| effect
```
the tendency
of people with little
or no ability in
an area to greatly
over-estimate their
ability, resulting in
ignorance breeding
unwarranted
confidence
```
95
Overconfidence
| effect
```
the strong
tendency for most
people – and
especially experts
outside their domain
of expertise – to have
excessive faith in
their judgements and
abilities
```
96
Behavioural
| Economics
```
the application
of psychological
insights and methods
to economics,
exploring through
experiment and
observation the reallife
decisions people
make
```
97
Reversion to
| the mean
```
the tendency of an
exceptional result
to be followed by a
less exceptional one,
assuming a normal
distribution of results
over time
```
98
Fundamental
| attribution error
```
the tendency to
disproportionately
view events as the
result of deliberate
actions and
intentions, rather
than as a product of
circumstances
```
99
Moral luck
```
the paradoxical
observation that
we often judge someone
harshly in moral terms for
something that is not under
their control, even though
we, at the same
time, accept the idea that
someone should only be
held responsible for things
they can control.
```
100
Alternative histories
```
all the other
possibilities that did
not play out in real
life, but could have
happened instead
of the events we
actually observed
```
101
Outcome bias
```
the
tendency to assess
the quality of a
decision once the
result of that decision
is known, rather
than by considering
whether it made
sense at the time
```
102
Survivorship bias
```
the
tendency only to pay
attention to survivors
and success stories,
creating a distorted
picture that ignores
failures and those
who dropped out
```
103
Hindsight bias
```
the
tendency to see the
past, in retrospect,
as more predictable
than it actually
was – and to treat
unforeseen events
as though they were
foreseeable
```
104
Cherry-picking
```
deliberately selecting
a few striking results
or strong effects from
within a larger piece
of research while
suppressing the rest,
thus misrepresenting
the investigation
```
105
Normal distribution
| bell curve
```
also
known as a Gaussian
distribution, this
is a continuous
distribution with a
peak in the middle
of a range of results
that curve away
symmetrically
```
