Critical Thinking HW Help

PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 1 Cou rse Learning Outcomes for Unit IV Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to: 3. Formulate questions that result in critical thinking. 5. Develop strategies for self -assessment. 6. Evaluate decision -making patterns that result in problem solving. Reading Assignment Chapter 5: Standards for Thinking, pp. 91 -103 Chapter 6: Ask Questions That Lead to Good Thinking Chapter 7: Master the Thinking, Master the Content Please review the PowerPoint presentation below from the CSU Success Center to help guide you: Columbia Southern University. (2014). PowerPoint best practices. Retrieved from http://columbiasouthern.adobeconnect.com/powerpointbestpractices/ In order for the links below to function properly, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database within the CSU Online Library. You may also access the resource by visiting the Opposing Viewpoints in Context database and performing a search for the title and/or author. Bryjak, G. J. (2005). Executions should be televised. In M. E. Williams (Ed.), Current Controversies . Capital Punishment . Muhlhausen , D. (2013). The death penalty deters crime. In J. Cromie & L. M. Zott (Eds.), Opposing Viewpoints. The Death Penalty . Weil, J. (2013). The death penalty does not deter crime. In J. Cromie & L. M. Zott (Eds.), Opposing Viewpoints. The Death Penalty . In order for the links below to function properly, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the Academic OneFile database within the CSU Online Library. Leche, P. (2009, June). Say what. Policy & Practice , 67 (3), 36. UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE Mastery of Critical Thinking PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 2 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Unit Lesson Rhetorica l Dev ice s Often whe n hu man s receive information from othe r sources, tho se sources see k to influen ce the peop le. The art of influen cing peop le throug h languag e is called rhe toric. Rhe toric is used in bo th written an d spo ken language . No thing is more powe rful in pe rsua sion tha n effective argumen ts tha t are presen ted with r he torical excellen ce. Dr. Martin Lu the r King’ s “I Have a Drea m” spee ch wou ld have bee n much less effective if he ha d walked up on the stag e an d said, “A ll peop le shou ld have equa l rights an d c on side ration … .Than k you .” Instead , Dr. K ing utilized metapho rical languag e an d c ap tured the aud ien ce throug h his impa ssione d an d emotiona l style. Rhe toric is extremely useful for tho se who practice it well, an d just like all goo d thing s, it can be used in a way tha t is manipu lative an d injuriou s. In this lecture, we are go ing to examine some of the rhe torical devices tha t peop le use to man ipulate othe rs’ thinking . Depend ing on y ou r pe rspe ctive an d life expe rien ces, words will take on differen t sha des of mean ing . In ad dition , by the mere addi tion or sub traction of on e word, you c an c hang e the pe rceived mean ing of a sen ten ce drastically, even whe n the sen ten ce factually says the exact same thing . Le t’s look at an example. Suppo se someon e said the following : “Can y ou bel ieve tha t Jua n ha s three k ids?” Most peop le wou ld interpret the pe rspe ctive of the spea ker as on e of disbe lief at the fact tha t Jua n ha s three kids. Man y peop le c ould not imag ine trying to c omplete the activities of the ir lives with the adde d r espon sibility of three c hildren. Ho we ver, let’s chang e the preced ing sen ten ce with on ly on e word an d see wha t happe ns to the mean ing of the sen ten ce. Suppo se tha t same pe rson were to r eph rase the previou s statemen t in the following way: “Can you bel ieve tha t Jua n ha s on ly three kids?” With the add ition of the word “ on ly,” the en tire r he torical mea ning of the sen ten ce has shifted . In this secon d example the ton e of the spea ker ha s gon e from amazemen t to expe ctation . If you were to ask a grou p of peop le abou t the life of the spea ker you wou ld probab ly often hea r the r espo nse tha t this pe rson ha s more tha n three k ids. Paren ts with five, six, or seven c hildren migh t loo k at othe rs wh o ha ve three c hildren from this pe rspe ctive. Let’s imag ine V ane ssa an d J ua n work the same job , an d V ane ssa c on tinua lly ou tperforms Juan . Jua n often leaves work ea rly to pick his kids up , or do othe r schoo l related activities. M ean while, Vane ssa is the mothe r of five children an d she r egu larly ha s to stay at work to pick up the slack tha t is left over whe n J ua n leaves ea rly. Vane ssa m igh t critiqu e J uan’ s excuses be cause J ua n “ on ly ha s three k ids,” while ano the r c o- worker who has no c hildren might be amazed tha t Jua n c an acc omplish so much with all the extra respon sibility. This example gives us insigh t into ho w words can c onno te differen t mean ing s depend ing on ho w the y are de livered an d the aud ien ce to who m the y are deli vered . No w let’s loo k at some of the r he torical techn ique s of which the c ritical thinker must be aware. Euphem ism s and Dy sph em ism s A euphe mism is a po sitive word tha t is used to express something tha t is nega tive or neu tral. Peop le use euphe misms in sub tle ways depe nding on the situa tion . For example, if you were to atten d the wake of a close frien d after he lost his wife, you migh t say, “I am sorry tha t Iris ha s pa ssed . At lea st we k no w she is in a be tter place.” In this example, “pa ssed ” an d “be ing in a be tter place” are euphe misms for the word “ dead .” Very rarely wou ld someon e try to c on sole ano the r by saying , “I am sorry tha t Iris is dead .” In ano the r example, you migh t claim tha t he is “big-boned ” rathe r tha n saying overweigh t. In eithe r case y ou have sub stituted a po sitive word for something neu tral. How ever, euph emisms c an be used to pu t a po sitive spin on something nega tive as well. W he n c ompa nies have large-scale firing s of their employee s the y call it “do wnsizing .” Whe n someon e is killed in battle, tho se do ing the killing often c an claim tha t “the targe t ha s bee n elimina ted .” One hea rs news an cho rs say, “16 U.S. soldiers died in a skirmish on the Afgha n bo rde r.” Any time tha t 16 peop le ge t killed this extend s well be yon d the ide a of a skirmish. The word “ skirmish” wou ld be more effectively used to de scribe a middle schoo l figh t in the ha llway after lun ch, no t to dep ict a large scale military ba ttle. In an y case, a euphe mism is something tha t is used to pu t a po sitive spin on a c on cep t or even t tha t is neu tral or nega tive. A dysphe mism is the oppo site of a euphe mism. A dysphe mism is a nega tive word tha t is used to de scribe something tha t is neu tral or po sitive. For example, c alling a Democrat a “Lib” or a Republ ican a “War Haw k” PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 3 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title wou ld be examples of nega tive spins on neu tral terms. Referring to someone’ s do rm room as a “ pig sty” is ano the r example. In relation to ou r previou s example abou t dea th, referring to someon e as “worm food ” wou ld never be something tha t on e with an y compa ssion wou ld say to someon e who was grieving over the loss of this pe rson . Ca lling an athe ist a “God-ha ter” doe s no t rep resen t the pe rson ’s be liefs in a neu tral ligh t. Dysphe misms are used to direct someone ’s mind to nega tive c onno tation s whe n thinking abou t an issue or ano the r pe rson , an d bo th euphe mistic an d dysphe metic languag e pe rvade s the languag e of life an d media. Euphemi sm Neutral Word Dyphemism Prog ress ive Democrat Lib Fluffy Overweight Fat Pub lic Servant Police Officer Cop Pre-owned Used Bucket of Bolts Free dom F ighters Soldiers Rebe ls Rhetorical Definitions Another common rhetorical technique involves defining things based on emotive language that evokes strong responses in those viewing the definitions. Rhetorical definitions are these types of definitions. Rhetorical definitions are not true definitions. Instead, they define terms using figurative or provocati ve language in order to promote certain ideas about the thing being defined. These definitions are popular in political debates and other social issues, and they are often used in a way that demeans or belittles the other side. Here are some examples of rh etorical definitions.  A con servative is a bigo t who is too selfish to pa y taxes.  A libe ral is a tree hugge r who thinks tha t respo nsible peop le shou ld pa y for all the irrespon sible peop le.  The ope ra is a place whe re peop le go whe n the y want to be bo red . St ere otypes A stereo type is an over-simplified gene ral belief or statemen t mad e abou t a c ertain grou p of peop le. We are all familiar with variou s ethn ic an d pol itical stereo type s. However, if you bel ieve in tho se stereo types, you are falling into un critical reflection. Stereotype s are always based on a lack of expe rien ces an d information . For example, if someon e ge ts robbe d in a spe cific ne ighbo rhoo d in Ch icago , you migh t claim that “the peop le in tha t ne ighbo rhoo d are thieves.” Rea lly, most human s are no t thieves, on ly a few are. Just as on e ba d app le can spo il the who le bun ch, on e ba d expe rien ce c an spo il the hu man mind an d make it engag e in stereo typical thinking . Stereotypical thinking influen ces hu man s in ways tha t are often sub con sciou s. If someon e ha s a stereo typical bel ief abou t c ertain type s of peop le, tha t bel ief will tran slate into differen t beh aviors ba sed on the grou p with which on e interacts. When ever you r mind en cou rage s you to engag e in stereo typical thinking , it is impo rtan t to think the following : “Does this bel ief rep resen t all membe rs of the grou p tha t I am thinking abou t?” In all c ases, the an swer will be no . The re will always be membe rs of the grou p that fall ou tside of the stereo type . The re are smart an d unintelligen t peop le of all ethnicities. There are ha rd-working an d lazy hu man s of all classes. The re are athletic an d no n-athletic membe rs of all group s. E njoying c ertain activities ha s no thing to do with you r sexua l preferen ce. Refuse to let you r mind be influen ced by stereo typical thinking by focusing on the attribu tes of human s indi vidual ly. Avoid making gene ral c ommen ts abou t pretty much everything . Focus on spe cific de tails an d work to elimina te stereo typical idea s throug h the c on tinu al que stion ing of presuppo sition s. It is difficult to figh t aga inst this mod e of though t. Ho we ver, in the lon g r un the pe rson who avoids stereo typical thinking will come into more k no wledg e of the truth an d r efuse gene ral an swers tha t over-simplify the human expe rience. Innu end o Innuend o is a r he torical techn iqu e whe reb y someon e implies something withou t directly stating wha t is be ing implied . The pe rson spea king leaves something ou t bu t is still able to get his or he r po int across. Innuend o is often used to liven up written works an d it often add s hu mor to situa tion s. Ho wever, it is also a sub tle way to manipu late peop le. He re are some examples of saying thing s withou t stating them directly. PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 4 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title “At lea st on e pe rson he re is no t a liar.” If you were med iating betwee n Dan iel an d Ce leste, an d Dan iel mad e this statement in the c ou rse of the med iation , it wou ld be eviden t tha t Dan iel was implying tha t Ce leste was a liar an d tha t he was telling the truth. Ho we ver, notice tha t the statement doe s no t say who the liar is. It also doe s no t claim tha t an yon e is telling the truth. In fact, if bo th peop le were lying the statemen t wou ld still be true . “Y ou shou ld c hoo se ano the r pa ir of jean s.” We often use innuend o to r oun d off the ha rsh edge s of statemen ts. For example, y ou migh t say this rathe r than , “tho se jean s do no t loo k goo d on y ou ” so as to avoid hu rting the feel ing s of the pe rson who is trying on the jean s. “Who ever ‘bo rrowed ’ my DVD collection last wee k, please fee l free to r eturn it as soo n as possible.” Sign s like the se are r egu lar occ urren ces in do rms aroun d the U.S. He re the pe rson is using the word “bo rrowed ” to r ep resen t the fact that the collection was stolen . The pe rson is also implying tha t the re is a certain standa rd for prope r motives whe n it comes to taking someon e else’s DVD c ollection. Lo aded Qu es tions A loade d que stion is on e tha t ha s certain presupp ositions tha t lie unde rnea th it. Loade d qu estion s force a pe rson into a c orne r by assuming c ertain thing s abou t the pe rson or the sub ject tha t is be ing discussed. He re are some examples of loade d que stion s. La wyer to de fendan t on the stand : “Mr s. Ro se, why did you lie to the po lice? ” La wyer to de fendan t on the stand : “Mr s. Ro se, wha t did y ou do after you k illed you r hu sband? ” In the first example, the que stion is worde d in such a wa y tha t it assumes tha t Mr s. Ro se lied to the police. It see ks the motivation for the lying . In the secon d example, the que stion assumes tha t Mr s. Ro se k illed he r hu sband . If Mr s. Ro se is no t qu ick on he r fee t she migh t respon d to the que stion in such a way tha t it makes he r ap pea r gui lty. For example, if Mrs. Ro se were to say, “I wen t to c hu rch…I mean , wait a minute…I did no t kill my hu sband!” the un critical jurors wou ld beg in to wonde r abou t Mr s. Ro se. Bully to othe r studen t: “Do y ou r pa ren ts kno w you are an idiot?” In this example, if the secon d studen t says “no ” tha t would mea n that his pa ren ts were un awa re tha t he is an idiot. If he were to say “yes” the n tha t wou ld mea n tha t the y kne w tha t their son was an idiot. Ano the r form of loade d que stion is ba sed on the c ircumstan ce s in which y ou find y ou rself. The se qu estion s are usua lly crea ted as atten tion grabbe rs for peop le who are trying to solicit othe rs. For example, in Chicag o you migh t be walking dow n a na rrow sidewa lk an d see someon e in the distance smiling an d wa ving . As you ge t closer the pe rson says, “Do y ou have five minu tes for women’ s righ ts ( or ani mal abu se, or starving children )?” If you r espon d by saying “y es” the n y ou are forced to stop an d listen to the little spiel tha t ultimately is abou t you giving mone y to the cau se. Ho wever, if you say “no ” to this que stion , the n y ou appea r hea rtless as if you c anno t give five minu tes of you r time to abu sed women , starving children , or abu sed an imals. In orde r to escap e a loade d que stion , you must no t respon d to the que stion, bu t to the assumption s tha t unde rlie the que stion . For example, Mr s. Ro se shou ld say, “I did no t lie to the police” an d “I did no t kill my hu sband .” In the example with the bul ly, the othe r studen t shou ld r espon d by saying , “I am no t an idiot.” The last example is ha rde r to ge t ou t of. You c ou ld say to the othe r pe rson , “tha t is a loade d que stion ” an d the n try to explain the assumption s tha t unde rlie the que stion . Ho wever, tha t wou ld take you r time an yway. Perhap s you c ou ld say, “ women’s righ ts is an extremely impo rtan t issue , bu t I do no t have time right no w.” A final, more cy nical respon se involves the use of innuendo . You migh t retort, “ho w much are the y pa ying y ou to ask the se qu estion s.” PHL 1010, Critical Thinking 5 UNIT x STUDY GUIDE Title Suggested Reading After reading the articles, use some of the skills that you have learned in the class readings. What questions should you ask about the topic that use the elements of thought? Learning Activities (Non -Graded) To gain further knowledge of the material, including key terms, please view this HTML presentation. This will summarize and reinforce the information from these chapters in your textbook. Click here to access the lesson presentation for Unit IV. Non -Grade d Lea rning Ac tivities are provide d to aid studen ts in the ir cou rse of stud y. You do no t have to sub mit them. If you have que stion s con tact you r instructor for furthe r gu idan ce an d information.