Critical Thinking: Reason And Evidence -
D265 Questions And Answers Latest Top
Score.
Propositions - correct answer. are statements that can be true or false.
are either simple or complex. Complex propositions are composed of multiple simple
propositions.
Simple propositions - correct answer. are true or false based on how the world is,
while complex propositions are true or false based on whether the simple propositions
that make them up are true or false and how they are connected.
Critical thinking - correct answer. is primarily the ability to think carefully about thinking
and reasoning—to criticize your own reasoning. "Criticize" here is not meant in the
sense of being mean or talking down or making fun of. Instead, it is used in the sense
of, for example, how a coach might take a critical stance toward a players' skills—he
throws high every time, she does not lead with her foot, they ride too forward in the
saddle, etc. "Critical" here means something more like "reflective," "careful," or
"attentive to potential errors.
Critical thinking - correct answer. Being curious and thinking creatively: not believing
things are simple and settled, being willing to go the next step and think about all
relevant positions and arguments before settling into a belief.
Separating the thinker from the position: being able to discuss a position without
attacking or judging the person holding the position, without getting caught up in our
own attachment to a position, and without having our identities wrapped up in a
particular viewpoint or opinion.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought: being aware of the
flawed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to engage in, being aware of cognitive
biases and mental heuristics (rough rules that work well enough to survive but don't
work in many cases) that we're prone as a species to have, all in the interest of
counteracting these biases and flaws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: being honest about what we know and
how we know it, what evidence we have and what questions are not yet settled; being
humble in recognizing the vast number of things we don't yet know or understand and in
,recognizing how very difficult it is to truly know anything at all and so recognizing that
the standards are high and we, most of the time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and
being charitable or having the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most
sophisticated positions and arguments that we can imagine to our opponents in
arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence: thinking carefully about thinking,
about arguments and positions.
Propositions - correct answer. Propositions are statements that can be true or false.
This is the fundamental concept. Take the time to understand it clearly.
If a sentence can be true or false, then it expresses a proposition. Note that a sentence
and a proposition are not the same thing. Not all sentences express propositions.
Non-propositions - correct answer. are not statements about matters of fact. They do
not make a claim that can be true or false.
They do these things:
Exhort: Let's go get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday!
Command: Go to the store later to buy me some cheese. Don't do that.
Plead/Request: Would you please stop that? Please read me a bedtime story!
Question: What is the capital of Florida? How much do the pineapples cost?
Perform: I hereby adjourn this meeting. I pronounce you husband and wife!
Question - 1 - Which sentence is a non-proposition? - correct answer. Where are the
keys to my car?
Correct:
This is a question, which cannot be true or false, so it is a non-proposition.
Question 2
Did the company really close that deal? It has had a great year. Where is the president
right now? Let's go ask whether the deal was closed. - correct answer. In the above
paragraph, which sentence expresses a proposition? It has had a great year.
Simple propositions - correct answer. have no internal logical structure, meaning
whether they are true or false does not depend on whether a part of them is true or
false. They are simply true or false on their own.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Canada is $1.7 trillion.
The sky is blue.
Freedom should be the highest value for its citizens.
Harry Potter wears glasses.
, Complex propositions - correct answer. have internal logical structure, meaning they
are composed of simple propositions. Whether complex propositions are true or false
depends on whether their parts are true or false and how those parts are connected.
The GDP of Canada is either $3 trillion or it is $12 trillion.True whether the GDP is $3
trillion or the GDP is $12 trillion
The sky is blue, but it does not look blue to me right now.True if the sky is blue and it
does not look blue to me right now
If freedom should be the highest value for its citizens, then we should promote it in our
laws and policies.
True if it cannot be that "freedom should be the highest value for its citizens" is true
while "we should promote freedom in our laws and policies" is false.
Breaking Down Complex Propositions - correct answer. Breaking down complex
propositions usually involves identifying the little sentences that make up a complex
sentence. In the sentence "Bobby doesn't want to play basketball, but he does want to
play video games," Notice that the "but" connects two independent thoughts: Bobby
does not want to play basketball. Bobby wants to play video games.
"Either you know everything there is to know, or I'm a fool and you're not as smart as I
thought you were." This sentence breaks down into three separate propositions, since
there is an "either . . . or . . ." and also an "and."
Breaking down complex propositions means separating out the statements that can be
independently true or false. It is a bit tricky and interpretive, but we are just trying to
grasp the basic concept here.
Independent Propositions - correct answer. For now, it is good to understand the
basic idea: some propositions do not have multiple parts that can be true or false
independently, while others do. Words like "and," "or," "either . . . or . . .," "but," and "if . .
. then . . ." are used to identify multiple independent propositions.
Marcos is taking four courses this semester and working in his parents' store 20 hours a
week.
○ Marcos is taking four courses this semester.
○ Marcos is working in his parents' store 20 hours a week this semester.
Frankie, Johnny, and Luigi went to dinner
○ Frankie went to dinner
○ Johnny went to dinner.
○ Luigi went to dinner.
Question 1
