Basic%20Critical%20Thinking%20Skills

1
Basic Critical Thinking Skills

• Essentials of Clear Thinking
• Claims and Issues

2
Notes on Claims

• A claim is a statement that is either true or
  false, though this cannot always be determined at
  any particular time.

3
Notes on Claims

• A claim is a statement that is either true or
  false, though this cannot always be determined at
  any particular time.

Claim Al Gore received a majority of the popular
vote in the 2000 election. Claim Unprotected sex
will kill you. Claim God loves us. Not a claim
Got milk?
4
Notes on Claims

• A claim is a statement that is either true or
  false, though this cannot always be determined at
  any particular time.
• Claims about matters of opinion are either
  truthful or not.
• A claim in Subjective if it depends on what
  someone thinks, believes, or feels.
• Subjective claims use personal standards.
• Objective claims are not subjective
• Objective claims use impersonal standards

5
Notes on Claims

• A claim is a statement that is either true or
  false, though this cannot always be determined at
  any particular time.
• Claims about matters of opinion are either
  truthful or not.

That color looks really good on you. One should
always tell the truth.
6
Notes on Claims

• A claim is a statement that is either true or
  false, though this cannot always be determined at
  any particular time.
• Claims about matters of opinion are either
  truthful or not.
• Accepting a claim means taking it as true.

7
Notes on Claims

• A claim is a statement that is either true or
  false, though this cannot always be determined at
  any particular time.
• Claims about matters of opinion are either
  truthful or not.
• Accepting a claim means taking it as true.
• Rejecting a claim and suspending judgment both
  evaluate logically to FALSE.

8
About claims and issues...

• Vague Sentence
• A vague sentence is ambiguous if there are just
  two or very few ways to understand a sentence.

Girls are just as good as boys. It is cold
outside.
Zoe saw the waiter with the glasses.