Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User-Friendly Manual [Paperback]

Sherry Diestler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0137443358 | ISBN-13: 978-0137443352 | Publication Date: December 3, 1997 | Edition: 2 Sub

For courses in Critical Thinking, Informal Logic, Rhetoric, Argumentation, and English courses which cover the Argumentative Essay. This text trains students to distinguish high-quality, well-supported arguments from arguments with little or no evidence to support them. It develops the skills required to effectively evaluate the many claims facing them as citizens, learners, consumers, and human beings, and also to be effective advocates for their beliefs.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Diestler has definitely written the book to be just what its cover advertises—user friendly. It is quite easy to read and it presents difficult concepts in a basic way so that the average student has little trouble understanding them . ... A cut above many other critical thinking books." — R. Natasha Mohr, Creighton University

"There are very few hooks that can introduce a beginner to the thrill of critical thinking in a way that seems fairly uncomplicated, and yet that fosters progressive competency. Diestler's book says to a potential student, 'Come and try critical thinking: it is not scary, and you will soon become better at it than you think!" — Lee Loots, California State University. Hayward

"For the kind of class that I teach and the particular group of students I encounter, this text is the best I have found." — Steven Benfell, Western Michigan University

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

PREFACE

Everyone thinks. If you ask people where they stand on a particular issue, they will usually tell you what they believe and give reasons to support their beliefs. Many people, however, find it difficult to evaluate a written or spoken ,commentary on a controversial issue because both sides of the controversy seem to have good arguments.

The critical thinker is able to distinguish high-quality, well-supported arguments from arguments with little or no evidence to back them. This text trains students to evaluate the many claims facing them as citizens, learners, consumers, and human beings; it also helps students become more effective advocates for their beliefs.

Becoming a Critical Thinker is designed to be interdisciplinary and to be useful in courses in critical thinking, informal logic, rhetoric, English, speech, journalism, humanities, and the social sciences. It has also been used as a required text or a supplement in nursing programs and in workshops for staff development and business management. The skills that distinguish critical thinkers across various disciplines are presented in a clear and comprehensible manner. UNIQUE FEATURES

The process of becoming a critical thinker takes place when ideas are clearly understood and put into practice. For this reason, many elements of the text have been chosen because of their practical application for the student:

Each concept is explained with examples, and the examples often proceed from the personal to the social or political. In this way, students can see that the same skills used in understanding arguments in daily life are used in analyzing political and commercial rhetoric. Graphic illustrations help students visualize important concepts. Exercises of varying levels of difficulty are given throughout the chapters to help students practice critical thinking skills. Emphasis is placed on understanding and analyzing the impact of print and electronic media on arguments. Students are taught to construct and present arguments so that they can gain skill and confidence as advocates for their beliefs. There is an early and primary emphasis on understanding conflicting value systems and on ethics in argumentation and decision making. The articles and essays selected for use in the text are contemporary and express a variety of political viewpoints and ethical concerns. Multicultural perspectives are presented throughout the examples and articles. Many exercises and assignments encourage students to understand the perspectives of others and to broaden their own perspectives. There is a variety of writing and speaking assignments at the end of each chapter. The text is supplemented with an instructor's manual and test bank in addition to a Web site containing examples of critical thinking principles that can be used for classroom discussion. SPECIFIC CHANGES IN THE THIRD EDITION

This third edition of Becoming a Critical Thinker has been created with two priorities in mind: First, we wanted to retain and, in the cases of explanations of philosophical concepts, to improve the user friendly format of the first two editions. Also, we wanted to update readings and concepts so that readers will enjoy the application of critical thinking principles to current issues. New features in the third edition include:

Expanded supplementary resources for instructors. These include an instructor's manual with revised tests and an answer key for each chapter, discussions of chapter exercises, and suggestions for teaching critical thinking concepts. In addition, a Web site may be referenced for additional lecture material and student practice exercises. New articles and essays address current topics. This edition retains relevant articles from the second edition and includes new editorial essays and articles on such current topics as: The ethical dilemmas doctors face when deciding whether to prescribe placebos, problems in acculturation of Vietnamese immigrants, the use of expert testimony to overturn criminal convictions, the use of suggestion by retailers, citizen reactions to the new multiracial categories in the U.S. census, and a lawyer's use of listening to persuade jurors. New user friendly elements elucidate many of the basic concepts covered in the first and second editions. The definition of critical thinking and argumentation has been expanded with an emphasis on the distinction between argument and conflict. The sections on causation and deductive reasoning have been clarified with more relevant explanations and new illustrations. Stereotyping and conformity (including groupthink) are discussed as hindrances to critical thinking. A new outline on the topic of organ donation has been added to Chapter 10. Each chapter ends with a "Chapter Checkup" that tests students' knowledge of the information covered. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My husband, John Diestler, remains an invaluable help in many ways. He provided expertise on the "user friendly" format; he worked out preliminary designs for the original and the new logos and figures in the text; and he made useful suggestions on the manuscript throughout its production.

I thank my editor, Katie Janssen, for her encouragement and expert guidance that enabled me to complete this edition in a timely manner. I remain grateful to Maggie Barbieri for her dedicated work on the first edition. I appreciate Edie Riker for her diligence, patience, and professionalism as she supervised the production of this text.

I am grateful to students who used the text and made useful suggestions for additions and changes: Warda Javed, Marites Ayson, Stephanie Jensen, and Malik Ali. Suzanne Barton helped me with manuscript changes and Helen Kalkstein, Rafaella del Bourgo, and Connie Anderson suggested interesting and relevant additions to the text. Several presenters and participants from the annual Conference on Critical Thinking at Sonoma State University, including William Dorman, Perry Weddle, Connie Missimer, Marlys Mayfield, Betty Duffy, and John Splaine, kindly shared a variety of relevant research material.

In addition, I wish to thank the reviewers for their invaluable advice and encouragement: Connie Anderson, Contra Costa College; Eileen Smith, Shasta University; Marek Wosinski, Arizona State University; Angela M. Gulick, University of Alaska-Anchorage; and Laura Lun Inglis, Buena Vista University.

For their practical help that allowed me the time and energy to write the text, I thank my father, A1 Goldstein and John, Zachary, Jenna, Laura, and Amy Diestler.

Above all, I am grateful to the Creator of the human mind. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 438 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div; 2 Sub edition (December 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0137443358
• ISBN-13: 978-0137443352
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,869,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Arsenal For Attacking Flawed Presentations, September 21, 2003

By 

M. Bennett "distance_cyclist" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User Friendly Manual (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

A presentor is usually happy when people pose questions, as long as they are not critical questions. Most of the time the audience doesn't pose any questions because they simply don't know what questions to ask or how to formulate those questions.

The prinicipal points of this book:

Establishing the issue and the conclusion.
- Knowing and agreeing with the counterpart on the issue prevents us from veering off away from the subject of discussion. People like chaning the issue when they feel trapped.
- Listening to the person's conclusion about the mentioned issue which will indicate the person's opinion.

What are the reasons for their arguments on a certain suject?
- Reasoning takes many roads but often we don't know how to counter weak reasoning. Key words that give way to faulty reasoning with no substance to back up the argument.

Finding words that are ambiguous
- Counterparts discussing a subject, saying the same thing with several key words but some words have many meanings. Make sure you are talking about the same thing.

What are the value conflicts and assumptions?
- Value conflicts are explosive because of different political, religous and moral beliefs. A speaker who is devoutly religious will try and bring biblical arguments in to reasoning which for someobdy who is an athiest, would mean absolutely nothing.

How good is the evidence: Appeals to authority and testamonials.
- Probably one of the most abused factors in supporting an argument. How often have you heard, "Experts on the subject state 70% of medical doctors say x,y and z habits are great for your health". Don't forget to ask who the authority is. The more general authority and testamonials are the weaker the argument. The authors of many surveys make them biased. e.g. If scientific study has proven that smoking is good for your health and the author of the article is a lobbyist for the tobbaco industry, could it be possible that the author has something to gain from the study? If so ask what other authors or experts say about the subject. The so called industry specific gurus who give their testamonials are in most cases biased, because they have something to gain with the report.

Deceptive statistics are also factors that need to be examined closely. When a presentor starts talking about averages and percentages, ask which average and how large the sampeling was on people who took the survey. You would be surprised about how many presentors do not know anything about the facts they are presenting.

The author does not only wirte about critical thinking but has included many exercises to acitvate the reader to look for faulty reasoning and how to build up questions to counter evidence being presented. It is a great introduction text to critical thinking.

55 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching Students to THINK!, February 6, 2001

By 

B. West Ph.D. (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User-Friendly Manual (Paperback)

I first utilized this excellent book in undergraduate classes about a year ago.I enjoyed using it and it received accolades from the students, (once they realized that sometimes, thinking is WORK!)

It is "user-friendly", and the segments in each chapter are short but concise. There are numerous exercises after each section so that the student can put to immediate use, their newly acquired knowledge.

But I believe the highest praise came from the students that jokingly complained, "I can't think the same way anymore!" They had become "Critical Thinkers". And we can certainly use all of those that we can get!

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent!, September 21, 2011

By 

vicky - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Becoming a Critical Thinker: A User-Friendly Manual (6th Edition) (MyThinkingLab Series) (Paperback)

my book arrived very early and it arrived in perfect condition, what I got was exactly what was written in the description. excellent service!