WGU D265 Critical Thinking Exam Prep: 100%
Verified Answers
Critical thinking
primarily the ability to think carefully about thinking and reasoning—to criticize your own reasoning.
"Criticize" here is not meant in the sense of being mean or talking down or making fun of. Instead, it is
used in the sense of, for example, how a coach might take a critical stance toward a players' skills—he
throws high every time, she does not lead with her foot, they ride too forward in the saddle, etc.
"Critical" here means something more like "re昀氀ective," "careful," or "attentive to potential errors."
Being curious and thinking creatively:
not believing things are simple and settled, being willing to go the next step and think about all of the
possible positions and arguments before settling into a position.
Separating the thinker from the position:
being able to discuss a position without attacking or judging the person holding the position, without
getting caught up in our own attachment to the position or its antithesis, and without having our
identities wrapped up in a particular viewpoint or opinion.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:
being aware of the 昀氀awed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to engage in, being aware of cognitive
biases and mental heuristics (rough rules that work well enough to survive but don't work in many
cases) that we're prone as a species to have, all in the interest of counteracting these biases and 昀氀aws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: very important:
being honest about what we know and how we know it, what evidence we have and what questions are
not yet settled; being humble in recognizing the vast number of things we don't yet know or understand
and in recognizing how very di昀케cult it is to truly know anything at all and so recognizing that the
standards are high and we, most of the time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and being charitable or
having the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most sophisticated positions and arguments
that we can imagine to our opponents in arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:
thinking carefully about thinking, about arguments and positions.
Propositions
statements that can be true or false.
Non-propositions
Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or 昀椀ction). They do not make a claim that can
be true or false.
Exhort
, to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday! Command
give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me some cheese. Don't do that.
Plead/Request
ask for something from someone, often on the verge of begging. Example Would you please stop that?
Please read me a bedtime story!
Question
something asked, a statement that requires an answer Example: What is the capital of Florida? How
much do the pineapples cost?
Perform
carry out, accomplish, or ful昀椀ll (an action, task, or function) Example: I hereby adjourn this meeting. I
pronounce you husband and wife!
Simple propositions
have no internal logical structure, meaning whether they are true or false does not depend on whether
a part of them is true or false. They are simply true or false on their own.
Complex propositions
have internal logical structure, meaning they are composed of simple propositions. Whether they are
true or false depends on whether their parts are true or false.
Premise
is a proposition lending credence to the conclusion. It is supposed to be a group of statements that, if
you accept they are true, make the case that you rationally must (or, weaker, should) accept the
conclusion.
Bad inferential structure:
Every argument with the same structure as this argument is bad (invalid or weak). The premises do not,
in fact, demonstrate or maybe even support the conclusion. In other words, we can accept the premises
as true without being compelled to accept the conclusion. There is something wrong with this
argument's general structure.
False premise:
This particular argument has a premise/assumption that is false. There is something wrong with this
argument's particular content.
Conclusion Indicators
all have the general sense of "I have told you some things or I am about to tell you some things, now
here is what I want you to believe." They feel conclusive. Here are some especially common
Verified Answers
Critical thinking
primarily the ability to think carefully about thinking and reasoning—to criticize your own reasoning.
"Criticize" here is not meant in the sense of being mean or talking down or making fun of. Instead, it is
used in the sense of, for example, how a coach might take a critical stance toward a players' skills—he
throws high every time, she does not lead with her foot, they ride too forward in the saddle, etc.
"Critical" here means something more like "re昀氀ective," "careful," or "attentive to potential errors."
Being curious and thinking creatively:
not believing things are simple and settled, being willing to go the next step and think about all of the
possible positions and arguments before settling into a position.
Separating the thinker from the position:
being able to discuss a position without attacking or judging the person holding the position, without
getting caught up in our own attachment to the position or its antithesis, and without having our
identities wrapped up in a particular viewpoint or opinion.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:
being aware of the 昀氀awed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to engage in, being aware of cognitive
biases and mental heuristics (rough rules that work well enough to survive but don't work in many
cases) that we're prone as a species to have, all in the interest of counteracting these biases and 昀氀aws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: very important:
being honest about what we know and how we know it, what evidence we have and what questions are
not yet settled; being humble in recognizing the vast number of things we don't yet know or understand
and in recognizing how very di昀케cult it is to truly know anything at all and so recognizing that the
standards are high and we, most of the time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and being charitable or
having the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most sophisticated positions and arguments
that we can imagine to our opponents in arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:
thinking carefully about thinking, about arguments and positions.
Propositions
statements that can be true or false.
Non-propositions
Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or 昀椀ction). They do not make a claim that can
be true or false.
Exhort
, to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday! Command
give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me some cheese. Don't do that.
Plead/Request
ask for something from someone, often on the verge of begging. Example Would you please stop that?
Please read me a bedtime story!
Question
something asked, a statement that requires an answer Example: What is the capital of Florida? How
much do the pineapples cost?
Perform
carry out, accomplish, or ful昀椀ll (an action, task, or function) Example: I hereby adjourn this meeting. I
pronounce you husband and wife!
Simple propositions
have no internal logical structure, meaning whether they are true or false does not depend on whether
a part of them is true or false. They are simply true or false on their own.
Complex propositions
have internal logical structure, meaning they are composed of simple propositions. Whether they are
true or false depends on whether their parts are true or false.
Premise
is a proposition lending credence to the conclusion. It is supposed to be a group of statements that, if
you accept they are true, make the case that you rationally must (or, weaker, should) accept the
conclusion.
Bad inferential structure:
Every argument with the same structure as this argument is bad (invalid or weak). The premises do not,
in fact, demonstrate or maybe even support the conclusion. In other words, we can accept the premises
as true without being compelled to accept the conclusion. There is something wrong with this
argument's general structure.
False premise:
This particular argument has a premise/assumption that is false. There is something wrong with this
argument's particular content.
Conclusion Indicators
all have the general sense of "I have told you some things or I am about to tell you some things, now
here is what I want you to believe." They feel conclusive. Here are some especially common
