... The perceived “advantages” of the status-quo have an inherent cost associated with them as resistance to change can be at the cost of intellectual freedom and insight. If we are to grow as individuals, we must embrace change and the positive benefits it brings. This course, Critical Reasoning, has been quite effective in encouraging me to seek a deeper level of insight and understanding, to challenge what we believe and why. On a personal level change in my thinking has started in multiple areas. Level of Thinking Prior to this course I did not considered the level of my thinking. I have become a critic of my thinking process. The realization of being a beginning thinker has resulted in a desire to move forward to achieving the goal of being an accomplished thinker. While beginning thinkers desire to improve but lack practice, accomplished thinkers possess reasoning skills which have become natural in their daily use (Mason, 2007). I order to achieve this greater thinking level, I am trying to use time more productively in order...
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...Critical Reasoning Weaken 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 39, 41, 43, 44, 47, 52, 59, 61, 64, 70, 77, 78, 79, 81, 93, 96, 101, 102, 105, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 119, 120, 125, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 136, 137, 141, 143, 144, 146, 147, 152, 154, 157, 158, 163, 166, 168, 170, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 186, 187, 188, 191, 192, 193, 194, 196, 198, 200, 201, 203, 204. Strengthen 3, 17, 19, 23, 32, 35, 37, 46, 50, 53, 60, 66, 74, 82, 83, 87, 89, 92, 100, 108, 121, 124, 126, 140, 156, 159, 165, 184, 185, 189, 190, 197, 199. Assumption 8, 21, 36, 48, 55, 63, 68, 73, 76, 80, 103, 104, 122, 130, 139, 151, 162, 167, 171, 173, 195, 202. Inference 1, 10, 11, 15, 20, 22, 24, 25, 33, 38, 58, 62, 69, 72, 75, 88, 90, 91, 94, 95, 99, 106, 107, 115, 116, 117, 123, 135, 138, 142, 145, 150, 164, 169, 174, 175. Paradox 13, 28, 40, 45, 49, 57, 71, 84, 86, 118, 127, 133, 148, 149, 153, 160, 161, 177. Evaluate 42, 51, 56, 85, 97, 155, 172. Miscellaneous 4, 6, 34, 54, 65, 98. Critical Reasoning Weaken 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 39, 41, 43, 44, 47, 52, 59, 61, 64, 70, 77, 78, 79, 81, 93, 96, 101, 102, 105, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 119, 120, 125, 128, 129, 131, 132, 134, 136, 137, 141, 143, 144, 146, 147, 152, 154, 157, 158, 163, 166, 168, 170, 176, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 186, 187, 188, 191, 192, 193, 194, 196, 198, 200, 201, 203, 204. Strengthen 3, 17, 19, 23, 32, 35, 37, 46, 50, 53, 60, 66, 74, 82, 83, 87, 89...
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...Critical reasoning – is both active and open to alternative points of view Passive reading/listening – writing down notes in lecture, you are passive in the sense that you don’t evaluate which statements to accept and which to reject and you don’t consider the speakers pattern of reasoning. Mere disagreement – is both critical and active but is not open to alternative views. You enter with your own established beliefs already in mind. Cooperative enterprise – two people have opposing views; one person sets his beliefs aside and help the other to strengthen his argument. Critical reasoning misconceptions – it’s too rigid or linear, it supposes that there is a right and wrong point of view. Argument – reasons for believing something or acting in a certain way If the author is attempting to state what has happened, or what is the case, or what something is like, he is engaged in descriptive writing, not argumentation If he is trying to prove something by giving reasons, he is engaged in argumentative writing. Diatribe is bitter and violent criticism or invective Examples of diatribe are often found in letters to the editor, in which people tend to give vent to their strong feelings instead of backing up their opinions with arguments. Consider the following (fictitious) letter: The politicians are at it again. An election coming up, and new spending just “happens” to be needed. Name your favourite issue, and you will find money for it—health care, education, social services...
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...1.0 TOPIC 2 Critically assess the claim that it is better to enjoy your money when you earn it than saving your money for sometime in the future. It is all about the money. That is what everyone talks about these days to the extent of even having a television network like Bloomberg dedicated to it. Originally, money was created as an instrument of commerce and was universally used to the measure of value (Smith, 1937). Undeniably, money has taken a dominant place to gain access to being our basic necessity to provide a quality and way of life. It plays a special role in both our personal and social lives, exerting more power over human lives than any other single commodity (Furnham, 1998). So, it is not unusual for one to have a wrestle with the decision of whether to enjoy one’s money when one earns it or to save one’s money for sometime in the future. The statement ‘enjoy your money when you earn’ is an opinion of spending today, whereas the statement, ‘saving your money for sometime in the future’ is an opinion of saving for tomorrow. The overall statement only shows two possibilities of managing money, when in reality, there are other outcomes which include ones that lie somewhere between these two extremities. Therefore, the false dichotomy fallacy occurs. Money attitudes differ from one generation to another. For instance, our parents (generation X) were cautious and conservative in both spending and saving for future use and they influenced us to be the...
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...The program to control the entry of illegal drugs into the country was a failure in 1987. If the program had been successful, the wholesale price of most illegal drugs would not have dropped substantially in 1987. 13. The argument in the passage depends on which of the following assumptions? (A) The supply of illegal drugs dropped substantially in 1987. (B) The price paid for most illegal drugs by the average consumer did not drop substantially in 1987. (C) Domestic production of illegal drugs increased at a higher rate than did the entry of such drugs into the country. (D) The wholesale price of a few illegal drugs increased substantially in 1987. (E) A drop in demand for most illegal drugs in 1987 was not the sole cause of the drop in their wholesale price. A) Opposite. Passage implied that the supply of illegal drugs did not drop. B) Out of scope C) Out of scope D) Our of scope E) The passage implies that the whole price of drugs fell because they were not able to stop the illegal imports. So a drop in demand was not the only reason. | http://gmatclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=139&t=23306&bookmark=1 | Insurance Company X is considering issuing a new policy to cover services required by elderly people who suffer from diseases that afflict the elderly. Premiums for the policy must be low enough to attract customers. Therefore, Company X is concerned that the income from the policies would not be sufficient to pay for the claims that would be...
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...Pure Logic vs. Scientific Logic “Reasoning is an art, and reasoning about the natural world is the art that lies at the base of science” (Castel and Sismondo 55). Pure logic is “a form of reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity” (Oxford Dictionaries). In contrast, scientific logic is a form of reasoning in which a logical thought process is used to conduct experiments and research in order to reach a valid conclusion. Altogether, pure and scientific logic are different forms of reasoning used to solve everyday problems in life; yet, it is ‘scientific logic’ that is more prevalent in solving everyday problems, including critical interpretations of major problems on earth. Scientific logic is the best choice to cope with life problems in the midst of global issues; it helps facilitate our logical expertise in daily matters; it is both predictable and reliable; and on a greater scale, scientific logic helps us deal with the widespread problems on earth. With the growth of science and new emerging technologies, life is becoming more complicated, therefore relying purely on logic is insufficient. “Most of the time very little follows logically from what we know, and when we think that it does we learn that most of our knowledge consists of generalizations that don’t hold 100 percent of the time” (Castel and Sismondo 71). People live in a world of probability and because “scientific reasoning develops over time,” (Castel and Sismondo 74) they...
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...Understanding the Doctoral Research Process Julia Coy-Ybarra Northcentral University November 24, 2013 Understanding the Doctoral Research Process An obvious factor in understanding the doctoral research process is having chosen the right academy to pursue the doctorate. Other deciding factor are the reference resources that are easily accessible to the student—a Writing Center and a Library database. The ultimate decision is choosing the right specialization program. Once these are done, what follows are organization, commitment, and dedication to the doctoral process. Introduction Following university standards is the threshold to acquiring a doctorate. Hence, these standards are the Academic Integrity Guidelines, APA writing standards, understanding the function of the School of Education, and the online function of your Academic Advisor. An online commitment to pursue a Doctorate is a very solitary commitment. The process will fail to provide any personal face-to-face interaction between student and mentor, between student and advisor, bantering with colleagues, or befriending the Dean of the School in any way but grades. Consequently, the student must make a commitment and prepare for this singular or introverted activity. The Research Process Nevertheless, in order to fully understanding the research process of the doctoral process, one needs to select a topic that...
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...Session 2 The Intelligence Process Information is material of every description, including that derived from observations, surveillance, reports, rumors, and other sources. The information itself may be true or false, accurate or inaccurate, confirmed or unconfirmed, relevant or irrelevant. Although the intelligence process requires that information be stored, organized, and retrieved, the production of intelligence requires much more. Intelligence is the product resulting from the collection, evaluation and interpretation of information. Thus, intelligence can be viewed as information to which something has been added. The something added is the result of analysis—an explanation of what the information means. Intelligence may be general or specialized in nature. General intelligence focuses on a broad range of criminal activities, typically in smaller agencies or jurisdictions. Specialized intelligence focuses on a particular type of criminal activity or entity, such as narcotics, industrial espionage, or organized crime. Intelligence has both tactical and strategic applications. Tactical intelligence is directed towards a short term law enforcement objective or active case, with an immediate impact in mind—arrest, forfeiture, seizure. Strategic intelligence deals with larger, more long-term issues and goals, such as the identification of major criminal individuals or syndicates, projections of growth in types of criminal activity, and the establishment...
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...the patient was an immigrant, the patient must be poor and lack insurance. Another assumption Becca made was that since the patient was Chinese, the patient was non-English speaking and overweight. Lastly, she assumed, based on her previous encounters, that the patient was diabetic and poorly controlled. Assumptions can lead to stereotypes and unfair judgments about individuals. Some of Becca’s assumptions are cultural stereotypes, such as immigrants being poor and lacking insurance and the Chinese being unable to speak English. Even though Becca was well meaning, her stereotypes did not serve her or her patient. Deductive reasoning uses general information to come to a specific conclusion. This is one ingredient of critical thinking skills used by nurses to form nursing judgments and make decisions on plans of care. Becca used deductive reasoning in this situation based on her previous encounter with Chinese diabetic patients. However, Becca’s assumptions and stereotypes were incorrect and thus lead her to a false conclusion. Stereotyping affects the nurse and the patient and results in unequal treatment. Nurses who engage in stereotyping will be unable to see their patient as a unique individual because of the distortion stereotypes create. Stereotypes become barriers to appropriate, individualized nursing care, which leads to poor patient outcomes. Patients who have been stereotyped will be more distrustful of the healthcare industry. They then may withhold information...
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... Critical Thinking Is Understanding “Which form of human thinking is preferable: knowledge or understanding?” In order to examine this question, a close look at the concepts of knowledge and understanding must take place. The first task is to define the two parts of thinking, both knowledge and understanding. In the simplest terms, knowledge is facts and understanding is meaning that is given to those facts. However, there is objectivity and subjectivity to consider in relation to both knowledge and understanding. First, knowledge can be considered more objective because it is raw facts, and not subject to a person’s interpretation of facts or what the knowledge “means.” This is because what the knowledge “means” will be different for different people. In other words, understanding is subjective because it is based on a person’s unique human emotions, opinions and judgments. This is how understanding is interpreted for the person, and how raw knowledge is turned into something more meaningful for the person who learns a new fact. It can be argued that understanding will always require some level of subjectivity. What this means is a fact can not be fully “understood” unless it is put through the filter of a person’s own experience. This is naturally a subjective process. However, without knowledge, understanding could not occur. It is clear that both types of human thinking are important to human development and advancing society that is based on critical reasoning...
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...Goals for improving Critical thinking Hello, today I am going to be talking about my personal goals for improving my critical thinking First of all, critical thinking is the process of applying reasoned and disciplined reasoning to a subject Some goals I would like to meet so as to improve my critical thinking are (i) making use of wasted time (ii) solving a problem a day and; (iii) keeping an intellectual journal Some of the elements of Reasoning I used to formulate these goals include (i) Question at issue – in using this element, I questioned how I had been spending my days, what I had being spending my days doing and how I could make better use of my time. (ii) Purpose of thinking, information, concept and inference – with these elements, I set up goals to solve a question a day, figured out the information I needed to seek, came up with theories and conclusions for my problem (iii) Question at issue, point of view, implication and consequence, and inference – in using these elements, I wrote in my journal about a situation that was emotionally significant to me, my response to the situation, analyzed the situation, and assessed the implication for my analysis. In making better use of my time, I plan to keep a record of my observations of wasted time so that I can recognize and see what exactly I am doing. Hopefully as time passes, i will notice patterns in my thinking. With solving problems a day, I know that the more problems I solve...
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...The Case Study PSYC 210: Developmental Psychology Spring D 2015 Antonio Robinson L270221508 APA In the case study presented, a situation was highlighted in which a child’s impulsivity caused a deadly outcome to occur. Observance of behavioral experiments and theories, over the years, has given the understanding that a child’s behavior is influenced by what they see, hear, and are taught from other children and adults. As brain functioning develops, children learn how to process simple thoughts and emotions into more complex reasoning skills. They will also become more experienced, thoughtful, and less impulsive as they mature. Children will experience multiple stages of development and growth until they finally reach adulthood. In the case of the 6 year old mentioned above, the child cannot be held responsible for the crime that was committed because the factors that determine brain development and functioning have not fully matured. Legally, no child under the age of 7 can be held accountable for their actions until all of the biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial portions of brain and behavioral functioning have fully matured. First of all, the biosocial aspect of development in early childhood relates to brain development and thought processes. A majority of the brain is already present and operational by age 2 (Berger, 2014, p.219), however, the prefrontal cortex of the brain is considered to be the last part to mature. This region of the brain helps with...
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...Critical Reasoning Battle Analysis: Bay of Pigs This paper will cover the Bay of Pigs failed invasion. It will provide a brief background on the actual events and the intelligence failures. It will also cover what could have been done to help achieve victory from an intelligence stand point and the new outcome of the battle had these practices taken place. Background Battle Analysis In October 1959, President Eisenhower gave approval for covert planning to overthrow Castro, a perceived communist threat to the U.S. The planning of the invasion of the Bay of Pigs took approximately one and a half years and had multiple phases. Besides overthrowing Castro a major part of the plan was to ensure it did not look like the United States of America had any part in overthrow. The first part of the plan was to recruit exiled Cubans and train them to fight and launch an...
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...rewards concise language. You can usually group and eliminate many wrong answers at a time on Sentence Correction problems. Ignore information that has nothing to do with the answer. Sentence = subject + verb Out of scope answers are never mentioned in the passage. They draw on outside information. Be wary of extreme/universal answer choices. Reading comp questions focus on structural, rather than factual, questions. Logic questions ask about *why*, not *what*. In Reading Comp, there are about 14 questions spread across 4 passages. Watch out for out of scope or opposite answers. When the conclusion is a plan or a prediction, strengthen the conclusion by showing that the plan will work. There are 11 critical reasoning questions on the verbal section. Do not neglect the verbal section! C(n, k) = n! / (n - k)! * k! Order doesn't matter = combinatoins P(n, k) = n! / (n - k)! Order matters = permutations Sum of the differences from the mean = 0. This is the "balancing averages" approach. Average = sum of terms / number of terms When you see proportions, think cross multiplication. Pick numbers to turn abstract algebra into concrete arithmetic. Always consider Statements 1 and 2 separately before combining information. Do not assume that variables are always positive! There are about 15 data sufficiency questions on the test. Take about 2 minutes per question. Quant = data sufficiency + problem solving Scaled...
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...Critical Thinking Notes for Quiz 1)Collection of Information Skill and defination | Why important | How | Question to ask | a) Identifying assumption: Recognizing when something is taken for granted or presented as fact without supporting evidence (e.g., you might assume a woman on a maternity unit has just had a baby) | By identifying assumptions, you begin to apply logic to the situation and avoid jumping to conclusions and making errors in judgment. | To identify assumptions, make sure that you have a complete picture of what's going on with the patient | What's being taken for granted here?” and “How do I know that I've got the facts right?” | b)Assessing systematically and comprehensively: Using an organized, systematic approach that enhances your ability to discover all the information needed to fully understand a person's health status (e.g., What are the actual and potential problems? What needs aren't being met? What are the person's strengths and resources?) | Having an organized approach to assessment prevents you from forgetting something Use both subjective and objective data | You must decide the purpose of your assessment and use an approach that gets the information needed to achieve your purpose. For example, medical assessments focus on identifying diseases or organ or system problems, rather than problems with human responses or activities of daily living | What infor I Need to know in order to treat this person?What would be my approach for this...
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