WGU Critical Thinking -D265 questions
and answers
Critical thinking
primarily the ability to think carefully about thinking and reasoning—to
criticize your own reasoning. "Criticize" here is not meant in the sense
of being mean or talking down or making fun of. Instead, it is used in
the sense of, for example, how a coach might take a critical stance
toward a players' skills—he throws high every time, she does not lead
with her foot, they ride too forward in the saddle, etc. "Critical" here
means something more like "reflective," "careful," or "attentive to
potential errors."
Being curious and thinking creatively:
not believing things are simple and settled, being willing to go the next
step and think about all of the possible positions and arguments before
settling into a position.
Separating the thinker from the position:
being able to discuss a position without attacking or judging the person
holding the position, without getting caught up in our own attachment
to the position or its antithesis, and without having our identities
wrapped up in a particular viewpoint or opinion.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:
being aware of the flawed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to
engage in, being aware of cognitive biases and mental heuristics (rough
rules that work well enough to survive but don't work in many cases)
,that we're prone as a species to have, all in the interest of counteracting
these biases and flaws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: very important:
being honest about what we know and how we know it, what evidence
we have and what questions are not yet settled; being humble in
recognizing the vast number of things we don't yet know or understand
and in recognizing how very difficult it is to truly know anything at all
and so recognizing that the standards are high and we, most of the
time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and being charitable or having
the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most sophisticated
positions and arguments that we can imagine to our opponents in
arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:
thinking carefully about thinking, about arguments and positions.
Propositions
statements that can be true or false.
Non-propositions
Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or fiction).
They do not make a claim that can be true or false.
Exhort
to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on
Tuesday!
Command
, give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me
some cheese. Don't do that.
Plead/Request
ask for something from someone, often on the verge of begging.
Example Would you please stop that? Please read me a bedtime story!
Question
something asked, a statement that requires an answer Example: What is
the capital of Florida? How much do the pineapples cost?
Perform
carry out, accomplish, or fulfill (an action, task, or function) Example: I
hereby adjourn this meeting. I pronounce you husband and wife!
Simple propositions
have no internal logical structure, meaning whether they are true or
false does not depend on whether a part of them is true or false. They
are simply true or false on their own.
Complex propositions
have internal logical structure, meaning they are composed of simple
propositions. Whether they are true or false depends on whether their
parts are true or false.
Premise
is a proposition lending credence to the conclusion. It is supposed to be
a group of statements that, if you accept they are true, make the case
that you rationally must (or, weaker, should) accept the conclusion.
Bad inferential structure:
and answers
Critical thinking
primarily the ability to think carefully about thinking and reasoning—to
criticize your own reasoning. "Criticize" here is not meant in the sense
of being mean or talking down or making fun of. Instead, it is used in
the sense of, for example, how a coach might take a critical stance
toward a players' skills—he throws high every time, she does not lead
with her foot, they ride too forward in the saddle, etc. "Critical" here
means something more like "reflective," "careful," or "attentive to
potential errors."
Being curious and thinking creatively:
not believing things are simple and settled, being willing to go the next
step and think about all of the possible positions and arguments before
settling into a position.
Separating the thinker from the position:
being able to discuss a position without attacking or judging the person
holding the position, without getting caught up in our own attachment
to the position or its antithesis, and without having our identities
wrapped up in a particular viewpoint or opinion.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:
being aware of the flawed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to
engage in, being aware of cognitive biases and mental heuristics (rough
rules that work well enough to survive but don't work in many cases)
,that we're prone as a species to have, all in the interest of counteracting
these biases and flaws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: very important:
being honest about what we know and how we know it, what evidence
we have and what questions are not yet settled; being humble in
recognizing the vast number of things we don't yet know or understand
and in recognizing how very difficult it is to truly know anything at all
and so recognizing that the standards are high and we, most of the
time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and being charitable or having
the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most sophisticated
positions and arguments that we can imagine to our opponents in
arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:
thinking carefully about thinking, about arguments and positions.
Propositions
statements that can be true or false.
Non-propositions
Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or fiction).
They do not make a claim that can be true or false.
Exhort
to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on
Tuesday!
Command
, give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me
some cheese. Don't do that.
Plead/Request
ask for something from someone, often on the verge of begging.
Example Would you please stop that? Please read me a bedtime story!
Question
something asked, a statement that requires an answer Example: What is
the capital of Florida? How much do the pineapples cost?
Perform
carry out, accomplish, or fulfill (an action, task, or function) Example: I
hereby adjourn this meeting. I pronounce you husband and wife!
Simple propositions
have no internal logical structure, meaning whether they are true or
false does not depend on whether a part of them is true or false. They
are simply true or false on their own.
Complex propositions
have internal logical structure, meaning they are composed of simple
propositions. Whether they are true or false depends on whether their
parts are true or false.
Premise
is a proposition lending credence to the conclusion. It is supposed to be
a group of statements that, if you accept they are true, make the case
that you rationally must (or, weaker, should) accept the conclusion.
Bad inferential structure:
