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PSYCHOLOGY: THINKING AND THOUGHT PROCESSES : RESEARCH: EVALUATION OF SOURCES: Mission Critical Mission Critical <http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/main.html Main Menu The Basics Parts of an Argument Statements Statements and Conversions Universal Statements Vagueness and Ambiguity Premises, Conclusions, and Support Inference Identifiers Exercises for Identifiers Validity, Truth, and Soundness Basic Relations Conjunctions and Disjunctions Exercises for Conjunctions and Disjunctions Options Exercises for Options Analysis of Arguments Introduction to Inductive and Deductive Reasoning Inductive Arguments Causal Arguments Exercises for Causal Arguments Deductive Arguments Exercises for Deductive Arguments Conditional Arguments Exercises for Conditional Arguments Only in Conditional Arguments Exercises for Only Conditionals Conditional Chain Arguments Exit Quiz for Conditionals Universal Syllogisms Exercises for Universal Syllogisms Non-Universal Syllogisms Exercises for Non-Universal Syllogisms Exit Quiz for Syllogisms 60 Deductive Review Exercises Fallacies and Non-Rational Persuasion Fallacious Appeals Misdirected Appeals: Appeal to Authority  Appeal to Common Belief Common Practice Two Wrongs  Indirect Consequences Wishful Thinking Emotional Appeals: Appeal to Fear Appeal to Loyalty Appeal to Pity Appeal to Prejudice Appeal to Spite Appeal to Vanity Exercises for Fallacious Appeals Generalizations Ad Hominem Attacks Exercises for Ad Hominem Attacks Other Common Fallacies Post Hoc Reasoning Straw Man Burden of Proof Circular Reasoning Loaded Question False Dilemma Unfair Fallacies: False Compromise False Equity Exit Quiz for Fallacies 40 Fallacy Review Exercises Under Construction Visual Models for Deductive Arguments Veb Diagrams Conditionals Syllogisms Venn Diagrams Conditionals Syllogisms Readings and Activities: Applied Critical Thinking Index to Mission: Critical About Mission Critical <http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/about.html The goal of Mission: Critical is to create a virtual lab, capable of familiarizing users with the basic concepts of critical thinking in a self-paced, interactive environment. Critical thinking is part of the transfer core curriculum recognized at all state-supported institutions of higher education in California. As might be expected, however, approaches to teaching critical thinking are as varied as the disciplines in which qualifying courses are taught. At San JosState, for example, there are critical thinking courses in the departments of Communication Studies, English, History, Linguistics and Language Development, Philosophy, and Psychology; in addition, the critical thinking requirement is among those satisfied by special lower-division courses in American Studies and Humanities. We hope to make Mission: Critical flexible enough to be of use in as many of these diverse courses as possible. By relieving the classroom instructor of the necessity for drilling, often associated especially with deductive reasoning and fallacious appeals, use of Mission: Critical will allow him or her to concentrate on the more theoretical, conceptual, and pratical issues and techniques which constitute the most efficient use of class time. Content Sample: Introduction to Vagueness and Ambiguity <http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/vague/vague.html Though seemingly synonymous in common usage, vagueness and ambiguity are entirely different but very important problems in critical thinking. Definitions A word or phrase is said to be ambiguous if it has at least two specific meanings that make sense in context. A word or phrase is said to be vague if its meaning is not clear in context. The difference, then, is a clear one: If Montgomery doesn't know what is meant by a phrase, then that phrase is vague to him. If Montgomery doesn't know which of two or more specific meanings is intended, then it is ambiguous to him. Have you seen the ad on TV about trying to quit smoking cold turkey ? Van's little sister asked her who would want to smoke cold turkey in the first place! That's a perfect example of an unintentional ambiguity and the problems it can cause. Consider this line from a help-wanted ad: Three-year-old teacher needed for pre-school. Most people think this is funny, because the ad seems to be seeking a teacher that is three years old. But the phrase is ambiguous: the ad is actually seeking a teacher for three-year-old pre-schoolers. The phrase is ambiguous because two specific and distinct meanings can be applied to it in the given context. (Notice, however, that the level of ambiguity is dependent on the terms involved. English teacher needed for pre-school would normally not be considered ambiguous, though in certan contexts it could be understood to be seeking a teacher from England. But how about Vietnamese teacher needed for pre-school ?) Vagueness, though, is a different problem. Nurse needed for pre-school is vague because there are many kinds of nurses, and the same job is certainly not open to them all: registered nurses, practical nurses, wet nurses, nannies, and so on. The problem is that the word nurse has many meanings, and so the ad's usage is vague. The more details that are supplied, the less vague a phrase will be. Registered nurse needed for pre-school would be less vague, Registered nurses with pediatric experience needed for pre-school would be even less so. <snip