Critical Thinking :Questions and Answers graded A+
____________________ involves developing the tools of critical thinking and applying them to
current and future challenges. -ANSDeep learning
" The United States landed the first man on the moon in 1969."
Is this information accurate or inaccurate? -ANSThis is a limited, but accurate, statement.
"Asking people for photo identification when they come to vote is just the first step in establishing
a national identity card." -ANSThis is a slippery slope fallacy. Laws that ask for photo ID at the
voting place don't mean a national identity card is inevitable; driver's licenses, passports, or state-
issued photo IDs are typically what are accepted for identification purposes.
"Based on the research findings of physicist Steven E. Jones, formerly of Brigham Young University,
it is clear that the World Trade Center was destroyed by controlled demolition during the
September 11, 2001 attacks." -ANSThere are several reasons that this is a fallacious appeal to
authority. Jones may be a physicist, but that does not make him an expert on the collapse of
modern skyscrapers. Members of BYU's engineering faculty criticized Jones' research (which was
not peer reviewed) and Jones retired from BYU in the controversy that followed. Further, the vast
majority of experts (professional associations of architects, structural engineers, and fire safety
experts) cited the crash of jets into the World Trade Center towers as the reason for their
destruction and conclude that controlled demolition was not involved.
"Is basketball or ice hockey more fun to watch?" is a: -ANSThis is a question of preference, since it is
asking for a subjective choice.
"Reasoning can only be as sound as the ________________ it is based on." -ANSinformation
"The first place winner in the 10K race was Steven Katz. The third place finisher was Gregor
Mankins. Fred Habib finished fourth."
Is this information adequate or inadequate? -ANSInadequate
,Correct. This is not adequate information. We are not given the finishing times of the runners, nor
who won second.
"The union has a number of legitimate grievances which have never been addressed by
management. If you talk to any of the workers involved in these disputes, it's clear that their
testimony has been ignored."
Is this information fairly gathered and reported or biased? -ANSBiased
Correct. This is an example of biased information. While the union point of view is represented,
management's POV is not.
"We should fund research on human cloning and only narrow-minded religious fundamentalists
oppose it based on their outdated belief system." -ANSThis is an example of an ad hominem fallacy.
Opponents of research on human cloning have a series of arguments they can make against the
practice. Rather than addressing these, this statement attacks "religious fundamentalists" who are
"narrow-minded" with "outdated beliefs," using negative descriptive language to attack the person
who hold a belief rather than actually contesting it.
"We should have stricter gun control because 56% of Americans surveyed by Harris Interactive, Inc.,
a polling firm, supported tighter restrictions." -ANSThis is an appeal to popularity fallacy. The fact
that a majority of Americans support stricter gun control demonstrates that the idea is popular.
This statement doesn't offer any logical arguments supporting the view that there should be more
restrictions on gun.
1. All reasoning has a purpose. -ANSTake time to state your purpose clearly.
Choose significant and realistic purposes.
Distinguish your purpose from related purposes.
Make sure your purpose is fair in context (that it doesn't involve violating the rights of others).
Check periodically to be sure you are still focused on your purpose and haven't wandered from
your target.
,2. All reasoning is an attempt to figure out something, to settle some question, solve some problem.
-ANSTake time to state the question at issue clearly and precisely.
Express the question in several ways to clarify its meaning and scope.
Break the question into sub-questions (when you can).
Identify the type of question you are dealing with (historical, economic, biological, etc.) and
whether the question has one right answer, is a matter of mere opinion, or requires reasoning from
more than one point of view.
Think-through the complexities of the question (think-through the question deeply).
3. All reasoning is based on assumptions. -ANSClearly identify your assumptions and determine
whether they are justifiable.
Consider how your assumptions are shaping your point of view.
4. All reasoning is done from some point of view. -ANSClearly identify your point of view.
Seek other relevant points of view and identify their strengths as well as weaknesses.
Strive to be fair-minded in evaluating all points of view.
5. All reasoning is based on data, information, and evidence. -ANSRestrict your claims to those
supported by the data you have.
Search for information that opposes your position as well as information that supports it.
Make sure that all information you use is clear, accurate, and relevant to the question at issue.
Make sure you have gathered sufficient information.
Make sure, especially, that you have considered all significant information relevant to the issue.
6. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas. -ANSClearly identify key
concepts.
Consider alternative concepts or alternative definitions for concepts.
Make sure you are using concepts with care and precision.
, Use concepts justifiably (not distorting their established meanings).
7. All reasoning contains inferences or interpretations by which we draw conclusions and give
meaning to data. -ANSInfer only what the evidence implies.
Check inferences for their consistency with each other.
Identify assumptions that lead you to your inferences.
Make sure your inferences logically follow from the information.
8. All reasoning leads somewhere or has implications and consequences. -ANSTrace the logical
implications and consequences that follow from your reasoning.
Search for negative as well as positive implications.
Consider all possible significant consequences.
5.21 Think for Yourself CHECKPOINTS IN THINKING
A ________ is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing by the total number of
values in the dataset. -ANSA mean is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing
by the total number of values in the dataset.
A claim that is made without any supporting statements -ANSis not a conclusion. It is an
unsupported claim, or an opinion.
A common problem with applying the critical thinking standard of clarity to information is: -ANSthe
information isn't clear
A key to developing questions of judgment is to remember:
. -ANS-These will be questions that could be answered differently by people with different view
points, and;
____________________ involves developing the tools of critical thinking and applying them to
current and future challenges. -ANSDeep learning
" The United States landed the first man on the moon in 1969."
Is this information accurate or inaccurate? -ANSThis is a limited, but accurate, statement.
"Asking people for photo identification when they come to vote is just the first step in establishing
a national identity card." -ANSThis is a slippery slope fallacy. Laws that ask for photo ID at the
voting place don't mean a national identity card is inevitable; driver's licenses, passports, or state-
issued photo IDs are typically what are accepted for identification purposes.
"Based on the research findings of physicist Steven E. Jones, formerly of Brigham Young University,
it is clear that the World Trade Center was destroyed by controlled demolition during the
September 11, 2001 attacks." -ANSThere are several reasons that this is a fallacious appeal to
authority. Jones may be a physicist, but that does not make him an expert on the collapse of
modern skyscrapers. Members of BYU's engineering faculty criticized Jones' research (which was
not peer reviewed) and Jones retired from BYU in the controversy that followed. Further, the vast
majority of experts (professional associations of architects, structural engineers, and fire safety
experts) cited the crash of jets into the World Trade Center towers as the reason for their
destruction and conclude that controlled demolition was not involved.
"Is basketball or ice hockey more fun to watch?" is a: -ANSThis is a question of preference, since it is
asking for a subjective choice.
"Reasoning can only be as sound as the ________________ it is based on." -ANSinformation
"The first place winner in the 10K race was Steven Katz. The third place finisher was Gregor
Mankins. Fred Habib finished fourth."
Is this information adequate or inadequate? -ANSInadequate
,Correct. This is not adequate information. We are not given the finishing times of the runners, nor
who won second.
"The union has a number of legitimate grievances which have never been addressed by
management. If you talk to any of the workers involved in these disputes, it's clear that their
testimony has been ignored."
Is this information fairly gathered and reported or biased? -ANSBiased
Correct. This is an example of biased information. While the union point of view is represented,
management's POV is not.
"We should fund research on human cloning and only narrow-minded religious fundamentalists
oppose it based on their outdated belief system." -ANSThis is an example of an ad hominem fallacy.
Opponents of research on human cloning have a series of arguments they can make against the
practice. Rather than addressing these, this statement attacks "religious fundamentalists" who are
"narrow-minded" with "outdated beliefs," using negative descriptive language to attack the person
who hold a belief rather than actually contesting it.
"We should have stricter gun control because 56% of Americans surveyed by Harris Interactive, Inc.,
a polling firm, supported tighter restrictions." -ANSThis is an appeal to popularity fallacy. The fact
that a majority of Americans support stricter gun control demonstrates that the idea is popular.
This statement doesn't offer any logical arguments supporting the view that there should be more
restrictions on gun.
1. All reasoning has a purpose. -ANSTake time to state your purpose clearly.
Choose significant and realistic purposes.
Distinguish your purpose from related purposes.
Make sure your purpose is fair in context (that it doesn't involve violating the rights of others).
Check periodically to be sure you are still focused on your purpose and haven't wandered from
your target.
,2. All reasoning is an attempt to figure out something, to settle some question, solve some problem.
-ANSTake time to state the question at issue clearly and precisely.
Express the question in several ways to clarify its meaning and scope.
Break the question into sub-questions (when you can).
Identify the type of question you are dealing with (historical, economic, biological, etc.) and
whether the question has one right answer, is a matter of mere opinion, or requires reasoning from
more than one point of view.
Think-through the complexities of the question (think-through the question deeply).
3. All reasoning is based on assumptions. -ANSClearly identify your assumptions and determine
whether they are justifiable.
Consider how your assumptions are shaping your point of view.
4. All reasoning is done from some point of view. -ANSClearly identify your point of view.
Seek other relevant points of view and identify their strengths as well as weaknesses.
Strive to be fair-minded in evaluating all points of view.
5. All reasoning is based on data, information, and evidence. -ANSRestrict your claims to those
supported by the data you have.
Search for information that opposes your position as well as information that supports it.
Make sure that all information you use is clear, accurate, and relevant to the question at issue.
Make sure you have gathered sufficient information.
Make sure, especially, that you have considered all significant information relevant to the issue.
6. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas. -ANSClearly identify key
concepts.
Consider alternative concepts or alternative definitions for concepts.
Make sure you are using concepts with care and precision.
, Use concepts justifiably (not distorting their established meanings).
7. All reasoning contains inferences or interpretations by which we draw conclusions and give
meaning to data. -ANSInfer only what the evidence implies.
Check inferences for their consistency with each other.
Identify assumptions that lead you to your inferences.
Make sure your inferences logically follow from the information.
8. All reasoning leads somewhere or has implications and consequences. -ANSTrace the logical
implications and consequences that follow from your reasoning.
Search for negative as well as positive implications.
Consider all possible significant consequences.
5.21 Think for Yourself CHECKPOINTS IN THINKING
A ________ is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing by the total number of
values in the dataset. -ANSA mean is calculated by adding up all the values in a dataset and dividing
by the total number of values in the dataset.
A claim that is made without any supporting statements -ANSis not a conclusion. It is an
unsupported claim, or an opinion.
A common problem with applying the critical thinking standard of clarity to information is: -ANSthe
information isn't clear
A key to developing questions of judgment is to remember:
. -ANS-These will be questions that could be answered differently by people with different view
points, and;
