PHL 214 Chapter 1: Chapter 1
25 May 2016
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Document Summary
Critical thinking: the systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs or statements by rational standards. A question about the quality of your beliefs (not about what you think, but how you think) Focuses not on what causes a belief, but on whether it is worth believing. An openness to other points of view, a tolerance for opposing perspectives, a focus on the issue at hand, and fair assessments of arguments/evidence. Cognitive biases: the natural limitations of the human brain. The tendency to judge facts differently depending on how they are stated/framed. We tend to overestimate how common dramatic events ar and underestimate how common more boring events are. These mistakes of reasoning are common, and can lead to bad conclusions/decisions. Logic: the study of good reasoning/interference, and the rules that govern it. Both logic and the examination of the truth/falsity of statements, the evaluation of arguments/evidence, the use of analysis/investigation, and the application of many other skills.
