Marinelle C.

Bulos
Argumentation and Debate



CRITICAL THINKING
- is the careful application of reason in the determination of whether a claim is true.
Our primary tool in making better judgments is critical thinking.
Critiquing another persons ideas does not mean you are attacking that person, its not a put-
down.
BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF CRITICAL THINKING
1. Claims
- They are the things we say, aloud or in writing, to convey information-to express our opinions
or beliefs
- Are the kinds of things that are true or false
* The examination and evaluation of claims, including their relationships to each other, is the
principal job of critical thinking.

2. Issues
- Whenever we call a claim into question that is, when we ask questions about its truth or falsity,
we raise an issue.
* Claims, construed as issues and supported (or not) by arguments, are the central focus of
critical thinking.
Issue = Question (can be used interchangeably)
* When we think critically about a claim, we call it into question and make it an issue.
* If a claim does make sense if it is a legitimate claim then we understand the difference
between its being true and its being false.

3. Arguments
- We produce it when we give a reason for thinking that a claim is true.
PREMISE
- a claim that is offered as a reason

CONCLUSION
- the claim for which a premise is supposed to give a reason

* Conclusion answers the question asked by the issue.

TWO COMPONENTS TO THE PREMISES SUPPORT OF THE CONCLUSION
1. the premise can offer support for the conclusion only if the premise is true
2. it be relevant to the conclusion
- sometimes this is expressed by saying the premise is cogent
- means that the premise, if true, must actually bear on the truth of the conclusion i.e. it must
actually increase the likelihood that the conclusion is true.


Marinelle C. Bulos
Argumentation and Debate



ARGUMENT
- consists of two parts; one part (the premise or premises) supposedly provides a reason for
thinking that the other part (the conclusion) is true.
1


DECISION MAKING
- is a thoughtful process of choosing among a variety of options for acting or thinking.
- Requires that the decider make a choice

ARGUMENTATION
- Is reason giving in communicative situations by people whose purpose is the justification of acts,
beliefs, attitudes and values

GOOD REASONS
- may be defined as reason which are psychologically compelling for a given audience, which
make further inquiry both unnecessary and redundant hence justifying a decision to affirm or
reject a proposition.

Sources:
1
Critical Thinking, Moore and Parker Ninth Edition
2
Argumentation and Debate Critical Thinking for Reasoned Decision Making, Freely,Austin and
Steinberg, Twelfth Edition





Marinelle C. Bulos
Argumentation and Debate