WGU C168 CRITICAL THINKING AND
LOGIC COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
2026 FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ First-order thinking.
Answer: Otherwise known as "ordinary" thinking, this thinking is
spontaneous and non-reflective, contains insight, prejudice, good and bad
reasoning, and is indiscriminately combined.
◍ Second-order thinking.
Answer: Otherwise known as "critical" thinking, this is first-order thinking
that is consciously realized (i.e., analyzed, assessed, and reconstructed).
◍ Weak-sense critical thinking.
Answer: Weak-sense critical thinkers:1. Ignore the flaws in their own
thinking.2. Often seek to win an argument through intellectual trickery or
deceit.Weak-sense critical thinking:1. Lacks key higher-level skills and
values of critical thinking.2. Makes no good faith effort to consider
alternative viewpoints.3. Lacks fair-mindedness.Weak-sense critical
thinkers tend to:1. Employ lower-level rhetorical skills (making
unreasonable thinking appear reasonable, and reasonable thinking appear
unreasonable).2. Employ emotionalism and intellectual trickery.3. Hide or
distort evidence.
◍ Strong-sense critical thinking.
Answer: Strong-sense critical thinking is defined by a consistent pursuit of
what is intellectually fair and just.Strong-sense critical thinkers:1. Strive to
be ethical.2. Strive to empathize with others' viewpoints.3. Will entertain
arguments with which they do not agree.4. Change their views when
, confronted with superior reasoning.5. Employ their thinking reasonably
rather than manipulatively.Strong-sense critical thinking requires
fair-mindedness combined with learning basic critical thinking
skills.Fair-mindedness yields many intellectual virtues. It leads us to:1.
Consider all thinking by the same standards.2. Expect good reasoning from
supporters as well as opponents. 3. Apply the same critical criteria to our
own logic as to others' reasoning.4. Recognize the actual strengths and
weaknesses of any reasoning we assess.
◍ Weak-sense vs. strong-sense thinking.
Answer: Weak-sense critical thinkers ignore the flaws in their own thinking
and often seek to win an argument through intellectual trickery or
deceit.Strong-sense critical thinkers strive to be ethical and empathize with
others' viewpoints. They will entertain arguments with which they do not
agree and change their views when confronted with superior reasoning.
◍ Thinking.
Answer: Thinking creates meaning. It sorts events in our lives into
categories. It finds patterns in the world around us. Thinking informs us
what is going on.
◍ Feeling.
Answer: Feeling monitors the meanings created by thinking. It evaluates the
degree to which life's events are either positive or negative, given the
meaning we assign to them. This function continually informs us how we
should respond emotionally to what is happening in our lives.
◍ Wanting.
Answer: Wanting allocates energy into action. It does so consistent with
how we define what is desirable and possible. Wanting continually tells us
what is (or is not) worth seeking or getting.
◍ Examples of standards.
Answer: Clarity, accuracy, relevance, logic, breadth, precision, significance,
fairness, and depth.
LOGIC COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE
2026 FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ First-order thinking.
Answer: Otherwise known as "ordinary" thinking, this thinking is
spontaneous and non-reflective, contains insight, prejudice, good and bad
reasoning, and is indiscriminately combined.
◍ Second-order thinking.
Answer: Otherwise known as "critical" thinking, this is first-order thinking
that is consciously realized (i.e., analyzed, assessed, and reconstructed).
◍ Weak-sense critical thinking.
Answer: Weak-sense critical thinkers:1. Ignore the flaws in their own
thinking.2. Often seek to win an argument through intellectual trickery or
deceit.Weak-sense critical thinking:1. Lacks key higher-level skills and
values of critical thinking.2. Makes no good faith effort to consider
alternative viewpoints.3. Lacks fair-mindedness.Weak-sense critical
thinkers tend to:1. Employ lower-level rhetorical skills (making
unreasonable thinking appear reasonable, and reasonable thinking appear
unreasonable).2. Employ emotionalism and intellectual trickery.3. Hide or
distort evidence.
◍ Strong-sense critical thinking.
Answer: Strong-sense critical thinking is defined by a consistent pursuit of
what is intellectually fair and just.Strong-sense critical thinkers:1. Strive to
be ethical.2. Strive to empathize with others' viewpoints.3. Will entertain
arguments with which they do not agree.4. Change their views when
, confronted with superior reasoning.5. Employ their thinking reasonably
rather than manipulatively.Strong-sense critical thinking requires
fair-mindedness combined with learning basic critical thinking
skills.Fair-mindedness yields many intellectual virtues. It leads us to:1.
Consider all thinking by the same standards.2. Expect good reasoning from
supporters as well as opponents. 3. Apply the same critical criteria to our
own logic as to others' reasoning.4. Recognize the actual strengths and
weaknesses of any reasoning we assess.
◍ Weak-sense vs. strong-sense thinking.
Answer: Weak-sense critical thinkers ignore the flaws in their own thinking
and often seek to win an argument through intellectual trickery or
deceit.Strong-sense critical thinkers strive to be ethical and empathize with
others' viewpoints. They will entertain arguments with which they do not
agree and change their views when confronted with superior reasoning.
◍ Thinking.
Answer: Thinking creates meaning. It sorts events in our lives into
categories. It finds patterns in the world around us. Thinking informs us
what is going on.
◍ Feeling.
Answer: Feeling monitors the meanings created by thinking. It evaluates the
degree to which life's events are either positive or negative, given the
meaning we assign to them. This function continually informs us how we
should respond emotionally to what is happening in our lives.
◍ Wanting.
Answer: Wanting allocates energy into action. It does so consistent with
how we define what is desirable and possible. Wanting continually tells us
what is (or is not) worth seeking or getting.
◍ Examples of standards.
Answer: Clarity, accuracy, relevance, logic, breadth, precision, significance,
fairness, and depth.
