An accessible and engaging introduction to the field of critical thinking, drawing on philosophy, communication and psychology. Revised and updated throughout it is essential read for students approaching the field of critical thinking for the first time.
Perfect short introduction to critical thinking for those completely new to the topic
Clearly explains how to spot poor arguments and faulty reasons and to build strong arguments of your own
Lots of examples and applied cases such as conspiracy theories, advertising, political rhetoric and rhetoric
New chapter on emotion and argument with extensive updates and refreshes to exercises and further reading
Praise for the previous edition:
'Critical Thinking: The Basics covers the basics engagingly and without unnecessary jargon, provides lots of well-chosen examples and practice exercises, and, unlike most critical thinking textbooks, explains the theoretical background to the recent rise of critical thinking in education.' - Justine Kingsbury, University of Waikato, New Zealand
'This is an excellent contribution to the growing literature on critical thinking. The discussion on causal reasoning, heuristics and biases, framing, social power, metacognition, and self-deception are timely and valuable. Critical Thinking: The Basics helps to bring together the literature on the psychology and sociology of human judgement with the philosophical art of argument analysis.' - Ted Poston, University of South Alabama, USA
'This text is loaded with references, explanations, history and examples from the development and enhancement of the understanding of critical thinking. It offers a coverage of the basics of critical thinking and also provides a sense of how the field and individual expectations of critical thinking are changing.' - Charles Blatz, Professor Emeritus at University of Toledo, USA.
Stuart Hanscomb is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Communication at the University of Glasgow, UK. With Benjamin Franks and Sean Johnston he is author of Environmental Ethics and Behavioural Change, also available from Routledge.
Introduction 1. Rationality, biases and emotions 2. Emotions 3. Critical Thinking and Dispositions 4. Arguments and argument reconstruction 5. Argument forms and fallacies 6. Arguments referring to expertise, power, and message source (I) 7. Arguments referring to expertise, power, and message source (II) 8. Causal arguments, generalisations, arguments from consequences and slippery slope arguments 10. Further fallacies Conclusion. Glossary References Index