Clear Thinking: A Practical Introduction (Paperback)

by Hy Ruchlis (Author), Hyman Ruchlis (Author), Sandra Oddo (Author) "The sergeant at the nuclear missile base in the Arctic looked at the radar screen intently, then called to his captain in a quiet but..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, New York, Albert Sarney (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Discusses reasoning and clear thinking, including such aspects as the nature of facts, language and reasoning, false analogies, and prejudice.

Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (September 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879755946
• ISBN-13: 978-0879755942
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #496,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good intro to logic and reason..., August 3, 1999

By A Customer

This is a great book for those that need to brush up on reasoning skills or as an introduction. With many full grown adults possessing little or no science and critical thinking education these days, books like these are a must-read. It is never too late to empower yourself with logic!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for pre-adolescents, April 21, 2007

By	James E. Reed - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is by far the best book on the subject for kids in roughly a pre-adolescent age range (though of course your child's reading level may vary). Ruchlis's explanations and examples are clear, concise and well-put. My one quibble with the book is that it displays a bit of a liberal bias--the bulk of the more political examples have to do with flawed reasoning by conservatives/Republicans, few with flawed reasoning by liberals/Democrats. I wish Ruchlis had been more attentive to this issue when choosing examples (though it might make for a good teaching moment about how even authors of books like this are not immune from bias). Nonetheless it is an excellent book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on How to Think, December 7, 2008

By	The Agnostic Apatheist (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This is one of the only books that explicitly provides a pragmatic approach or algorithm on how to think, in step-by-step fashion. It covers most of the basic topics taught in a logic or critical reasoning course but is much simpler to follow and does not use symbolic notations.

This is an excellent and very practical book! It is much better than Flew's "How to think Straight". I highly recommend "Clear Thinking" to anyone who wants a good introduction to the practice of critical thinking.