PHIL 347N Critical Reasoning
Week 1 Discussion: Arguments & Explanations
Chamberlain University
May 2021
Argument: How do you know….. evidence for the reason
Explanation: How is that so….. cause for the reason
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: Chapter 1, 2
Lesson
Minimum of 1 scholarly source
Initial Post Instructions
Chapter 1 shows a model of Bloom's taxonomy - they are the steps to mastery of any learning
endeavor and the basic components of critical reasoning. They have recently been simplified and
reordered as follows:
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Beyond remembering - after all, when the surgeon asks for a Satinsky, you don't want to have to
look it up on your Smartphone - how do you think Bloom's steps will apply to you as you pursue
your career in the healthcare professions? Answer this question with an argument or an
explanation.
Next, practice your analytical skills by examining why it is important for a healthcare
professional to be able to distinguish between arguments and explanations.
Suppose you see a set of symptoms in a patient or a need for resource allocation. Do you
want to explain the reason for their appearance of symptoms or the need for the resource,
or must you argue your case? For this, you will need to know, and explain in your post,
what makes a set of claims an argument or an explanation (Chapter 2).
1
Week 1 Discussion: Arguments & Explanations
Chamberlain University
May 2021
Argument: How do you know….. evidence for the reason
Explanation: How is that so….. cause for the reason
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
Textbook: Chapter 1, 2
Lesson
Minimum of 1 scholarly source
Initial Post Instructions
Chapter 1 shows a model of Bloom's taxonomy - they are the steps to mastery of any learning
endeavor and the basic components of critical reasoning. They have recently been simplified and
reordered as follows:
Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyze
Evaluate
Create
Beyond remembering - after all, when the surgeon asks for a Satinsky, you don't want to have to
look it up on your Smartphone - how do you think Bloom's steps will apply to you as you pursue
your career in the healthcare professions? Answer this question with an argument or an
explanation.
Next, practice your analytical skills by examining why it is important for a healthcare
professional to be able to distinguish between arguments and explanations.
Suppose you see a set of symptoms in a patient or a need for resource allocation. Do you
want to explain the reason for their appearance of symptoms or the need for the resource,
or must you argue your case? For this, you will need to know, and explain in your post,
what makes a set of claims an argument or an explanation (Chapter 2).
1
