After spending many weeks learning about fallacies and finishing the class learning about scientific methods, you should understand why critical thinking is essential personally and professionally.
Without the ability to ask the right questions and pursue reliable evidence from reliable sources, we can make mistakes of varying degrees of importance. It’s one thing to waste $3 on a new Gatorade flavor because you heard from a friend that it’s “good” when it actually made you vomit.
Gatorade Frost Glacier Cherry Sports Drink 28 Fl Oz Bottle, Quantity of 15 See the source image See the source image
It’s another thing all together if we vote for propositions that lead to corruption or financial waste or for city council members who we didn’t investigate before casting our ballots and they turn out to have a history of favoritism and inefficiency.
It’s really terrifying when we assume someone is an expert because they have an MD and a fancy resume`. When doctors harm, paralyze or kill patients and no one does anything at first to investigate, it could be because we think that all doctors know what they are doing. This is Dr. Christopher Duntsch Links to an external site., MD, PhD–a former neurosurgeon. Impressive title, right? He is serving a life sentence in Texas for performing surgeries on 38 patients in 2 years during which 33 had permanent damage, some were paralyzed (including his good college friend) and two died. He was also a drunk, cocaine addict, and narcissist in addition to being a really bad doctor.
Learning how to argue both sides is a handy skill when we need to explain our thought processes and when we are listening to others. Learning how to think is what critical thinking is all about.
The following are topics/arguments that have two sides:
1. Should college education be free? Yes
2. Should we have universally free healthcare? Yes
PART 1
1) Choose any TWO topics from the above list you feel you’d like to learn more about.
2) Search on the internet for any sources about the topics.
2) What are the supports (arguments that favor the topic) and objections (arguments that say ‘no’ to the topic)?
3) In paragraph form, explain what you found that supports the argument.
4) In paragraph form, explain what you found that objects to the argument.
PART 2
For both topics in Part 1, address the following questions:
1. Was the author of the original articles you read, for the most part, being subjective (opinion) or objective (giving facts)?
2. If any objective propositions were presented, what evidence is provided to support them?
3. If there was subjectivity, how was the author biased?
4. Can you offer any credible reasons to dispute the author’s judgments or claims?
5. Can you offer any credible reasons to further support the author’s judgments or claims?
PART 3
1. Look for an example of a fallacy. You can find them anywhere.
2. Describe the example, which fallacy(ies) is(are) used, and what the outcome of its usage was.
For example, did the fallacy really make the message stronger?
3. Show the fallacy or link to your example in your answer.
Please enter your work directly into the text box for this assignment. Clearly label Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. For more guidelines and grading scale, please see the Rubric below.
