Critical Thinking CM4203 - Nov 2024 PDF

CM4203 - Communicati ons Critical Thinking Dr. Caoilfhionn Ní Bheacháin 2024 Critical Thinking: Essential for Business Professionals  Problem analysis  Evaluating alternatives  Precise contexts – implications of actions (deductive reasoning – anticipate outcomes / logic...

CM4203 - Communicati ons Critical Thinking Dr. Caoilfhionn Ní Bheacháin 2024 Critical Thinking: Essential for Business Professionals  Problem analysis  Evaluating alternatives  Precise contexts – implications of actions (deductive reasoning – anticipate outcomes / logical consequences… being able to assess policies and regulations)  Ambiguous contexts – problem solving in contexts of risk, ambiguity and uncertainty.  (Inductive / inferential reasoning – making decisions based on likelihood of success given the available information)  Being sceptical about tradition / conventional wisdom and the ‘way things are’: Taking less for granted and questioning deeper and more fundamental assumptions that we usually make Even seemingly objective ‘facts’ such as quantitative data do not simply occur but are the result of particular processes involving a whole variety of people, operations, and decisions/choices What do we measure? Who do we make accounts for? What agendas are within these processes? Which problems are raised and which are not? Which decisions get taken and which are always put off ? To what extent are particular interest groups able to promote or suppress certain information, or shape the agendas of discussions and meetings? Critical Thinking  Being sceptical or questioning about statements, arguments etc.  Being critical of societal values, structures etc.  Critiquing relationships between power and knowledge. Evaluating Arguments  Truth – are premises true?  Validity – is the argument structure valid?  A fallacy is an unsound argument. When Fallacies Rationality: argument structure is at argument fault s go Ambiguity: inexact language / definition wrong… Relevance: argument uses premises that are not truly relevant to establishing the conclusion  Countless fallacies We will only look at a few common ones Consult with textbooks on argumentation for examples and more explanations Fallacies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Ghbkv0MKV-w (TEDx fallacy)  Ad-hominem – probably the most common fallacy of all. Fallacies Attack the person rather than their of argument / ‘poisoning the well’ We can discount O’Shea’s claim that Relevance there is corruption in this company. He has been disgruntled ever since he failed to get promoted.  The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores an opponent's actual position Straw Man and substitutes a distorted, Fallacy exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. Strawman  Example: After Will said that we should put more money into health and education, Warren responded by saying that he was surprised that Will values our country so little that he wants to leave it defenceless by cutting military spending.  Selecting or emphasizing evidence that supports your claim, and suppressing or ignoring evidence Slanting that goes against your argument. Sins of omission  a piece of information that is, or is intended to be, misleading or distracting. o"the book / film is fast-paced, Red exciting, and full of red herrings" herring The idiom alludes to dragging a smoked herring across a trail to cover up the scent and throw off tracking dogs. [Late 1800s]  Persuasion involves ETHOS: LOGOS: APPEAL TO PATHOS: APPEAL ESTABLISHMENT OF REASON TO EMOTIONS SPEAKER CREDIBILITY An argument can be persuasive even if (or because) it contains fallacies Logical / Rational Fallacy "A logical fallacy is a false statement that weakens an argument by distorting an issue, drawing false conclusions, misusing evidence, or misusing language”  False Dilemma Fallacies “Either you are for me or you are against me”. of Assuming there are only two Rationality options when there are at least three.  Mistakenly inferring a relationship between two unconnected things Rationality B always follows A. Therefore, A causes B. – Doubtful A rooster observed that, after he Cause crowed each morning, the sun would rise. He concluded from this that his crowing caused the sun to rise.  Very common in discussions about social problems or political Rationality negotiations. Visualising a position as if it was on : Slippery a slippery slope. Slope One step will inevitably lead to another and on to some terrible conclusion.  If we pass laws against fully- automatic weapons, then it won't be long before we pass laws on all weapons, Slippery and then we will begin to Slope restrict other rights, and finally we will end up living in an authoritarian state. Thus, we should not ban fully-automatic weapons.  An argument that assumes what it is trying to prove. The conclusion is a re- Begging statement of one of the premises. the Asserting without justifying! Question  It is wrong to steal, because it is not right to take something Begging that does not belong to you. the Democracy is the best form of government because Question: government by the people is best. examples  ‘leaping to a conclusion’ - this fallacy occurs in inductive reasoning when a Hasty conclusion is drawn from a sample that is too small. generalizat ion  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA_lM-2fpW0 (overview of several fallacies)  Faulty sample Biased sample respondents interviewer Statistical Sample size Fallacies Gathering statistics Leading loaded questions Review: Some logical fallacies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CtofTCXcYI Argument Analysis - Example  We can be proud that America has turned the corner on the depression of the last few years. At last the many indexes of recovery are showing optimistic readings. The rate of inflation has slowed, unemployment has more or less stabilised, inventories are beginning to drop, advance orders are starting to pick up, and – the best news of all – the average income figures are showing a gain. The doomsayers have been discomfitted and the free enterprise system once more vindicated.  Ask: anything you don’t understand?? Inventories? Supplies of raw materials waiting to be sold on. Steps Identify premises / conclusions / evidence ‘We can be proud that’ – a rhetorical flourish  Identify the premises Identify the conclusion(s) Identify evidence….. Map the argument: Ask – does the evidence adequately support the premises? Does the conclusion emerge naturally from the premises / evidence presented?  Inflation slowed Unemployment - stabilised Advance orders up Inventories down Income up The indexes of recovery are optimistic The US has turned the corner on the Depression Doomsayers Free wrong Enterprise vindicated  Argument Analysis Article / thesis might be persuasive but may still fail in argumentation / reasoning The Introduction Structure of the Argument key Ideas / premises Organisation Conclusion Effect / rhetoric Fallacies Audience Analysis Language and Word Choice (and imagery) Final comments (positive or negative) Getting started with Presentations  Organisations make extensive use of presentations, which range from informal face-to-face briefings to electronically mediated webcasts.  Virtual presentations are an increasingly important medium and will remain so post-pandemic. Learning from experience  Consider a presentation that you recently saw that was very effective. What made it so?  Consider a presentation that you recently saw that was unsuccessful. What made it so?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYqKaRSW1CI&feature= emb_logo  Trust and Virtual Teams (but relevant for all forms of assigned teams)  Evaluate the speaker’s nvc, speaking voice, pace, scripting, etc. Persuasion involves  ethos: establishment of speaker credibility  logos: appeal to reason (avoiding fallacies and faulty thinking)  pathos: appeal to emotions Not all presentations are equal:  As with all communication, think about the following:  Purpose  Audience  Context  These days, you also need to think about your virtual set up (lighting / external noise etc.) Summary Fallacies we have looked at are very common Awareness of common mistakes / flaws in argumentation is vital for academic work and in professional practice Mapping is a key skill for helping us to evaluate the structure and validity of arguments.