WGU D265 Critical Thinking Questions and
Answers
1. 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 "reflective," "careful," or "attentive to
potential errors."
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:: being aware
of the
flawed 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 flaws.
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,5. 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 difficult 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.
6. Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:: thinking carefully about
thinking,
about arguments and positions.
7. Propositions: statements that can be true or false.
8. Non-propositions: Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or fiction). They do
not make a
claim that can be true or false.
9. Exhort: to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday!
10. Command: give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me some
cheese. Don't do that.
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, 11. 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!
12. Question: something asked, a statement that requires an answer Example: What is the
capital of Florida? How much do the pineapples cost?
13. Perform: carry out, accomplish, or fulfill (an action, task, or function) Example: I hereby
adjourn this meeting. I pronounce you husband and wife!
14. 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.
15. Complex propositions: have internal logical structure, meaning they are composed of
simple proposi- tions. Whether they are true or false depends on whether their parts are true or false.
16. 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.
17. 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
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Answers
1. 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 "reflective," "careful," or "attentive to
potential errors."
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:: being aware
of the
flawed 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 flaws.
1/
18
,5. 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 difficult 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.
6. Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:: thinking carefully about
thinking,
about arguments and positions.
7. Propositions: statements that can be true or false.
8. Non-propositions: Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or fiction). They do
not make a
claim that can be true or false.
9. Exhort: to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday!
10. Command: give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me some
cheese. Don't do that.
2/
18
, 11. 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!
12. Question: something asked, a statement that requires an answer Example: What is the
capital of Florida? How much do the pineapples cost?
13. Perform: carry out, accomplish, or fulfill (an action, task, or function) Example: I hereby
adjourn this meeting. I pronounce you husband and wife!
14. 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.
15. Complex propositions: have internal logical structure, meaning they are composed of
simple proposi- tions. Whether they are true or false depends on whether their parts are true or false.
16. 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.
17. 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
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