Critical Thinking and Knowledge Quiz

Critical Thinking: Nature and Value

• Critical thinking is essential for decisions about beliefs and actions.
• It's reasonable and reflective thinking, focused on justified beliefs and actions.
• Theoretical reasoning involves believing while practical reasoning deals with actions.
• Critical thinking requires good reasons for decisions.
• Critical thinking is reflective, evaluating methods and adjustments in thinking.
• Arguments consist of statements supporting a conclusion.

Critical Thinking and Knowledge

• Critical thinking increases knowledge potential.
• Knowledge is valuable (true belief), also value of personal autonomy.
• Truth, for a realist, exists independently, regardless of beliefs.
• Relativism posits that truth is dependent or influenced by beliefs, or cultures.
• Nihilism argues there are no truths about a given topic.

Knowledge and Truth

• Defining truth is complex and not simply through listing.
• Truth's correspondence to facts isn't a perfect definition.
• Different attitudes toward truth: realism, relativism, nihilism.

Relativism and Disagreement

• Relativism states that right and wrong are relative to perspectives.
• Disagreement on moral issues doesn't necessarily support relativism.
• Disagreement doesn’t prove relativism
• Evaluating arguments involves checking both validity and truth of premises.

Knowledge and Belief

• Knowledge is defined as justified true belief.
• Beliefs need good reasons to be rational.
• Freedom of belief comes with responsibility and requires good reasons.
• Wrong beliefs can lead to mistakes.

Knowledge and Justification

• Distinguish between reasons for believing something initially and reasons for maintaining the belief later.
• Beliefs can change as justifications evolve.
• Emotional and pragmatic reasons may affect beliefs but don't prove truth.
• Epistemic reasons are the best reasons, leading to true knowledge.

Emotional and Pragmatic Reasons

• Emotions influence beliefs but aren't evidence.
• Pragmatism, like ease or comfort might shape our beliefs.
• Community, culture, and traditions can affect our beliefs.

Epistemic Reasons

• Epistemic reasons demonstrate truth, while emotional or pragmatic don't.
• For knowledge, justification needs strong, reliable evidence.
• Critical thinking in medicine involves avoiding biases by relying on evidence.
• Critical thinking demands good, adequate evidence to be correct, not feelings, preferences or ease.

Emotions and Evidence

• Critical thinkers rely on evidence, not emotions.
• Emotional attachments might hinder objective evaluation.
• Avoiding personalizing reasons promotes clearer thought.

Good Reasons: Sufficient and Acceptable

• Good reasons for belief, are sufficient and acceptable.
• Sufficiency involves enough evidence.
• Acceptability ensures evidence comes from trustworthy sources.
• To know something requires enough credible evidence, even if not completely assured.

When Evidence Conflicts

• Direct conflicts involve evidence contradicting each other.
• Indirect conflicts involve evidence not directly opposing but differing, trust stronger evidence.
• Critical thinking involves withholding judgment until more evidence or clarity.
• Beware of misinterpreting evidence.

Critical Thinking Mistakes

• Privileging confirming evidence or available evidence is a misstep.
• Avoiding personalizing reasons promotes objectivity.
• Avoiding appeal to relativism, emotion, and tradition.
• Acknowledging fallacies to avoid biases when establishing beliefs.

Critical Thinking Strategies

• Looking for relationships amongst concepts
• Thinking twice before making a conclusive decision.

Critical Thinking and Personal Autonomy

• Critical thinking leads to knowledgeable and autonomous decision-making.
• It differentiates well-justified beliefs from prejudices.
• Critical thinking promotes responsible choices.

Belief and Prejudice

• Prejudice involves forming beliefs without suitable evidence.
• Critical thinking improves the process of forming beliefs.

Making Up Your Own Mind

• Critical thinking helps form beliefs using evidence.
• Be cautious about unquestioned beliefs inherited or learnt.
• Beliefs should be supported by strong evidence to avoid harmful outcomes.

Lecture 1: Definitions and Attitudes

• Critical thinking is reasonable and reflective thinking to decide what to believe and do.
• Knowledge requires justified true belief.
• Distinguish the three cases of no knowledge.
• Understanding different attitudes towards subject matter (realism, relativism, nihilism).
• Analyzing when evidence could conflict.
• Avoiding mistakes in reasoning (personalizing reasons, appealing to relativism).