Asking the Right Questions A Guide to Critical Thinking, 10E Solution Manuals

Type:

Soltuion Manual

Resource:

Asking the Right Questions A Guide to Critical Thinking

Edition:

10th Edition

Author(s):

M. Neil Browne Stuart M. Keeley

INSTRUCTOR’S MANUAL to accompany

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS A Guide to Critical Thinking Tenth Edition

Neil Browne Bowling Green State University Stuart Keeley Bowling Green State University

Email: richard@qwconsultancy.com

Table of Contents Instructor Resource Center MyCompLab™ PearsonCompPro™

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Section I: Note to the Instructor and Beginning Hints for Teaching with Asking the Right Questions What Are Good Sources For Practice Passages?

Useful Websites for Practice Exercises Other Resource Material Coping with Student Resistance to Critical Thinking Answers to Commonly Asked Student Questions

1 4 5 6 8 8

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Section II: Practical Tips for Teaching Critical Thinking Behavior Introduction Quotes that Reflect ARQ Authors’ Teaching Values Teaching Maxims for Incorporating Critical Thinking into the Classroom Sample Student Engagement Strategies Teaching Behavior and Attitudes to Avoid

10 10 11 15 16

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Section III: Chapter by Chapter Teaching Tips Introduction Some Context for Choosing Assignments

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Chapter 1: The Benefit and Manner of Asking the Right Questions Chapter Topics 20 General Teaching Comments 20 Discussion Questions 20 Assignments 22

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Chapter 2: What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 2

24 24 24 24 25 26 26

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Chapter 3: What Are the Reasons?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 3

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28 28 29 29 30 31

32

Chapter 4: What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Student Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 4

32 32 34 34 35 36

Chapter 5: What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Related to Finding Value Assumptions Assignments Related to Identification of Value Assumptions Writing Exercises for Practice in Identifying Value Assumptions Further Discussion Questions Further Assignments to Help Students Identify Assumptions Writing Exercises for Practice in Identifying Descriptive Assumptions Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 4

46 49

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Chapter 6: Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 6

50 50 51 51 53 53

Chapter 7: How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Case Examples, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 7

57 57 57 59 60 60 60

Chapter 8: How Good is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, Case Examples, and Analogies?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments (for Chapters 8 and 9) Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 8

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39

39 39 41 42 43 45 45

62 62 64 64 65 67

62

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Chapter 9: Are There Rival Causes?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 9

70 70 71 72 73 75

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Chapter 10: Are the Statistics Deceptive?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Assignments Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 10

77 77 78 78 79 81

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Chapter 11: What Significant Information Is Omitted?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions

83 83 83

Assignments

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Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Practice Exercise 3 from Chapter 11

84 85

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Chapter 12: What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?

Chapter Topics General Teaching Comments Discussion Questions Writing Exercises Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 12

86 86 87 88 89

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Section IV: Sample Student Critical Thinking Papers Introduction

90

Student Midterm Papers Teacher Instructions for Model Midterm Paper Criteria for Grading Student Midterm Paper #1 Student Midterm Paper #2

92 93 94 101

Student Final Papers Teacher Instructions for Final Paper Criteria for Grading Student Final Paper # 1 Student Final Paper # 2 Student Final Paper # 3

105 106 107 116 125

92

105

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132

Section V. Short Articles for Analysis Introduction Suggested Articles: Emphasizing Identifying the Reasoning Structure and Assumptions (Chapters 1–7) Suggested Articles: Emphasizing Evaluating of Evidence Suggested Articles: Application of Full Range of Critical Questions

132 132 134 136

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Section VI: Lengthy Articles for Analysis Several Internet Sites Useful for Selecting Lengthy Articles Long and Short: Broad Application of Chapters Application of First Six Chapters Application of “How Good Is the Evidence?”

Application of Full Range of Questions Sample of contemporary articles included in a set of 30 contemporary readings in Asking the Right Questions with Readings, Browne, M.N. and Keeley, S.M. Prentice-Hall, 2011.

Pair of Articles in Conflict

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138 138 139 140 140 143 143

Instructor Resource Center GETTING REGISTERED To register for the Instructor Resource Center, go to www.pearsonhighered.com and click “Educators.”

1. Click “Download teaching resources for your text” in the blue welcome box.

2. Request access to download digital supplements by clicking the “Request Access” link. s Follow the provided instructions. Once you have been verified as a valid Pearson instructor, an instructor code will be emailed to you. Please use this code to set up your Pearson login name and password. After you have set up your username and password, proceed to the directions below.

DOWNLOADING RESOURCES 1. Go to http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator and use the “Search our catalog” option to find your text. You may search by Author, Title, or ISBN.

2. Select your text from the provided results.

3. After being directed to the catalog page for your text, click the Instructor Resources link located under the Resources tab.

Clicking the Instructor Resources link will provide a list of all of the book-specific print and digital resources for your text below the main title. Items available for download will have a icon.

4. Click on the View Downloadable Files link next to the resource you want to download.

A pop-up box will appear showing which files you have selected to download. Once you select the files, you will be prompted to login with an Instructor Resource Center login.

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5. Enter you login name and password, and click the “Submit” button.

6. Read the terms and conditions and then click the “I accept” button to begin the download process.

7.

“Save” the supplement file to a folder you can easily find again.

Once you are signed into the IRC, you may continue to download additional resources from our online catalog.

Please “Sign Out” when you are finished.

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What is MyCompLab™?

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How Do Students Register?

“It is easy to get started! Simply follow these easy steps to get into your MyCompLab™ course.”

Find Your Access Code (it is either packaged with your textbook, or you purchased it separately). You will need this access code and your CLASS ID to log into your MyCompLab™ course. Your instructor has your CLASS ID number, so make sure you have that before logging in.

When you are ready to log in, click on Students

Type www.mycomplab.com in your Web browser. Click on “Students” in the “Register or Buy Access” field on the left side of the screen.

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3) Click “I already have an access code.” Here you will be prompted to enter your access code, enter your e-mail address, and choose your own Login Name and Password. Once you register, you can click on “Returning Users” and use your new login name and password every time you go back into your course in MyCompLab™.

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More on Registering

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Resources MyCompLab™ provides Resources topics in writing, grammar, and research. These Resources are available to all users of MyCompLab™, whether you are working on your own or in an instructor's course.

Each topic includes instructional, multimedia, and/or exercise resources.

•

Instructional resources define concepts and provide examples of the concept. For some instructional resources, a QuickCheck appears at the end of an instruction. A QuickCheck is one or two questions or examples, and you select the correct answer or example.

MyCompLab™ then displays a pop-up identifying whether your answer is correct or incorrect and why.

For eBook courses, the instructional resource list also has a link to the relevant section in the eBook.

•

Multimedia resources, when available, are typically audio clips or videos that reinforce a concept. The multimedia resources include animated and narrated tutorials that range from grammar topics, strategies for developing a draft, guidelines on peer reviews, and tutorials on avoiding plagiarism to deciding on the topic for a paper. Interactive annotated Model Documents are also included.

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Exercises provide you with the opportunity to practice and apply what you have learned.

MyCompLab™ provides immediate feedback to your answers, letting you know whether your answer is correct or incorrect, which answer is correct, and why that answer is correct. MyCompLab™ also provides refresher resources to further reinforce the concept.

The results of these exercises are logged in your Gradebook’s Practice Results.

Most topics have multiple sets of exercises to provide extensive practice. However, once you complete all the exercises for a topic, MyCompLab™ displays a Take Again link so you have the option of reworking a topic's exercises. The score you get when you retake the exercises replaces the original score.

TIP: A topic's exercises can be recommended by MyCompLab™ based on the results of a diagnostic assignment or by your instructor when commenting on your writing submissions.

MyCompLab™ organizes instruction, multimedia, and exercise content by topic. However, you also have access to a Media Index that organizes the content by type (for example, all videos in one list).

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PearsonCompPro™

PEARSON Composition Professional Development

Valuable for both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking for fresh ideas for teaching as well as grant and publishing opportunities, the hallmarks of this site are the eLectures and video workshops presented by experienced teachers and scholars in composition. As a whole, the eLectures series is aimed at cultivating students’ sense of themselves as writers and fostering their abilities to research, draft, collaborate, review and revise effectively; many of the lectures speak to these issues directly. Other topics include writing in the digital age; creating and deploying meaningful and accurate assessments; using ePortfolios and service learning to reach beyond the classroom, and addressing diverse student needs.

From the CompPro™ site, you can also: view archived sessions of Speaking about Composition, our online professional development conference series for English; read new and archived editions (as well as submission guidelines) of the peer-reviewed Open Words journal; find information about and access to grant opportunities, training resources, technology and media products and Pearson's Professional Development in Composition book series.

Visit PearsonCompPro™ for practical teaching ideas, instructional support materials, and opportunities to share your own expertise! own expertise!

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Section I Note to the Instructor and Beginning Hints for Teaching with Asking the Right Questions, Tenth Edition Note to the Instructor This Instructors Teaching Manual reflects ideas about teaching strategies for facilitating the extremely important learning skill of critical thinking, which have evolved as a function of many years of teaching critical thinking in our classrooms (a combined 60plus years between the two of us), conversations with our students, interactions with leaders in the critical thinking movement, and core readings in the field of teaching and critical thinking. We are continually looking for effective ways for teachers to help students incorporate lifelong effective questioning skills and learning attitudes. Our hope is that the teaching tips suggested in this manual will provide teachers with helpful insights for achieving such goals.

Research on educational outcomes for college students continues to suggest that too few college students exit college with high levels of critical thinking skills. For example, the recent book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses authored by Richard Arum and Jospia Roksa has concluded from a very ambitious study that many college students are not learning to think critically. Although the conclusions from this book have been quite controversial, most critics agree that the book highlights a problem that needs to be addressed, and our own experiences in the educational field over the years convince us that, in general, insufficient attention has been devoted to explicit teaching of critical thinking skills in the classroom. The enthusiastic response over the years of so many teachers to their use of Asking the Right Questions has convinced us that increasing numbers of teachers are highly motivated to make critical thinking an important aspect of their teaching. This Instructors Manual is meant to help such teachers in their quest for that goal.

A central premise in our teaching philosophy is that students need to become aware of the most productive critical thinking questions, and the best way for them to internalize the habit of asking such questions is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE SOME MORE by applying such questions in deciding what to believe in their lives. The teacher’s manual stresses the role of practice in suggesting teaching strategies and providing teaching resources for using Asking the Right Questions as one option for educating their students in critical thinking skills.

The Teaching Manual consists of six sections. The first section of the manual provides beginning general hints for teaching with Asking the Right Questions. Section II focuses on practical teaching tips based on some basic assumptions about some of the best ways to succeed as a teacher of critical thinking. In that section we highlight Teaching Maxims for success. Section III focuses on teaching strategies and resources for each specific chapter of the book, emphasizing discussion questions and assignments.

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Each chapter includes EXTRA SHORT ARGUMENTS FOR ANALYSIS with sample feedback from the authors, as well as sample model responses for the Passage 3 short argument presented at the end of chapters in Asking the Right Questions.

Section IV provides sample critical analyses of lengthy articles completed by some of our most capable students, which serve as a model for applying many or all of the questions to such articles. These analyses give you, the teacher, an opportunity to have students show what they can do with their critical thinking skills after working through sections of the Asking the Right Questions, essentially a response to “see what I can do with my critical thinking skills.”

Sections V and VI provide sample essay arguments addressing controversial issues. These articles are made available in Asking the Right Questions for teachers who may be looking for articles to supplement the practice exercises in. Section V stresses briefer articles, and Section VI emphasizes lengthier articles.

The authors of Asking the Right Questions encourage you to share thoughts with us with in regard to what you think of the Instructors Teacher Manual. We invite comments and questions, and these should be sent to Stuart Keeley at skeeley@bgsu.edu.

Beginning Hints for Teaching with Asking the Right Questions, Tenth Edition We intentionally wrote Asking the Right Questions (ARQ) so that it could be used in many different learning situations. Many teachers have used it as the basic text for courses that strive to teach core critical thinking skills that can be applied across many content domains. Others have used it as a supplemental text to integrate critical thinking skills with the goals of their discipline-specific courses. For example, ARQ has been used by teachers in English, psychology, sociology, anthropology, history, legal studies, criminal justice, business law, economics, and other discipline-oriented classes.

Many strategies can be used to infuse the critical thinking questions into discipline specific courses. One possibility is to incorporate into your syllabus a new chapter of ARQ each week, or perhaps insert several joint chapters at various times, and then to gradually require more application of critical thinking skills to assignments as the semester progresses. Another strategy is to get the reading of relevant ARQ chapters accomplished in the first few weeks of the course by assigning blocks of chapters during the first few weeks. The advantage of this approach is that it helps you encourage students to supply a coherent, holistic set of questioning skills through a greater segment of your course. There are a number of other uses of ARQ that you might want to implement, depending on how you wish to emphasize critical thinking in your class.

We restricted the scope of the book to those critical skills that are necessary for personal decision making, regardless of the topic being analyzed. Following are some general suggestions that should prove useful in whatever use you make of the book.

The most fundamental teaching suggestion we can offer is to make essential the role of ACTIVE PRACTICE. We have found that the most efficient use of instructional time consists of brief lectures on and instructor modeling of a thinking skill, active questioning 2 .

and lengthy discussions, written practice assignments, and immediate instructor feedback.

We have found that giving frequent written assignments can accelerate the acquisition of the skills found in ARQ. “Think aloud” demonstrations in which the instructor talks through her thinking at a very basic beginning level and ties such thinking to hints in ARQ are especially helpful.

Videotaping such demonstrations of the active thinking process and making the videos available to the students also has potential teaching value.

Practice assignments are effective only to the extent that teachers explicitly indicate which skills they wish students to demonstrate, when the skills were displayed accurately, and when errors were made. One helpful type of feedback is to provide students with copies of exercise assignments that were completed competently. An exemplary model prepared by their instructor or one of their peers frequently facilitates learning. Having the students verbalize how their answer and the model differ is also useful.

Another general suggestion is to constantly remind students as they progress through the skills in ARQ that all the critical thinking skills have a common purpose—to facilitate evaluation and personal decision making. In our experience, students frequently see skills as unrelated. For instance, the discovery of ambiguity and identification of statistical flaws often strike students as independent activities unified primarily by their difficulty.

Yet, if the skills are to be optimally useful to readers, they must see the unity inherent in the set of skills. Each skill is a technique for attaining the same objective—a reasoned personal opinion.

If the critical thinking skills can be seen by students as a mode of thinking, with each skill doing its part in achieving the overall objective of rational decision making, there is a greater chance that the skills will become part of the students’ habits of thinking rather than a game to be played to please a particular teacher.

What type of materials work best for practice? Short essays work particularly well, especially in the early stages of the course, before students are starting to put all their questions together more holistically. Such essays minimize the time spent reading and maximize the time spent analyzing and writing. Furthermore, the briefer the essay, the more likely it will be that the student will not mistake the purpose of the exercise by focusing on the informational content of the essay rather than on the quality of its formulation.

Naturally enough, those essays that discuss topics of intrinsic interest to students and topics about which students are somewhat knowledgeable are desirable. When faced with unfamiliar topics, they are particularly unable to discover ambiguities, assumptions, and omitted information.

We tend to alternate between the use of single essays taking a particular point of view and multiple essays taking different positions on the same question (such as might be provided by the Congressional Digest and the McGraw-Hill Press Taking Sides: clashing 3 .

views series). Each has its advantages. Single essays take less time to digest and best simulate the context in which critical reading skills will most often be used. Rarely will readers encounter multiple perspectives on a topic in a single setting.

Multiple essays are especially useful when the student is unfamiliar with the topic. If students have several perspectives on an issue, they become familiar with its substance and complexity. In addition, multiple articles stimulate the development of alternative inferences from the strong reasons, because those who read the alternative arguments acquire a greater appreciation for the fact that there are always more than “both sides” to an issue. An important goal of critical thinking is to discourage dichotomous, either-or thinking and to encourage the tolerance of grays in the face of the human tendency to see issues through a black versus white filter.

What Are Good Sources for Practice Passages?

If a necessary requirement for students to become competent critical thinkers is to practice the skills, then they need something on which to practice them. Thus, teachers must give much thought to their choices of practice materials. If you’re using ARQ in a discipline-specific class, then one obvious source of practice material is the textbooks that you have selected. Many teachers find, however, that it is desirable for students to respond to materials other than their textbooks. If you’re using ARQ as the main text in a general critical thinking class, such as a first year course in critical thinking, you will probably want to carefully consider a wide variety of materials for possible practice exercises, in addition to the opportunities provided by the ARQ text.

Whether you are using ARQ as a primary text for a critical thinking class or as a supplementary text for another course, we recommend that you use the chapter practice exercises as a starting point for student practice, and then use a variety of other materials to help the students develop and generalize their skills.

Many teachers who use ARQ tell us that they would like suggestions about auxiliary materials they might use for providing thinking practice for their students. The purpose of this section therefore is to provide some ideas about possible practice material sources for you to consider other than your textbooks.

One easily accessed practice source is the student Website, located at http://prenhall.com/ browne. We have designed the newly revised Prentice-Hall ARQ student Website so that it provides many opportunities for students to practice on their own, in addition to the practice exercises at the end of the ARQ chapters. We have included both brief and lengthy passages, including passages that we have constructed and passages written by our students. For each chapter, students can apply to the passages the critical thinking skills emphasized in that chapter; and once they have responded, they can then compare their response with model responses that demonstrate the requisite skills. This format has the major learning benefit of providing immediate performance feedback.

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A second, rich source of materials for teachers to use in conjunction with teaching the ARQ skills is the Internet. We list some of our favorite sites below. Many additional useful essays on controversial topics can be easily accessed from the Web by scanning search engines such as Google or Yahoo, which are two of our favorites for locating practice source material.

Useful Websites for Practice Exercises There are many places to which teachers can turn for material to use in class that can provide students with an opportunity to practice their critical thinking skills. We have listed sites below that provide teachers with abundant material for student learning exercises. We recommend that you check out some of these and select materials that fit your own teaching needs.

1. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ This is a great site for keeping up with diverse contemporary conversations and debates. The site can link you to many possible resources, such as columnists, editorial pages, front pages, political sites, talk radio and recent polls and surveys.

The homepage should strike you as a smorgasbord of options for possible use in class.

2. http://youdebate.com/ While providing good access to materials related to a wide range of issues, this site’s thoroughness varies greatly. You will primarily be able to link to a mix of statements of pro and con arguments on an issue, often accompanied by recent relevant facts related to the issue. Debates are organized in categories, within which are subcategories. If you need short argument examples, this is an excellent source.

3. http://thisIbelieve.org Hundreds of short arguments broadcast on National Public Radio by people from all over the world and from all walks of life. Includes both text and Podcasts. Includes expression of ideas and values that your students will find very engaging, whether or not they agree with the positions taken.

4. http://www.google.com/talks/authors/index.html Authors discuss recently published books on YouTube. Can have students identify and analyze arguments within the videos. Excellent opportunity for students to get acquainted with influential writers and their ideas and at same time apply their critical thinking skills to the ideas.

5. http://nytimes.com Daily access to opinion essays on controversial topics. Especially good source for essays on Health, Scientific Research (see Tuesday issues), and Politics.

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6. http://www.opinionsource.com Efficient way to scan op-eds and diverse topics without having to go to the original resources. Focus is on New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

7. http://speakout.com/activism/issues/ This is a highly informative Website that presents information in a variety of forms and lengths and encourages its audience to actively react to issues of interest. It’s an excellent source for students to evaluate surveys and also to directly express their own opinions. The site organizes information into topics and sub-topics and covers many relevant controversial social issues.

8. http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/ If you want to stimulate critical discussion about the paranormal, the supernatural, the occult, suburban myths, or the pseudoscientific, you will find a lot of useful material at this site.

9. http://www.ontheissues.org/Issues.htm Gives one quick access to the views and arguments of political leaders on variety of controversies. Click on topic links to political leaders’ views on that topic.

10. http://www.huffingtonpost.com and http://www.drudgereport.com Two of the most popular blogs on the Web. 11. http://www.procon.org Excellent source for accessing both sides of controversies. Site states goal as: “Promoting critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan primarily pro-con format.”

12. http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes Links to Internet on social controversies.

Other Resource Material For those who prefer print material, several sources are particularly fruitful for the kinds of exercise materials advocated above. Newspaper editorial and op-ed pages are especially fertile stimuli. The essays are concise, tendentious, and typically understandable to students. Also, they are now easily accessible on the Internet. Readers’ letters to the editor also expose students to strongly held diverse viewpoints. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal remain excellent sources for materials useful for critical thinking practice. Magazines are also a good practice resource. For example, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and Psychology Today provide secondary source articles on contemporary issues and trends, often including much statistical data, which can provide helpful student practice activity.

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Journals of opinion, such as The Progressive, the New Republic, Nation, National Review, and American Spectator are rich sources for political essays. Congressional Digest is a good place to look for arguments from multiple perspectives on a given topic.

Each issue is devoted to a single topic and contains quotations from the testimony of assorted politicians and experts on that topic. The Chronicle of Higher Education is an excellent source of thought-provoking essays that students can relate to. McGraw-Hill Press has a series of Taking Sides books on issues across many disciplines, including Business Ethics, U.S. History, Political Issues, Science, Technology and Society, Social Issues, and others. This series provides you with the opportunity to expose your students to the arguments of leading figures in relevant disciplines, as each book presents pro and con articles related to current controversies. In addition, Greenhaven Press has books and pamphlets with opposing viewpoints on dozens of subjects (see http://www.gale.cengage. com/greenhaven/).

Each discipline has journals that are accessible to students and can be used as a source for both essays to evaluate and examples of well-reasoned analysis. An exercise we have found useful in critical thinking classes and highly recommend is to have students spend several hours in the recent periodicals section of the college library scanning the kinds of arguments used in various journals. Such a search greatly broadens their perspectives concerning the nature of arguments made by professionals in the disciplines and how argument presentations differ across disciplines. The activity also reminds students that there are other valuable places other than the Internet to find useful information.

In contrast to journal articles by “the experts,” student position papers from earlier assignments or prior classes offer practice material written in the student’s own vernacular and may provide for some students a spark of relevance they fail to find in materials from sources they do not recognize.

An excellent resource text for lengthy arguments is John Arthur’s Morality and Moral Controversies. Also, if you are looking for short compendiums of pro and con arguments on numerous controversial topics, Daniel Starer’s book Hot Topics is a good source. This book lists four or five of the most common arguments used on each side of an issue, rather than presenting full essays. This format makes it especially useful for providing students with practice in identifying value conflicts. They can quickly examine the reasons on each side of an issue and then try to decipher what values underlie them.

Those teachers who would like their students to focus on critical evaluation of oral presentations, as well as written essays, also have a number of appropriate sources available. Talk show programs are frequently productive sources for exposing students to alternative arguments and value preferences. For example, the Public Broadcasting System, as well as news networks, regularly carry programs in which spokespersons for various points of view try to convince listeners of the propriety of the arguments.

Television shows like Frontline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, Dateline, 20-20, and 60 Minutes can all provide students with good practice in applying their developing critical thinking skills. Observing viewpoints by political commentators on television

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networks, such as Fox and MSNBC, which tend to differ on their perspectives on controversial issues, provides useful stimulus for practicing critical thinking skills.

Much of what is “in print” can now also be accessed in video form. Podcasts have become increasingly popular, and they provide an excellent opportunity for students to analyze arguments presented in visual form.

Coping with Student Resistance to Critical Thinking When teachers emphasize critical thinking in their teaching, or teach a critical thinking course, they often run into a gap between their goals and the students’ goals. The “gift” they think they are giving may not be immediately perceived as a gift by those receiving it.

Critical thinking requires an emphasis on active learning and questioning, as well as openness to criticism, multiple points of view, and uncertainty. Many students want teachers to give them THE answers—not questions. A critical thinking orientation places more responsibility on students for their learning than many may be used to.

Most of us most of the time, teachers and students alike, prefer comfort to discomfort.

Yet hearing multiple sides of arguments, having someone question our beliefs or point out flaws in our arguments, and generally learning different ways of thinking can be uncomfortable experiences that raise levels of frustration and anxiety.

For the above and other reasons, your use of ARQ in the classroom may lead to resistance (student behavior that hinders their critical thinking development) from your students, which can be discouraging. Because of the commonality of such resistance, we recommend that you read the following article, which provides a number of potentially helpful suggestions: Keeley, S.M., Shemberg, K.M., Cowell, B.S., and Zinnbauer, B.J. (1995). Coping with Student Resistance to Critical Thinking. College Teaching, 43, #4, pp. 140–145. # Connection of Interest. Value of discomfort. “In Life of the Closed Mind,” Anna Quindlen in Newsweek, May 30, 2005, provides a good reminder of the value of discomfort in learning, as well as the value of exploring the views of those with whom we disagree. Article can be found at: https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/pdf/QuindlenClosedMind.pdf

Answers to Commonly Asked Student Questions At the Student ARQ Website, we have included a section for each chapter in which we have supplied answers to questions that students often ask about material in the ARQ text.

Many of your students may have these or similar questions, and thus you may find it

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helpful in relating to your students concerns about learning critical thinking skills to check out these student/instructor “dialogues” on the Website.

You will find the questions and answers on the student Website under “Authors Answer Student Questions.”

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Section II Practical Tips for Teaching Critical Thinking Behavior Introduction Critical thinking is hard work! It is a very different mental activity than reproducing what one has read or heard. It is something that few students (or members of the public at large) have had much training in doing. Most of us know how to memorize or how to try to understand what others have written or said. But thinking critically does not seem to be a process in which most of us are naturally “wired” to engage. Thus, we need an extra shove to overcome what is for many a natural resistance. It is much easier to be a “sponge” learner than a habitual questioner, a learning style necessary for successful critical thinking. And for teachers, it is usually much easier and less of a hassle to be a lecturer or information dispenser than to use active learning, inquiry oriented pedagogy.

The authors of ARQ have spent most of their teaching years influenced greatly by an underlying belief that perhaps the most beneficial gift that we can give our students is the desire to be curious and to question, and along with that desire, the acquisition of questioning skills. In putting these values into practice over the years, we have learned many lessons about infusing such values into our teaching practice. In this section, we share with you what we believe to be some of the most important practical steps teachers can take to help their students become engaged as critical thinkers in the classroom and to leave our classrooms with the disposition to be lifelong critical thinkers. We do this by first listing some teaching of critical thinking maxims that we’ve culled from our experiences and then elaborating further on the meaning of these maxims and some practical strategies that naturally emerge from them.

Quotes that Reflect ARQ Authors’ Teaching Values “The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people.”

—Eric Hoffer “Once you have learned how to ask questions, relevant and appropriate and substantial questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know.”

—Neil Postman, Teaching as Subversive Activity Isidor I. Rabi was a nuclear physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1944 for his work on atomic nuclei. When someone asked him how he grew up to be a physicist, he told this story: 10 .

“When all his friends growing up in Brooklyn came home from school their mothers asked them, ‘So, what did you learn today?’ But not his mother.

When he came home, his mother asked, ‘Izy, did you ask a good question today?’” (from John Barrell’s Teaching for Thoughtfulness).

“The pupil who is never required to do what he cannot do never does what he can do.”

—John Stuart Mill

Teaching Maxims for Incorporating Critical Thinking into the Classroom Below is a series of “lessons learned” from our experiences in teaching critical thinking in our classrooms over many years, as well as from exposure to critical thinking conferences and much literature in the areas of critical thinking and active learning. They are most relevant to those who are teaching critical thinking courses, but the ideas should also be applicable to discipline specific courses that stress active learning and critical thinking as important classroom goals. We first present them in brief “maxim” form. The maxims then serve as stimuli for further discussion of specific teaching behaviors and attitudes.

• Learning is not a spectator sport o Active rather than passive learning o No impression without expression o Extensive practice opportunities o Frequent questioning o Frequent writing assignments o Many collaborative activities o Active listening and note taking

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• Less is more o Less coverage, more depth o Less lecturing, more questioning and exploring o Long periods of thinking and wait time o More frequent feedback of ongoing student learning o More emphasis on relations among ideas • All that glitters is not gold o High and clear standards and expectancies o Reinforcement of positive behaviors o Teaching small group skills • It’s not what students ARE, but what they can BECOME o Shift emphasis from providing instruction to producing learning o Think long-term impact o Promote student self-responsibility o Avoid counterproductive enabling; you’re not running for prom queen or king o Challenge students o Emphasize transfer of learning Learning is not a spectator sport

Critical thinking is a skill. Learning skills requires active engagement, not passive observation. Tennis players, football players, musicians, and other performers need to practice their skills in order to truly learn them. Students want us as teachers to do most of the work and to entertain and amuse them in the process. Studies of student engagement show that large numbers of students show up for class without any pre-class preparation and still manage to get good grades. What can we do to move students from spectators to participants?

First, we can change from a “sage on the stage” to a “guide on the side” orientation. We need to design our classes so that the students get out of the bleachers and on to the playing field. Students need to move from a passive to an active, engaged orientation in the classroom. One way to facilitate this move is to design the seating in the room so that students are facing one another—not solely facing the teacher. Circular or semi-circular seating is a desirable starting point for engaged learning. In addition, classes need to be designed such that students need to come to class prepared. Making the completion of homework essential to any class discussion greatly facilitates this goal.

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Second, as athletes and musicians learn best when they have to practice their skills, students learn best when they have to EXPRESS their own ideas; and we really don’t know how well our students are learning until we see evidence of their own thinking, either through writing or speaking exercises. This means asking them many questions and also having them ask both teacher and fellow students many questions. For example, the teacher needs to frequently ask students, “What was your understanding of what I just explained to you?” or “What is your understanding of what your classmate just said?” or “Can you think of a question to ask your classmate that would help him gain a better understanding of that point?”

We cannot assume that because we have shared a wonderfully insightful idea that our students have “gotten it.” Asking students, “Does everyone understand?” is much less productive than asking students, “Tell me what you understood me to say?” Until students have EXPRESSED their ideas, they have not yet owned the ideas.

AVOID GIVING ANSWERS PREMATURELY! When a student asks a question that makes you think, let the student share in the thinking process by asking, “What questions do we need to answer to help answer your question? Or, “What do we need to know before we can answer that question?

Teaching practices that encourage student expression of ideas include requiring many writing assignments, encouraging collaborative learning opportunities both within and outside the classroom, reinforcing student questioning behavior and making active listening and note-taking highly valued class activities. For example, we have found that MAKING TIME for note-king, asking questions, and sharing understandings greatly enhances the depth of student understanding. Exposure to the ARQ text should greatly facilitate student question asking behavior and encourage an active listening attitude.

Less is more

Critical thinking takes time and is not very exciting to watch. That’s one reason we see so little of it on television. Thus, patience is a major virtue when valuing critical thinking in your classroom. Sufficient WAIT TIME is especially important in promoting a critical thinking atmosphere, and seeking depth of thought should usually take priority over the goal of extensive coverage of material. We thus recommend that you value DEPTH over BREADTH. We have found that long-term retention of skills and knowledge is greatly enhanced by focusing on a few really important ideas in our classes rather than “getting through” lots of material. It is often desirable to keep your list of goals for the day to a small number, and encourage an in depth mastering of these goals.

Try to avoid moving to new topics until you have some clear evidence that students have reached a desired level of understanding on the topic at hand, keeping in mind the maxim of no impression without expression.

In general teaching practices highly consistent with the maxim of Less is More include: increased emphasis on class discussion and decreased emphasis on teacher lecturing; extensive teacher and student questioning; emphasis on active learning by both teacher and students; and frequent feedback about what’s happening in the minds of your students, such as “one-minute writes,” and student summarizing of points.

Also consistent with the “less is more” maxim is a teaching emphasis on making connections and integrations among ideas. Thus, for example, frequently asking students how an idea on which you are presently focusing relates to previously discussed ideas 13 .

reinforces the notion that ideas come in important and insightful patterns. A strong point of the ARQ text for teaching critical thinking is that the chapters are ordered with a logical coherence, and requiring students to draw links among the chapters helps create an overall “whole” or gestalt to the critical thinking process, such that the whole becomes much greater than the sum of the parts. We often remind the students that as they learn more critical thinking skills, the more comfortable they will become with the holistic process of critical thinking.

All that glitters is not gold

We should learn from our mistakes, but we can best do so if we KNOW when we make such mistakes. Learning is best when students feel free to express themselves and take risks and at the same time welcome challenges to the quality of their expressions.

Many students are not used to having their comments challenged; they may see them all as “good points.” Thus, they often are not prepared for teachers who “push” their intellectual limits. Thus, in addition to praising them for effort, teachers need to provide students with clear standards for quality and need to inform them when they have not met those standards. Not all that students express is “a great point,” or “wonderful,” or “a great try.” Sometimes students give low-quality responses because they are not prepared, are not listening, are totally confused, or anxious. Their comments do not move the conversation forward.

Because criticism is so important to the development of disciplined thought, you need to find ways to be helpfully critical. One potentially helpful approach is to work with your students on framing criticism as a form of respect, of caring, and of trust. You respect and trust them enough that you know they can cope with criticism and use it to their advantage. They are not like spun glass, easily shattered. Our experience has been that with increased exposure to criticism over time, students experience less and less discomfort when challenged.

One of the best ways to help students discriminate between comments that move conversations forward and those that don’t is to make the criteria for a “good” response as clear as possible. Thus, for example, if you frequently use discussion groups, it’s helpful to train the students in the kinds of comments, questions and roles that are most helpful to group effectiveness. Training in active listening skills is especially helpful.

It’s not what students ARE but what they can BECOME

Ask not what you can do for your students but what your students can do for themselves! As teachers, we often become cynical about what our students are capable of doing. We often sense a gap between the kind of learner that we, with OUR values, would like them to be and the kind of learner that they, with THEIR values, would prefer to be. This gap seems to get greatly expanded when we strive to make critical thinking an important component of their learning. We sense that they are most comfortable with being sponges, yet we want them to be active inquirers. Under such conditions, it’s tempting to teach to who we think the students are—we lecture to them. But if you teach to what they can become, such as critical and creative thinkers, you can strikingly change your teaching approach and breach the gap described above.

How might you help students to become “all they can be” as critical thinkers?

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First, you might focus less on your class presentations and more on the kind of learning you want the students to produce between and during class. What is it that the students need to DO to internalize their critical thinking skills and to prepare for class? Generate questions? Complete practice exercises? Prepare a class presentation? A major goal is to give students increased responsibility for classroom activity.

Secondly, always be thinking of the long-term impact of your teaching practices.

Avoid doing things for students what they could do for themselves if encouraged to tolerate some discomfort and frustration. Encourage them to practice “fishing” on their own; don’t bring them the fish. Fight the dire need to be loved in the here and now and instead seek to be respected by your students in the long run. Much reward can come from sending one’s students out into the non-classroom world as lifelong learners.

Sample Student Engagement Strategies In this section, we list a sample of strategies that teachers have found helpful in getting students actively engaged in learning.

PRIOR TO CLASS 1.

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Give students thought-provoking questions to ponder in advance of classes to guide their reading/studying.

Enhances a focus on questions, rather than answers.

Encourage active interaction with texts by teaching students about different levels of questions they and text authors can ask.

A discussion of Bloom’s taxonomy can be helpful for this purpose.

Have students convert text answers/main points into questions to encourage them to “join the conversation.”

Encourage students to ask “Who cares?” and “Why this?” questions as they study.

Assign exercises that require students to consider multiple perspectives.

Have students prepare written questions triggered by their readings to bring to class.

DURING CLASS

1. Questions, questions, and more questions; emphasize higher order thinking skills (HOTS) 2. Sign-up sheets for class participation For example, give extra credit for class participation by having students sign up on those days in which they wish to participate in class and basing extra credit points on frequency of sign ups. Teacher calls on those who sign up.

3. One-minute writes. (Beginning, Middle, End of class) Give students brief writing assignments on a frequent basis, such as asking them to summarize an important point just made by the teacher.

4. Think-Pair-Share (T-P-S) Post question to students, have them consider an answer, have them pair up to discuss their answers, then have selected pairs share their answers with rest of class.

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5. Use quotes, cartoons, music, newspaper headlines or film clips to induce engagement.

For example, post a quote on overhead at beginning of class, or play a song with a message that you want students to consider, and then have them try to integrate such presentations with some class ideas.

Teaching Behavior and Attitudes to Avoid There are many things that we can do as teachers that tend to work against the optimal implementation of critical thinking in our classrooms. In this section we briefly describe behaviors and attitudes that frequently work against the successful incorporation of critical thinking activity in the classroom and encourage you to consider strategies to combat such attitudes and behaviors.

• Teaching from a single perspective or paradigm.

Students need to be exposed to multiple perspectives and paradigms.

• Neglecting to provide assignments that focus explicitly on critical thinking.

• Selection of texts that discourage critical thinking.

• Failing to admit gaps in our own knowledge.

• Focusing on coverage, rather than on depth.

Sometimes less is more! It is often desirable to give up some breadth of coverage in order to allow more in-depth coverage of fewer issues.

• Relying too heavily on lecturing.

• Failure to ask frequent thought-provoking questions during each class.

• Failure to encourage students to pay close attention to what other students say and to ask each other thought-provoking questions during each class. Too often students believe that the only relevant audience for their learning is the teacher.

• Giving multiple-choice exams that require only memory skills.

Test manuals tend to emphasize lower order thinking skills such as memory and comprehension, and provide limited numbers of items requiring higher order skills, such as evaluation. Your use of test items that emphasize critical thinking clearly communicates your high valuing of such skills.

• Avoiding lengthy “thinking time” silences. Good thinking takes time! It’s okay to encourage students to say, “Let me think about it for a minute.”

• Treating all student comments as “gold nuggets,” and trying too hard to protect students from experiencing any discomfort.

Student intellectual growth is fostered by having to struggle with ideas and the recognition that some ideas are superior to others.

• Always calling on the first persons who raise their hands; minimizing “wait time.”

For many reasons, some students will raise their hands much more slowly than others, even if they are actively involved in the critical thinking process.

Lengthy wait times allow such students to take a much more active part in class discussion.

• Answering our own questions almost immediately after asking them.

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• •

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Discouraging students from disagreeing with us or with each other.

Being a “truth dispenser” when students ask questions, instead of using questions as a springboard for more questions.

Our tendency is to want to give our students the answers; it makes us feel good. But frequently, a “providing the answers” mentality shuts the door on a potentially productive learning opening. Using questions in response to questions can often open that door.

Relying too heavily on explaining instead of on exploring.

In our view, central to the teaching of critical thinking in the classroom is consistent active encouragement of students’ questioning behavior and a de-emphasis of an “answers-by-the-experts” orientation. You may find the following article helpful to you in facilitating student questioning. Although its central focus is on teaching abnormal psychology, teaching suggestions should apply to many discipline-specific courses.

Keeley, S.M., Ali, R., & Gebing, T. (1998). “Beyond the Sponge Model: Encouraging Students’ Questioning Skills in Abnormal Psychology.” Teaching of Psychology, 25, 268–272.

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Section III Chapter-by-Chapter Teaching Tips Introduction This section provides for each chapter in Asking the Right Questions (ARQ) teaching suggestions that seem especially pertinent to that chapter, especially assignments. We first provide a list of chapter topics, then some general comments on the chapter theme, followed by a list of some sample questions that the teacher might use to stimulate class discussion on the chapter topic. These questions can also serve as stimuli for student quizzes or tests. We then provide some suggestions for assignments to facilitate the thinking goals promoted by the chapter, and we also include practice exercises for your potential use with students. Each exercise is accompanied by a model of how to apply to that passage the question emphasized in the chapter. These exercises can be used for discussion, student homework, or testing purposes.

Finally, we repeat Passage 3 from the end of each chapter, the passage that is not accompanied by our model of an appropriate response. We then provide such a model following the passage. Thus, you, the teacher can compare your thoughts about responding to the passage with ours. This third passage works especially well for short quizzes and classroom discussions.

Some Context for Choosing Assignments Students best learn critical thinking skills by practicing those skills in a variety of contexts using a variety of relevant materials. Our experience has been that the more time teachers put into carefully designing classroom assignments for critical thinking that require students to apply their newly learned critical thinking skills, the better the student learning outcomes and the greater the transferability of the thinking skills to contexts outside the classroom.

Students need LOTS of practice, but classroom time is limited. In an average three-hour semester course, a teacher will have the attention of the students for 45 hours at the most.

In contrast, available out-of-class time greatly exceeds in-class time. A truism about critical thinking is that it takes time—usually lots of time! That is one reason why television does not produce talk show programs in which the participants sit quietly and reflect in depth on an issue. The media want a quick and glib response. Critical thinking, however, is an activity very different from a quick reproduction of stored ideas. While inclass exercises can be very helpful, out-of-class homework assignments provide especially good opportunities for students to engage in deep reflective thought as they practice applying their critical thinking skills.

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For chapters 2 through 12 of this edition of ARQ (Edition 10), we describe assignments that can be used to help students internalize the specific critical thinking questions emphasized by that chapter while also helping them to integrate such skills into a holistic pattern as they move through ARQ. We assume that learning how to use each of the specific critical thinking questions effectively is necessary before students can put all the questions together into a holistic, coherent framework—much like learning a new sport first requires learning the fundamentals of the sport. Once the core group of questioning skills has been internalized, it then becomes appropriate to assign more holistic tasks, such as term papers stressing instructions such as “evaluate the reasoning critically.”

It is useful to remind students as they are given assignments that such assignments are important steps in their eventually getting to the important lifetime goal of being competent critical thinkers and that, much like in sports, the more comfortable they get with the fundamentals, the more joy they will get out of playing the game.

We encourage teachers to design assignments that facilitate students working in discussion groups both in and outside of class so that they can gain the benefits that come from giving and receiving feedback on ideas.

Resource Suggestions A useful brief book for enhancing active listening and productive discussion group behavior is William Fawcett Hills’ Learning Through Discussion, Third Edition.

Another helpful discussion guide is Brookfield and Preskill’s Discussion as a Way of Teaching.

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Chapter 1: The Benefit and Manner of Asking the Right Questions Chapter Topics

v Introduction v Critical Thinking to the Rescue v The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles v An Example of the Panning-for-Gold Approach v The Myth of the “Right Answer” v The Usefulness of Asking the Question, “Who Cares?” v Weak Sense and Strong Sense Critical Thinking v The Satisfaction of Using the Panning-for-Gold Approach v The Right Questions v Critical Thinking is a Social Activity v Thinking and Feelings v Keeping the Conversation Going v Wishful Thinking: Perhaps the Biggest Obstacle to Critical Thinking

General Teaching Comments

The difference between the panning-for-gold and sponge models of learning is especially important to ARQ. You may want to stress to students the unfortunate dependence of most readers on the sponge model. By contrasting the two models for them, you can make a large contribution to selling them the idea that critical analysis is rewarding. An especially effective persuasive technique is to provide examples of public gullibility and erroneous conclusions by “learned” people. As we begin the course, we frequently remind students that EXPERTS DIFFER; thus, depending on the last expert whom one has encountered is a highly hazardous strategy for developing personal beliefs.

“The Myth of the Right Answer” should be especially highlighted because students are typically quite intolerant of ambiguity. Students need to be told that tentative decisions are not only okay but that they are often the only reasonable stance. Many of our students have been reluctant to formulate opinions because they realize that they do not know everything relevant to the controversy. We repeatedly remind them that to varying degrees all decision makers operate from uncertainty. To postpone at least some level of commitment until knowledge is complete would be futile. We also stress that the goal of critical thinking is not to tear down others’ arguments but to “move the conversation forward” by knowing much more about what we do and don’t know when we are finished with the evaluation than when we began.

Discussion Questions

Ø How does critical thinking as defined in ARQ differ from typical ordinary thinking?

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Ø ARQ encourages you to ask the “Who cares?” question when deciding how much critical thinking effort to use in a particular situation. Under what circumstances do you think that you’ll care enough to devote lots of energy to critical thinking? Ø Why is it so difficult to find the “right answer” to many questions about human behavior? Ø Can you think of some times when strong feelings have interfered with your ability to think critically and you’ve experienced negative consequences as a result? How do you think you might keep your strong feelings from interfering with your critical thinking when you would prefer to think critically? Ø How do strong sense and weak sense critical thinking differ? What are the pros and cons of each? Why is strong sense critical thinking usually so much more difficult than weak sense? Ø Do you think that different textbooks on the same topic would always agree on the right answers? Why or why not? If there are disagreements, what does that mean about the way that you read your text? #Connection of Interest. The need for critical thinking to counter dogmatism and backward reasoning—starting with a conclusion, and then using the conversation to reach it. Article stresses need for critical dialogue in our present culture. Sexton, J. Halting the Race to the Bottom, Inside Higher Education, September 18, 2006. Essay is also available on the Campus Watch Website, at: http://www.campuswatch.org/article/id/2745.

Another major purpose of this chapter is to sensitive students to the social dimensions of critical thinking and to help them reflect on personal values that will enhance their development as critical thinkers. Critical thinking should be a dialogical process; yet, it requires many skills to effectively carry out a dialogue because in our society few people are comfortable in interchanges emphasizing questioning. It is useful to remind students early in the class that asking questions of others can often annoy or alienate them, as was often the case when Socrates engaged others in dialogue.

There are ways to question that are like an “open hand.” They invite the expansion of dialogue. There are ways to question that are like a closed fist; they shut down dialogue.

And there are certain personal values that propel us to maximize the learning that we can get out of interchanges with others in our world.

This chapter should help prepare students to develop attitudes toward critical thinking that will maximize their recognition of the critical thinking skills taught in subsequent chapters as social actions that thus need certain social skills. We recommend using this chapter to stimulate students to reflect on how they will want to incorporate a critical thinking activity into their personal habits. It can be used to help them examine what they are trying to achieve through their questioning and what it is like for most of us to be questioned about our beliefs. How do others typically feel when we question them? What can we do to make dialogue with others a mutually gratifying process?

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A goal is to encourage students to approach the critical thinking process as a social process and as a means to “move a conversation forward,” a search for greater knowledge rather than as an opportunity to show off how smart one is or how successfully one can “demolish” the arguments of others. We want them to frame critical thinking as a SEARCH or a JOURNEY rather than as a “BATTLE” or as a “WAR.” Latter sections of Chapter 1 encourage self reflection on critical thinking values and attitudes. In addition, it tries to sensitize students to the fact (a) that they enter many conversations with strong feelings and past “baggage” associated with many issues and (b) thus they will have a tendency to “reason backwards,” to have their own strong prior beliefs lead them to use their questioning to help support their own beliefs rather than to let their questioning lead them to wherever it might take them. This is a good time to remind them that they will have strong biases and feelings related to various issues throughout the course that will interfere with their critical thinking efforts. Also, other people will have similar biases and feelings, and frequently will not easily welcome critical thinking dialogues. #Connection of Interest. Reflecting on importance of certain attitudes to successful critical thinking: “The Intellectual and Moral Virtues of the Critical Person,” in Paul, R. and Elder, L. Critical Thinking: Tools For Taking Care of Your Personal and Professional Life, 2002. See pages 323–328.

Further Questions to Ponder

Ø How would you like others ask you questions about your beliefs so that you would want to continue to discuss a topic about which you have strong feelings? Ø Asking the Right Questions stresses a number of value priorities that serve as helpful dispositions for critical thinking activity. Why should such values make you better critical thinkers? Do you believe you that you possess such priorities?

Why? Why not? Ø Presently, when you find yourselves arguing with others, what are your goals in the argument? How do they match the goals encouraged in the chapter? When you see experts on television debate, what do you believe their goals are? Are such goals desirable? Ø Strong feelings often interfere with the ability to think critically. What can you do to reduce any negative impact of such feelings?

Assignments Require students to: 1. Think of someone they know who they think asks questions in a way that makes them feel like talking further with that person, and have them list characteristics they like about the questioning. Also, have them list characteristics of social interchanges in which questioning from others annoys them or makes them want to shut down the conversation. Have students then discuss what kind of questioning they believe is most likely to lead to a conversation that advances their knowledge on the topic.

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Watch a talk show discussion on television in which multiple experts with different viewpoints are sharing their opinions on some controversial political topic. Have them pay particular attention to the attitudes and values displayed by the discussants. Have them ask to what extent the participants in the discussion seem to be seeking a better understanding of the issue and to what extent they seem to be trying to defend their own position on the issue. Does their goal seem to be to defeat the arguments of those with whom they disagree or to achieve a greater understanding of the issues and arguments?

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Chapter 2 What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?

Chapter Topics

v Kinds of Issues v Searching for the Issue v Searching for the Author’s or Speaker’s Conclusion v Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion v Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

This chapter and the next deserve extra special attention. On the surface they seem less complex and important than they truly are. If your students proceed to subsequent chapters prematurely, more complex critical thinking skills will be especially difficult to integrate into a coherent pattern. THE USE OF ALL CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IS DEPENDENT ON THE PRIOR IDENTIFICATION OF THE ISSUE, CONCLUSION, AND REASONS. Until this basic structure is identified, the learner does not know the elements of the argument he should evaluate. We recommend practicing initially with single paragraphs and then moving gradually to complex essays as you supplement Chapter 2. Try to give multiple illustrations that enable your students to apply the clues provided in the chapter.

This chapter is a good place to begin the emphasis on “Why?” as a question to ask the student. For example, the student can be repeatedly asked why she believes particular assertions are conclusions. Additionally, many students will benefit from the suggestion to highlight those sentences that communicate the conclusion; we recommend using highlighting markers, plus a paraphrased restatement of the conclusion in the margin, that is, a statement that answers the question, “What’s the writer’s main point?” This is especially helpful in sensitizing the student to indicator words for conclusions.

A common habit of students is to inappropriately state an issue as a TOPIC, rather than as a QUESTION. As we are defining issue, abortion or taxation are not issues. However, “Should abortion be legal?” and “Is an increase in the income tax a good thing?” are issues, because they are in the form of a question. In identifying issues, encourage your students to ask: “Can I follow my statement of the issue with a question mark?”

Discussion Questions

Ø Explain the differences between descriptive and prescriptive issues and conclusions. Ø What clues can you use to help you find the issue and conclusion? Ø Some conclusions are implied by a communicator rather than made explicit. What clues might help you recognize an implied conclusion? Can you think of situations in which communicators are likely to prefer implied conclusions? Ø How do conclusions differ from opinions?

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Assignments Require students to: 1. Turn textbook headings and subheadings, which are usually in the form of short noun phrases, into questions. You can even have them do this with the early chapters in ARQ. This is an especially helpful assignment for teachers trying to integrate ARQ into a discipline-focused course. Discovering the kinds of questions asked provides a framework in which to place new information. Once students have begun to generate questions in the field they are studying, they will start the important process of asking their own questions about the material.

The idea of this assignment is to encourage their thinking more in terms of becoming familiar with important questions than of absorbing facts, and to help them recognize that material presented in a text may represent only one of many possible answers to an important question.

A related useful assignment is to have students bring to class two lists of questions for possible discussion: the two or three most important questions they thought the author of the text asked and the two or three most important questions they personally had about the author’s arguments.

2. Have students find recent editorials, op-ed pieces, letters to the editor, or YouTube postings and identify issues and conclusions.

3. Towards the end of a class, require the students to list the most important issue addressed during that class session and their understanding of the conclusion.

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Writing Exercise EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE FOR CLASSROOM ACTIVITY Student activity: Identify the issue and the conclusion Corporate managers are always interested in techniques for increasing the productivity of their workdays. One interesting suggestion made by productivity consultants is to pipe music into the work area. Several recent studies have explored the extent to which different types of music affect worker output. The primary hypothesis examined in the studies was that soft-rock music would prove the greatest aid to productivity. The research has found almost universally that country and western music is the greatest inducement to efficiency. Therefore, corporate officials should seriously consider playing country and western music as a stimulus to worker productivity.

Analysis: Conclusion: Firms should play country and western music as a stimulus to greater worker productivity.

Issue: What type of music would be most effective in increasing employee output?

An indicator word and location are both helpful in finding the conclusion for this passage. The indicator word “therefore” is located in the final sentence.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 2 Should the public be shown actual courtroom trials on television? It seems as though the system can easily be corrupted by having cameras in the courtroom. Victims are hesitant enough when testifying in front of a small crowd, but their knowledge that every word is being sent to countless homes would increase the likelihood that they would simply refuse to testify. There is little to no assumed innocence for the accused when their trial is put on television. People do not watch court television because they are concerned about our country’s ability to effectively carry out the proceedings of the judicial system; instead, they are looking for the drama in witness testimony: entertainment. Thus, leave the cameras out of the courtrooms, and let the public view sitcom drama based on the legal system.

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Analysis: Conclusion: No. Cameras should not be permitted in the courtrooms; instead the public can learn about the legal system from sitcom drama.

Issue: Should the public be shown actual courtroom trials on television?

Several indicator words help signal the presence of the issue and conclusion. The term “thus” beginning the last sentence tells us a conclusion is coming. Also beginning the essay with the word “Should” alerts us to the issue being stated in the first sentence. A further clue to the issue and conclusion is the fact that most of the essay provides arguments against the use of television in the courtroom.

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Chapter 3: What Are the Reasons?

Chapter Topics

v Reasons + Conclusion = Argument v Initiating the Questioning Process v Words That Identify Reasons v Kinds of Reasons v Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight v Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

Remind students that making a claim, an assertion, or a “point” is not the same as making an argument. To qualify as an argument, reasons must accompany the claim. Having students discuss different meanings of the term “argument” can help them differentiate between the definition used in ARQ and how the term is commonly used in different contexts.

Optimally, reasons should PRECEDE conclusions. It is useful to remind students that because people often associate strong feelings with their opinions, they will resort to BACKWARD REASONING. They will hunt for reasons to support their strong opinions such that their conclusions determine the reasons, rather than vice-versa.

A useful technique for this chapter is to have students list reasons from a rather lengthy essay, and then compare their listed reasons. Pairing up students and having them attempt to reach agreement on the most appropriate listing of reasons is helpful. Students should practice paraphrasing the reasons.

When a student presents a reason to the class, we have found the following procedure useful for facilitating student insight. We state the conclusion, add the word “because,” and then fill in the student’s stated reason. Then we ask, “Does that make sense?” If it doesn’t, students recognize that an error has been made and efforts can be made to correct it. This is an especially helpful exercise for those students who continue to have a difficult time filtering out a single reason from a set of sentences communicating a single idea.

It is also useful to have students role play as the writer, and to try to state in their own words what reasons they would give to defend their position if they were to appear as a guest. This helps students overcome the tendency to adhere too much to the exact wording of the argument.

Students also need to be reminded that constructing a communicator’s reasoning structure is not the same as constructing a typical outline. Such outlines usually simply follow the order of presentation of a communication, regardless of the reasoning structure intended by the communicator. Outlining topics that a communicator has expressed is not 28 .

the same as summarizing the reasoning structure. Students need to practice filtering out the issue, conclusions, and reasons from all that a communicator has said as they construct the reasoning structure. As this distinction is made, you can stress that successful structuring of reasoning not only provides essential insights into a communicator’s thinking, but it also usually greatly abbreviates how much of a writer’s communication students need to attend to as they ask further critical thinking questions.

Basic reasoning structures of lengthy text, for example, can sometimes be quite brief.

Students will sometimes reject judging an idea as a reason because they think it is a BAD reason! Remind students that, yes, some reasons are much better than other ones, but at this early stage of the critical thinking process they should list as a reason any idea that they believe the communicator intends to serve as a reason—good or bad. You can stress: “First we list the communicator’s reasons, then we will evaluate them.” You can remind them that an important part of evaluating arguments will be applying the questions in the upcoming chapters of ARQ to decide which reasons should be taken most seriously.

Discussion Questions

Ø How does the term argument in ARQ differ from “having an argument” with an acquaintance? Ø Consider arguments that you have recently made. What KINDS of reasons did you use? Do you think some kinds of reasons are better than others? Why? Ø Explain the difference between a REASON and REASONING. Ø ARQ stresses the desirability of being open to “fresh” reasons. What are some steps that you can take to achieve such openness on a topic for which you already have a strong opinion?

Assignments Require students to: 1. Discriminate among a list of short passages that represent arguments (include both a conclusion and reasons) and those that do not in order to sensitize them to the presence and absence of reasoning in a communication.

2. Submit outlines of the structure of argument for short essays, book chapters, newspaper editorial opinions, films, or videotapes. This structure would include the issue, conclusion, and reasons. This is one of the most important practice assignments that teachers can use, because this task is a prerequisite for all subsequent critical thinking activity. The Internet is an excellent source of materials for such exercises. It is best to start with short essays and then to work toward lengthier, more complex ones. We recommend that you continue to have students complete this task as a part of assignments in subsequent chapters to reinforce the importance of recognizing the basic reasoning structure prior to applying any of the other critical thinking questions.

3. View TV commercials, identifying the reasons and conclusion. This task sensitizes students to what a reason is, because so many commercials provide no explicit reasons. When asked to list the reasons, students will usually find none to list. They can then be asked to formulate possible “good reasons” to buy the product.

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4. Underline or highlight transition or logical connectors in essays or text chapters; then demonstrate how particular transitions serve as indicator words for conclusions while others announce the appearance of reasons.

5. Visit www.YouDebate.com, link on to several issues, and try to generate a category system that captures commonalities in the kinds of reasons used in arguments. This activity should sensitize them to the kinds of reasons they will be encountering as they encounter different controversies and should later integrate well with Chapter 7, which focuses on reasoning fallacies. This exercise also works well with other stimulus materials, such as textbooks, essays, editorials, and politically oriented talk shows.

Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE PASSAGE FOR CLASSROOM ACTIVITY. Student activity: Identify the reasons In putting forth his pussy-footed program of 10 principles for national health insurance, the president would have us consider only the details of coverage, cost, and administration. He skips nimbly over the threshold question: Should we have national health insurance at all?

To justify so radical a departure from traditional forms of health care, proponents might reasonably begin by arguing that health services in America are so poor that greater governmental intrusion is imperative.

But this does not seem to be the case. For example, since 1970, infant mortality has dropped 25 percent, life expectancy has risen by a year and a half, and 9 of the 10 leading causes of death have declined.

Also, public opinion polls indicate that Americans overwhelmingly are satisfied with the care they receive.

Nevertheless, do the people want a program of national health insurance? It depends on how the question is put. Phrased in terms of “free” medical care, the question understandably draws an affirmative response. But when an NBC survey asked about a program paid for “through increased taxation,” it was a different matter altogether.

There simply is no convincing evidence of public demand for the kind of program that the president would impose on the country.

Analysis: Issue: Is national health insurance necessary?

Conclusion: National health insurance is not needed.

Reasons: 1. Health care is not so bad that we need government intrusion.

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Supporting reason: Infant mortality has dropped, life expectancy has increased, and 9 of the 10 leading causes of death have declined.

2. The public does not want such a program, as evidenced by opinion polls.

The second sentence explicitly states a question, which is then addressed in the rest of the article. Thus, the writer makes the issue quite clear early. The subsequent paragraphs then answer the why question by providing reasons to support the conclusion that the U.S. does not need a national health insurance plan.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 3 In high school, men’s basketball and men’s football usually dominate the Friday night schedule. Should it be that way? These games are significant to the high school experience, but not at the cost of the other sports in the school. Just because it has been a tradition does not mean that the format has to remain that way.

It is easier for most parents and other fans to make it out to the game on Friday nights. Therefore, it is easier for them to come see the men’s basketball or men’s football games. What about the girls’ basketball team, or the swim team? Their games should not always be stuck on weekday afternoons and evenings. Their families often are not able to make it out to see them because most are working during the afternoons. The students who play these “secondary” sports are not getting a fair share of the spotlight; the schedule should change to accommodate these other sports.

Analysis: Conclusion: Men’s basketball or football games should not dominate the Friday night schedule.

Issue: Should Men’s basketball or football games dominate the Friday night schedule?

Reasons: 1. Tradition is not a sufficient reason to retain the present scheduling format.

2. The students who play secondary sports are not getting their share of the spotlight.

Supporting reason: It’s much easier for parents to get to the Friday night events, and fewer families can attend sports events scheduled at the times devoted to secondary sports.

Sentences in this essay try to persuade us that participants in secondary sports are getting shortchanged by scheduling, and the last sentence helps make the conclusion explicit by using the conclusion indicator words “should…not.” The first and second paragraphs provide answers to the why question: Why should major sports dominate the Friday night scheduling?

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Chapter 4: Which Words or Phrases are Ambiguous?

Chapter Topics

v The Confusing Flexibility of Words v Locating Key Terms and Phrases v Checking for Ambiguity v Determining Ambiguity v Context and Ambiguity v Ambiguity, Definitions and the Dictionary v Ambiguity and Loaded Language v Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity v Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking v Summary v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

For students to discover ambiguity they need an appreciation for the variety of meanings a given word or phrase may have. If a reader is aware of only one meaning of the word or phrase, then naturally she will be unable to discover ambiguity. Thus, depending on the level of verbal sophistication of those you are trying to teach, certain ambiguities will not be evident to them. Consequently, your expectations for this chapter must be limited by the verbal abilities of your students.

In helping students to distinguish which words might be ambiguous in the context in question, ask them to identify words that are abstract and words that are concrete.

Ambiguity varies greatly in its importance. The most important ambiguities, and the ones we most want our students to process, are those that influence one’s acceptance or rejection of the reasoning. Thus, the important ambiguities will be terms or phrases embedded in the reasoning structure. Consequently, when students identify an important ambiguity, it is important to require them to provide a rationale for their claim. Otherwise you will have no basis for assessing their analysis. Many students will behave as though they have an ambiguity scatter gun, hitting virtually any term that seems ambiguous and not focusing on the most important ambiguities—those that are present in the reasoning structure.

Providing this rationale is very difficult for most students. A technique we use is to require our students to specify two alternative meanings of the word or phrase and then to suggest how each meaning shapes the argument in a way different from the effect of the other meaning. In that way, we are asking them to think through the purpose of the search for ambiguity: as a guide to understanding the precise intent of the author.

A potential problem to anticipate is the tendency of students to suggest alternative meanings that are absurd or highly implausible in the context of the communication. In

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such an instance, it is important to remind them that the alternative meanings should all be ones that the communicator might realistically mean in the context of the argument.

Key terms in many controversies are words with potential multiple meanings for which the writer will ASSUME a particular definition in his arguments. These terms or phrases are ones that could have been important ambiguities if the communicator had not made clear her meaning. Sensitizing the student to such definitional assumptions and to the fact that in such cases the term as used by the writer is not ambiguous is helpful. A good example is the word “poor” in the controversy of whether the government should provide more aid to the poor.

We encourage our students to ask themselves whether key terms in the statement of the controversy could be defined in different ways; and when multiple definitions seem likely, to then see whether they can find what definition, if any, the writer has assumed.

In many cases the meaning of the author remains unclear, and the best that can be accomplished is an awareness of the uncertainty of the meaning and that one’s willingness to agree or disagree with the author on that particular claim should be withheld until further clarification can be achieved. We remind students that an important benefit of asking this question is learning more about what we need to know.

One useful exercise to help students identify and appreciate the significance of ambiguities is to give them statements of controversies with the instruction to define the most ambiguous term in the statement. For example, we might present them with the controversy, “Should the rich pay more taxes?” They then can compare their responses with attention to which word or phrase was chosen, as well as to differences in the definition both in terms of what particular meaning was chosen and how much detail was used in communicating the meaning.

Constructing a class survey in which you ask the students to agree or disagree with various positions on contemporary controversies can be a useful exercise because some will invariably express comments like, “I can’t decide because I don’t know what X means.” Surveys, in general, are of course excellent sources for alerting students to potential important ambiguities.

We have also found it useful to provide students models with well specified versus poorly specified definitions of particular abstract terms, such as “love,” “harm,” “sexual harassment,” “cheating,” “patriotism,” and “terrorism.” Students will have a tendency to define terms in a word or a phrase rather than stipulating specific criteria for its use.

Defining terms carefully is a skill rarely taught in their classrooms.

Textbooks are a rich source for giving students practice in identifying important ambiguity and in helping them recognize its pervasiveness.

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Discussion Questions

Ø Why are dictionary definitions of key terms and phrases used in an argument often not sufficiently helpful in determining their meaning? Ø ARQ stresses that not all ambiguous terms or phrases are equally important. How do you determine which ones are the most important to identify? Ø What is the relationship between ambiguity and definitional assumptions? Ø Are there any terms used by the authors of ARQ that are importantly ambiguous?

Explain.

Assignments Require students to: 1. Read or listen to a comedy routine, then point out the essential role of ambiguity in language in creating the laughs. Newspaper cartoons are especially effective. This exercise sensitizes the student to the chameleon-like nature of language. A good Website for students to find contemporary cartoons is http://politicalcartoons.com.

2. Identify key words in a written essay, provide at least two plausible meanings for those words, and determine whether the context of the essay has made the meaning clear; if not, show how different meanings affect the strength of the reasoning. It’s important to stress to the students that the meanings be plausible—meanings that indeed might be intended by a reasonable communicator given the context of the argument. In this exercise we encourage students to use “if” clauses as a way of showing the impact of the ambiguous language. Clauses such as, “If the phrase means X, then I would be likely to see the reason as supportive of the conclusion” remind students that the purpose of identifying ambiguity is to recognize its impact on the reasoning structure.

3. Write a persuasive essay on a topic of their choice, deliberately using very ambiguous terminology to help persuade their audience. Then, working in pairs, have one student require the other to “define your terms,” in those cases in which important terms are ambiguous.

4. Write a passage and the accompanying analysis that could theoretically be substituted for Practice Passages 1 or 2 at the end of this chapter. That is, have them write a passage in which they embed deliberate ambiguous language and then provide a critical analysis of the ambiguity in the passage. You can grade this task by judging how well you believe the passage would have succeeded as a teaching device in ARQ. 5. Locate instances of ambiguity that are NOT damaging to an argument. The lesson to be taught is that some ambiguous phrases or terms are much more important than others. When first encountering explicit instruction concerning ambiguity, students often delight in discovering the pervasiveness of ambiguity. This assignment forces them to differentiate between ambiguity that must be clarified before an argument can be assessed and ambiguity that is not harmful to our understanding of the reasoning.

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6. Identify ambiguity in surveys or questionnaires. This exercise sensitizes students to the pervasiveness of important ambiguity in surveys and questionnaires. They can locate the materials on their own by going to the library or the Internet, or teachers can provide sources for them. We find that students enjoy bringing surveys to class and discussing possible ambiguity with classmates.

7. Share their own definitions for ambiguous terminology central to contemporary social controversies and engage in dialogue discussing their different meanings, as well as the lessons learned from recognizing the wide variety of definitions supplied. This exercise helps students recognize the difficulties in adequately defining a term, that their definition is just one of many possible definitions, and that many disagreements occur because people differ on how they are defining a key term.

8. Watch a video of the 1994 film Oleanna and either write a reaction paper to it, emphasizing the role of ambiguity, or discuss the video in small groups. The video usually stimulates much active disagreement among students. The film addresses the issue of sexual harassment in an academic setting and is written by a very influential contemporary writer, David Mamet. It vividly highlights the importance of ambiguity, as well as the impact of different perspectives and definitions on our perceptions of the same events.

Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE PASSAGE FOR CLASSROOM ACTIVITY Student activity: Identify and explain important ambiguity When governmental bodies make purchases, they often try to improve the efficiency of their purchasing activities by requiring potential sellers to submit bids. The defense department is one of the governmental agencies that claim to engage in this type of competitive bidding process. They supposedly examine the submitted bids and choose the best bid, awarding the contract to the private firm who makes that bid.

Yet, apparently, the defense department does not abide by its own rules.

The contractor I represent made the best bid for a missile system and failed to receive the contract for the system. We are understandably disappointed and are requesting a reversal of the contract award to a firm that submitted a better bid.

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Analysis: Conclusion: There should be a reversal of the defense department contract.

Reason: The rules of competitive bidding to which the defense department subscribes require that contract awards be granted to the best bid; yet the firm that submitted the best bid was not granted a particular missile contract.

The reasoning in this passage is troublesome primarily because there are multiple meanings of the words “best bid.” For example, a “best bid” may be one that is submitted by the most dependable contractor, the one with whom the defense department has the best historical experience. Alternatively, a “best bid” may be one submitted by a contractor in a geographical area with an especially high unemployment rate. (Note that many other definitions are possible.) Our willingness to agree or disagree with the argument will depend on whether we agree with the definition of best bid. Thus, until we clear up the ambiguity, we can’t effectively evaluate this reasoning.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 4 Note: This passage is adapted from an opinion delivered by Chief Justice Warren Burger in a Supreme Court response concerning the constitutionality of a Georgia obscenity statute.

We categorically disapprove the theory, apparently adopted by the trial judge, that obscene, pornographic films acquire constitutional immunity from state regulation simply because they are exhibited for consenting adults only. This holding was properly rejected by the Georgia Supreme Court. . . . In particular, we hold that there are legitimate state interests at stake in stemming the tide of commercialized obscenity, even assuming it is feasible to enforce effective safeguards against exposure to juveniles and passersby. Rights and interests other than those of the advocates are involved. These include the interest of the public in the quality of life and the total community environment, the tone of commerce in the great city centers, and possibly, the public safety itself . . .

The sum of experience, including that of the past two decades, affords an ample basis for legislatures to conclude that a sensitive, key relationship of human existence, central to family life, community welfare and the development of human personality, can be debased and distorted by crass commercial exploitation of sex.

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Analysis: Issue: Does the state have the right to regulate obscene materials?

Conclusion: Yes, the state does have that right.

Reasons: 1. The nation and the state have a right to maintain a decent society.

2. Experience proves that crass commercial exploitation of sex debases and distorts sexual relationships.

The issue and conclusion jointly inform us that we are going to need to know what the author means by obscene materials before we can decide whether to agree with his arguments. Because the context we are given fails to clearly specify the meaning of “obscene,” we find it difficult to agree or disagree with the conclusion. Obscenity can have many plausible meanings. For example, we might react differently to a definition emphasizing nudity than to a definition emphasizing perversity in sexual behavior. Thus obscenity is an important ambiguity in the context of this essay.

Several key phrases within the reasoning structure need clarification before we can evaluate the reasoning. Certainly, “maintaining a decent society” can have multiple meanings, and the author’s reference to quality of life and total community environment, tone of commerce, and public safety is not as helpful as we would like.

Given this language, we would have a difficult time determining whether showing pornographic films “debases society,” because it restricts a “freedom.”

We have a similar problem regarding the second reason. What is the meaning of debasing and distorting a sensitive key relationship? We think there are multiple realistic meanings, some that might be consistent with the impact of pornography and some that might not be. # Connection of Interest. Article of Interest. Second Amendment and ambiguity.

Reviews of books, “Out of Range: Why the Constitution Can’t End the Battle Over Guns,” by Mark Tushnet, and Ricochet: “Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist,” by Richard Feldman. Discussion of pervasive ambiguity of the 27 words of Second Amendment, the difficulty of clarifying meaning, and the impact of the ambiguity on gun control arguments # Connection of Interest. Books of Interest. Framing issues and loaded language. Drew Westen’s recent book, published in 2007 by Public Affairs, The Political Brain, provides an interesting and insightful overview of how important issues are “framed” by emotional language. The book demonstrates many instances of how the emotional part of our brain often overwhelms the rational part when we are reacting to political arguments. The book Words That Work: It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear by Frank Luntz, 2007, also alerts us to the power of words to frame issues and to influence public opinion. Both books provide many examples of ambiguity and loaded language.

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#Connection of Interest. Defining key terms. “Defining ‘Essential’ Care; Regulators Move to Specify Coverage Under Health Law; Insuers Seek Flexibility,” by Avery Johnson, in the Wall Street Journal. Good article for showing example of pros and cons of having flexibility in defining terms—struggling with too specific or too broad. Insurance company wants term as broad as possible to have flexibility in designing benefits packages; patient advocacy communities press for specifics to be set and coverage limits to be lifted. Key term to be defined: ESSENTIAL CARE. See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703905404576164904171231570.ht ml

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Chapter 5: What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?

Chapter Topics

v Introduction v General Guide for Identifying Assumptions v Value Conflicts and Assumptions v From Values to Value Assumptions v Typical Value Conflicts v The Communicator’s Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions v Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions v More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions v Finding Values Assumptions on Your Own v Using This Critical Question v Values and Relativism v Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions v Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions v Clues for Locating Assumptions v Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions v Assumptions and Your Own Writing And Speaking v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

As is equally true with all problems in reasoning, students should be encouraged to restrict their search for questionable assumptions to the reasons and conclusion. An assumption responsible for a particular sentence may not have any significant impact on the direction of the argument because the sentence itself is not a critical part of the reasoning. If your students are not reminded frequently that important assumptions are found by studying the reasons and conclusion, the assumptions they find will often be relatively insignificant in terms of their effect on the reasoning.

It is a good idea to take very simple arguments at the outset and show students that assumptions can be located either in reasons (that is, the reason is true only if the assumption is true) or in the logical link between reasons and the conclusion. Also, because students will have the habit of using phrases like, “In the third reason, the writer is assuming ______” without clearly making the distinction for themselves as to whether the assumption links the reason to the conclusion or is necessary for the reason to be true, it is useful to encourage them to use the phrase “for the third reason to be true, then _____” instead.

Comments Related to Teaching Value Assumptions The most important suggestion we have for this chapter is to establish with your students a careful definition of values. We have found our definition to be quite helpful, given our own values. There are, however, multiple definitions of the concept, and you may want to choose one that fits the learning objective you are attempting to meet. A couple of 39 .

precautions may be appropriate before you settle on a particular definition. First, the definition should be broad enough such that values can be used to understand the patterns implicit in someone’s behavior. If such ideas as “the freedom to write a paper about communism” are called values, the concept of values loses much of its power as an aid to understanding human decision. To state a value in such a narrow form reduces the concept to a restatement of a possible conclusion in a single controversy.

On the other hand, your definition of values should be precise enough such that values have a predictable effect on conclusion formation. For example, to say that “justice” is a value is troublesome because justice is extremely abstract and ambiguous. If we speculated that a person valued justice, would we be able to guess the direction her arguments would take on particular controversies? The answer is “probably not,” because we wouldn’t know which version of justice the individual had in mind. Justice defined in a particular way (but not TOO specifically), e.g., in the sense that all races are treated equally by our judicial system, can be treated as a value that aids our understanding of why a particular argument acquired a certain form. Whatever definition of values you use, it should be precise enough to suggest certain behavior or viewpoints but sufficiently broad to be applicable to many situations.

When you have your students identify value assumptions, we recommend that you have them define the value and then explain how the value has an impact on the reasoning and the conclusion.

Students will initially find it much easier to identify a single value underlying a specific reason than to identify a value priority—how that value is actually a priority over other conflicting values—because most arguments are one-sided, and the communicator’s preferred value or values will be much more evident in the argument than values assumed in missing counterarguments. Also students’ initial tendency will be to define values at a low level of abstraction. Thus, you will usually need to lead your students gradually up the ladder of abstraction and also encourage them to consider what someone who disagreed with the argument would value.

For example, when someone argues that the death penalty is desirable because it keeps criminals from committing other crimes, the abstraction ladder might look something like the following: S (Student): “The author values keeping criminals from committing further crimes.”

T (Teacher): Yes, but why does the writer care about this?

S: “Aha, the author values deterrence of crime.”

T: Good, but why might the author consider deterrence so important?

S: “Ah, got it! The author values public safety.”

T: Very good, but if someone were arguing against the death penalty, what reasons might he give, and what value might underlie the reasons?

S: “This is tough!” Hmm… maybe a counterargument would be that governments shouldn’t kill people. And that reason would reflect the value of the sanctity of life.

T: Excellent! So what value priority have you noticed?

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S: “Yes!! I’ve got it. The author’s value assumption is that public safety is more important than the sanctity of human life.”

T: Super job!

Our experience has been that getting students comfortable with value assumptions is usually one of the most difficult teaching tasks, one that often tests the limits of student frustration tolerance, because successfully applying this question requires the ability to abstract information. Thus, it’s important to share with your students your awareness of the difficulty of their task and to reinforce them for small gains—such as their recognition that there is indeed a value assumed in order for a reason to support a prescriptive conclusion.

One of our general goals in teaching this chapter and in teaching critical thinking in general is getting our students used to frequently including the phrase “GIVEN MY VALUE PRIORITIES” in stating their personal conclusions following a dialogue. Note here again that the phrase “given my values,” is much less informative in determining a conclusion that is “given my value PRIORITIES.” It is the RANKING of one’s values that is most telling.

Asking your students to look closely for value priority qualifying statements will quickly alert them to the very low frequency of the making of such qualifying statements. For example, we rarely notice talk show pundits qualify their conclusions by stating their value preferences.

Discussion Questions Related to Finding Value Assumptions

Ø How do value and descriptive assumptions differ? Ø If values are such important determinants of our beliefs about social controversies, if we know a person’s value priorities in a social controversy, will we necessarily know her conclusion? Explain. If we know her conclusion, will we necessarily know her value preferences? Explain. Ø What are some questions that you can ask yourself to discover a communicator’s value assumptions? Ø Do you believe most people are aware of what values they are assuming when they argue with you about a social issue? Why? Does it matter? Ø From where do our most important value preferences arise? Are these good sources? Are some of our value preferences more resistant to change than others?

Why? Ø Why do so few experts (such as politicians, scientists, professors, and television pundits) make value priorities explicit? Should individuals expressing their opinions on a social controversy make their value priorities explicit? Why? Ø How do value preferences about teaching differ among your teachers?

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Assignments Related to Identification of Value Assumptions Require students to: 1. Observe a video reflecting societal value conflicts, such as Wall Street, All My Sons, Doubt, Quiz Show, The Insider, The Crucible, Citizen Ruth, Saved, Ma Vie en Rose, Election, or Twilight of the Golds, and have them write a reaction paper that summarizes the value conflicts portrayed by the film. Have the students define the values and note how the movie revealed the values.

2. Rank their own personal values. A number of value rating systems exist, which can be found at the library or on the Web. We have found Rokeach’s rating system useful.

Students can use it to make their own value rankings at: http://www.oregonvos.net/ ~jflory/205/val_sur.htm. For a more in-depth discussion of how one might go about the process of deciding on a list of core personal values, teachers can direct the interested student to Rokeach’s ambitious early text on the topic, The Nature of Human Values (New York: The Free Press, 1973).

3. Read a play, such as Arthur Miller’s version of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, identify the values illustrated by various characters and passages in the play, and then write a paper identifying the major value conflicts, referring them to the themes and the characters in the play. This play is an especially rich one for identifying value assumptions, as virtually every page displays value-laden comments from the characters. Have students write the values implied by such comments in the margins adjacent to the comments so that they can see how frequently various underlying values are illustrated by characters in the play.

4. Select a columnist from a major newspaper, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, or The Washington Post, and have them read a sequence of columns by that person; then have them write a paper that identifies value preference patterns exhibited by the columnist. An alternative assignment is to have students locate two columnists disagreeing on a topic and describe how they differ in important value assumptions.

5.

Select an important controversial contemporary issue in the news and compare the coverage of that topic by newspapers of different political perspectives, such as comparing the New York Times with the Wall Street Journal. This exercise sensitizes students to the impact of value preferences on positions taken by the media on an issue as well as reasons selected to support a position. Similarly, have students view how different television networks cover a particular controversial topic and try to determine to what extent the coverage reflects various value priorities.

6. Check out postings on popular blogs on the Web, such as the Huffington Post, or the Drudge Report and identify dominant value preferences.

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Writing Exercises for Practice in Identifying Value Assumptions EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Student activity: Identify value assumptions Many parents get disturbed because their child is not acquiring skills at the same age as other children in the neighborhood. What these parents fail to realize is that a child learns at his own rate. There is nothing to worry about when a child fails to read by a certain age.

When a kid feels a need to learn how to read, he will. Inside each child is the desire to acquire competencies. If left alone, these desires will lead the child in the direction the parent hopes. Pushing a child to read is a certain technique for creating an alienated reader.

Analysis: Conclusion: Parents should allow their children to learn to read at the child’s own pace.

Reasons: 1. Children want to read and will do so eventually.

2. Interfering with the child’s internal pace has the effect of discouraging her from reading.

What does this author care about that leads her to this conclusion and the reasons she has selected? Also, we need to imagine what someone who disagrees with this conclusion might care about. A value assumption revealed by this author that links the reasons to the conclusion is that naturalness or spontaneity and self-responsibility are more important values than environmental intervention. The tone of the paragraph is extremely optimistic. People naturally want skills; leave them alone and they will acquire them. In fact, the paragraph suggests that environmental intervention is likely to have a result that is the opposite of what is intended. A trained reader, says the author, is likely not to want to read. Another related value preference that fits well here is that “intrinsic motivation” is preferred to “extrinsic motivation.” If one believed that individuals will not do what’s best for themselves unless others intervene, she would probably conclude that parents should engage in some kind of behavior modification procedures to help their children learn.

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EXTRA EXERCISE 2 Student Activity: Identify value assumptions Eating healthy is important. Doctors and physical fitness advisors tell you about all the advantages of health foods. Then why are these foods so expensive? Companies selling these foods are raising prices for simple things such as fruits and vegetables. Six dollars for a bag of salad should be an indicator that the prices are too high. People want to be healthy, but it seems as if corporate America really does not want to make that prospect cheap. You should avoid wasting money just to eat healthy; go buy those cheap frozen vegetables at the grocery store!

Analysis: Conclusion: Buy cheap frozen vegetables instead of health foods.

Reason: Corporate America is charging too much for health foods.

For the reason to support the conclusion, we must assume that the value of individual material wealth is more important than the values of public health and nutrition.

General Teaching Comments for Identifying Descriptive Assumptions As mentioned previously, students need to be sensitized both to descriptive assumptions required for reasons to be true (assumptions underlying the reason) and to assumptions needed for reasons to logically support the conclusion (linkage assumptions). You can help them identify assumptions underlying the reason by having them ask, “For this reason to be true, what else must I believe?” You can help them identify linkage assumptions by having them ask, “If this reason is true, what else needs to be true for it to make the truth of the conclusion more likely?”

One of the most common responses made by students in identifying descriptive assumptions is to restate the reason as an assumption, perhaps changing the wording just a little. For example, to the argument that women should not be allowed in combat because they are too compassionate, a student might respond, “The writer is assuming that women really are too compassionate.” Because of this tendency, we have our students repeatedly compare stated assumptions with the stated reasons to which they are relating the assumptions. If they have restated the reason, we push them toward an assumption by asking, “WHAT ELSE does the writer need to believe to accept the truth of the reason?” What the students usually mean when they restate the reason as an assumption is that the writer or speaker is making an ASSERTION that may not be true.

A good exercise in class is to have the students attempt to defend a position that disagrees with the writer’s. This will usually generate ideas concerning what the writer has taken

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for granted, because counter-arguments so frequently are challenges to hidden assumptions.

We recommend that you require your students to not only state the assumptions but also to explain the impact of the assumption on the reasoning. To do this, you can encourage them to show how the assumption might be false, and if it were false, what impact would that have.

Remind students that not all descriptive assumptions are of equal importance to the critical thinker. We most want to be aware of those assumptions that when identified are the most arguable—ideas on which reasonable people can differ. We refer to these as questionable assumptions. You will want your students to focus on identifying these questionable assumptions. Note that questionable here means “the truth of the assumption is questionable; it is not whether the assumption is actually being made in the reasoning that is questionable.

Identifying assumptions, either descriptive or value preference ones, is probably the most difficult skill you will be teaching from Asking the Right Questions.. It is also the teaching task for which we have found instructor modeling of the thinking process to be most essential. As you help students identify assumptions, the more your own thinking is made explicit, the better. Teacher think-alouds are VERY useful!

Further Discussion Questions

Ø Discuss the different kinds of assumptions. In what kinds of arguments are value assumptions likely to be most important? Why? Ø We make descriptive assumptions about the causes of the behavior of others and of our own behavior all the time. Consider the last time that someone did something to you that you didn’t like. What conclusion did you infer from that act? In drawing that conclusion, what did you assume? How do you think our assumptions about the causes of other people’s behavior influence our conclusions about their behavior? Ø What steps can you take to identify descriptive assumptions in arguments? Ø Do you believe it is easier to identify the assumptions of others or your own assumptions? Why do you think that’s the case?

Further Assignments to Help Students Identify Assumptions Require students to: 1. Identify assumptions that they make in their daily personal lives and explain the personal impact of the assumptions, Students make many implicit assumptions daily that influence their beliefs and daily interactions with others. You can prompt this process by sharing some of your own assumptions and their impact. This exercise highlights the personal relevance and potential helpfulness of asking the question, “What are some value and descriptive assumptions am I making in my personal life and how are they influencing my behavior.” One way to prompt such assumptions is to have students list several beliefs that they have about friends, teachers, parents, politics, movies, celebrities, or some recent experience in their lives and then supply 45 .

a reason for each belief. They then can supply the missing assumption that link the reason and the belief and then contemplate whether there might be any reason to question that assumption.

2. Identify descriptive and/or value assumptions in very brief arguments (usually one or two sentences) that you have distributed. This assignment is an excellent way for students to experience early successes in trying to master the locating of assumptions.

The following Website is an excellent source for constructing very brief “starter” arguments for identifying both value and descriptive assumptions: http://www.youdebate.com 3. Provide two different definitions for key term(s) in a controversy, such as the definition of “life” in the abortion controversy, or “imperialism” in the controversy of whether the United States is becoming too imperialistic, and then show how changes in the definition would affect the reasoning. This exercise should sensitize students to definitional assumptions.

3. Identify available reasons supporting X and show that they could also support alternative conclusions to X. Then identify assumptions necessary for one to use these reasons to support X. For example, have students generate conclusions about their personal life and their reason for it, such as: “I must be a loser; my girlfriend just broke up with me,” then show how that same reason (breaking up) could support a different conclusion, such as his girlfriend is afraid of getting too attached to someone right now. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that reasons do not speak for themselves. Assumptions often provide the hidden link between reasons and a particular conclusion.

Writing Exercises for Practice in Identifying Descriptive Assumptions WARM-UP EXERCISE The U.S. is overreacting to energy crisis. Technology will solve our problems.

Descriptive assumptions: - From tomorrow onwards, technology will function primarily to solve existing problems and will cease to create new problems. (But what about unintended consequences?)

- New technologies will succeed and do so quickly enough to make a big difference soon. (But much technology takes decades to develop and phase in widely.)

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EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 3 FOR CHAPTER 5 Student activity: Identify assumptions Many housewives experience severe stress. The demands of children, husband and society place intense pressures on modern women. To cope with these pressures often requires medicinal aid.

What is wrong with taking an effective pill that gives both energy and relative peace of mind? It certainly seems preferable to have women taking amphetamines than to have them experiencing massive nervous breakdowns. There is little evidence to suggest that amphetamines taken in moderate dosages are addictive, and they are not very expensive; thus, it would seem that modern women have little to lose and much to gain by their use.

Analysis: Conclusion: Amphetamines are desirable for the mental health of many modern women.

Reasons: 1. The pressures on modern women are intense.

2. Amphetamines are an effective aid to peace of mind.

3. The alternative to amphetamines is a nervous breakdown.

4. Evidence fails to show that amphetamines are addictive.

5. Amphetamines are not expensive.

This brief passage is replete with descriptive (and value) assumptions. If the reasons are true (which is highly questionable), do we need to take something for granted if they are to move us toward the conclusion?

For the reasons to support the conclusion there is the assumption that the advantages of amphetamine use cannot be provided in ways that do not present the same risks as use of the drug. If it’s the case that women can learn to cope with pressures in ways that do not require drug use, such as getting increased exercise and receiving more help from their spouses, then the reasons are not supportive of the conclusion.

An important definitional assumption made by the author that links the second reason to the conclusion is that an effective pill is one that gives energy and peace of mind.

One may find this definition to be unsatisfactory and thus be less inclined to agree with the conclusion. Such a definition, for example, is consistent with a heavily medicated society of energized zombies. In order for the third reason to be true, it must be assumed that there is no option in addition to amphetamines and nervous breakdowns. Yet, there is abundant evidence that there are many more “effective” strategies for tolerating stress, such as training in relaxation skills.

Are there questionable ideas that must be taken for granted for us to believe any of the reasons? To accept the fourth reason, we would also have to accept the 47 .

assumption that the typical user of amphetamines will use them in moderate doses, as such doses are defined by the research. We also must assume that the research that has been done is well designed.

Because this passage is prescriptive in nature and contains much ambiguity, it makes a good exercise for testing students’ ability to identify key ambiguities and key value and descriptive assumptions.

EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 4 FOR CHAPTER 5 Recently, we have lost community members in a large fire. It only seems logical now that we start implementing fire safety presentations or courses in our schools. The last thing we want to happen is for more tragedies to occur, especially in our schools.

The fire safety training will prevent this community from losing any more lives. Educational programs provide the best way to go if we are to avoid future disasters of this type.

Analysis: Conclusion: Schools should implement fire safety presentations.

Reasons: We need to prevent more tragedies from happening, especially in the schools, 1. and the fire safety training will prevent loss of lives from fires.

Educational programs are the best solution to the problem.

2.

For the first reason to be true, it would have to be the case that students would take the safety presentations much more seriously than, for example, people on an airplane flight who are given safety instructions. It would also have to be the case that most deaths from fire are preventable through an education process. The causes of fires and dying in fires are very complex, and it’s possible that educational programs would or could not provide adequate means for avoiding death by fire. An assumption linking the reasons to the conclusion is that training in one setting, the school, is transferable to other, often quite different, settings. Another underlying assumption seems to be that deaths from the recent fire occurred as a result of ignorance of safety rules.

Perhaps the people who died in the fire had received lots of training in fire safety, and yet the deaths were unavoidable given the nature of the fire.

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Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 4 Adopted children should have the right to find out who their biological parents are. They should be able to find out for personal and health reasons. Most children would want to know what happened to these people and why they were given up for adoption. Even though this meeting may not be completely the way the child had imagined it, this interaction could provide a real sense of closure for adopted children. There are people who believe that it does not matter who the biological parents are as long as the child has loving parents. It is true that having a supportive environment is necessary for children, but there will always be nagging questions for these children that will be left unanswered if they are not able to find out who their biological parents are. There are also health risks that can be avoided by allowing a child to find out who their parents are. A lot of diseases have hereditary links that would be useful for the child and the new family to know.

Analysis: Conclusion: Adopted children should be allowed to find their biological parents’ identities.

Reason: 1. Knowing ones birth parents can provide many health benefits.

Supporting Reasons: a. Psychological closure can be achieved by finding answer to enduring questions. b. Able to find out what their biological parents are like.

2. Permits one to assess health risks.

Try reverse role-playing, taking the position of someone who values the parents’ right to privacy.

For the first reason to be true, it must be the case that the children are bothered by not knowing their biological parentage. Surely this assumption would be true for some adopted children. Is there data that suggests a widespread burning desire to know the birth parents? If so, please present the data so we can move toward agreeing with the argument. There are many reasons to think that some children may either be satisfied not knowing or may not even be aware that they are adopted.

Also, for the main reason to be enhanced by the supporting reasons, we would need to assume that meeting the biological parents would not create sharp new tensions between the individual and the adoptive parents.

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Chapter 6: Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?

Chapter Topics

v Introduction v A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies v Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point v Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies v Looking for Diversions v Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question v Summary of Reasoning Errors v Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies v Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

You can link this chapter naturally to Chapter 5 because a fundamental thinking process involved in identifying fallacies is the recognition of faulty assumptions. A useful way to begin the chapter discussion is to have the students explain how Chapters 5 and 6 are related.

Also, we usually combine reading of Chapter 6 with some readings in Damer’s informative book on fallacies, Attacking Faulty Reasoning. Our strong emphasis on the PROCESS of locating reasoning fallacies supplements well Damer’s emphasis on a thorough cataloging and defining of fallacies.

This chapter is always one of the most engaging chapters for students. But you need to be careful that they don’t get too carried away! The material tends to be more concrete than the preceding chapters and is conducive to them having many rewarding “aha, I’ve found an error” experiences. We discuss this tendency of the fallacy chapter to lead to a sense of empowerment and encourage an “I gotcha” attitude, and we continually remind them that the purpose of identifying fallacies is not to destroy someone’s argument but to help all parties sort out stronger arguments from weaker ones as we try to use the interchange to improve our understanding of an issue. Damer’s text is especially helpful at providing hints to students about how they can effectively interact with others while making them aware of their fallacies. Because of its emphasis on the social nature of critical thinking, having the students strive to integrate this chapter with Chapter 2 can be helpful.

We have found it very helpful to students to always keep in mind what kinds of reasons would be good reasons as they read a persuasive essay. For example, on many topics, specific advantages and disadvantages of an action may be the most relevant reasons. If students have already considered what reasons should most persuade them, they will be more sensitive to the reasoning fallacies. This suggestion, of course, will be most helpful when students have some familiarity with a topic.

Appeals to emotion are ubiquitous in arguments. It is helpful to discuss with your students the issue of whether there are times when such appeals are appropriate—when 50 .

should we NOT be Dr. Spocks? A distinction that can be stressed is between arguments that aim to motivate us to action versus those that aim to convince us to believe something. Appeals to emotion are rarely appropriate when others try to influence our beliefs, but are often reasonable when they motivate us to act.

Because the number of fallacies possible can seem overwhelming to students, we try to stress the fallacy searching process more than the naming process. But we do encourage students to learn the names of a core group of about 20 fallacies as a start. You may find it useful to provide your students with a list of those fallacies for which you most want them to memorize the name.

There are many sites on the Web that list, define, and provide examples of fallacies.

Typing fallacies in reasoning into search engines, for example, will link you to many excellent sites for listing, defining, and giving examples of fallacies.

Discussion Questions

Ø What is the relationship between finding descriptive assumptions and finding fallacies? Ø Are there times when ad hominem arguments or slippery slope arguments should not be regarded as fallacies and should influence your beliefs about an issue?

Explain. Ø When should we most pay attention to ad populum arguments? When should the opinion of the majority most matter? Ø What are some useful clues to use to identify a reasoning fallacy? Ø When are appeals to emotion appropriate, and when are they fallacious?

Assignments

Require students to: 1. Select a topic in which they are interested and write a DELIBERATE FALLACY PAPER on that topic. For example, the paper could include 10 paragraphs supporting a conclusion, and each paragraph could be one of the fallacies. On a separate piece of paper they could name the fallacy and describe how it is exhibited in the paragraph.

Students can then pair up with other students and share their papers, each student having to identify the fallacies of the other. Having the papers available provides a number of learning options for the teacher. Students thoroughly enjoy this activity.

2. Engage in a fallacy team competition, in which the teacher sets up some kind of prize system. Start by dividing the class into teams of about 5 or 6 people one or two weeks prior to the competition. Have members of the class construct their own reasoning fallacy examples. Responses to Exercise 1 above might be one resource for these fallacies. Have group members meet and decide which fallacy examples they wish to use in team competition. Teachers and students can jointly choose their own set of rules for the competition.

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3. Write responses to some of the fallacies presented in the exercises at the end of selected chapters in Damer’s Attacking Faulty Reasoning. These exercises require the student to name fallacies and to further elaborate on the problem in the reasoning.

4. Locate fallacies in essays supporting a position they strongly support. Newspaper editorials are especially good material for this process. This assignment gives students insight into the greater difficulty of identifying fallacies in arguments with which they agree versus those with which they disagree.

5. Identify emotional appeals in speeches or in advertisements.

6. Complete some of the selected exercises easily accessed on the Web. Below are several good practice Websites. You can find more such sites through your favorite search engine. http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/main.html Students can use this Website as good practice in identifying fallacies. The site provides links to a variety of fallacies, each of which is described briefly, then followed by multiple-choice questions. The student makes the choice and then receives helpful feedback. http://www.fallacyfiles.org/examples.html This site provides excellent examples and analyses and works well for student selftesting.

7. Catch fallacies in their real-life encounters. Have students record examples in which they have seen/heard people use fallacies. They can report on what the person said, what fallacy was used, whether the fallacy was noticed, and whether anyone challenged it.

8. View the classic video 12 Angry Men (we prefer the original version) and identify examples of reasoning fallacies demonstrated in the arguments made by the characters in the play. Then have them identify several examples of good reasoning in the play—reasoning that is not fallacious. This exercise helps sensitize students to good arguments as well as bad ones.

9. A good exercise for students at this stage of their reading is to give them an opportunity to evaluate other people’s arguments emphasizing the critical thinking questions that they have learned thus far. One possible assignment to engage them more in the evaluation process is the following: (a) Have the students form groups; (b) Have them interview people on a topic; (c) Have the group decide which arguments are the best.

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Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE Student activity: Identify fallacies in the reasoning What made Harry Needamore, the chief executive of Slippery Oil, so obsessed with making money that he was willing to mislead investors and falsify accounting information such that his deception cost innocent investors millions of dollars? He is a psychopathic personality. It seems that all such extreme cases of corporate fraud come from this cause, as Mr. Needamore’s case so clearly demonstrates.

Analysis: Issue: Why did Mr. Needamore engage in fraudulent behavior?

Conclusion: Mr. Needamore’s fraudulent behavior was caused by his having a psychopathic personality.

Reasons: All such cases come from this cause.

Supporting reason: Mr. Needamore’s case proves it.

The major problem of this reasoning is that it commits the begging the question fallacy. Also, embedded in the reasoning is the fallacy of explaining by naming. The author gives a reason for Mr. Needamore’s behavior, the naming of it, but the supporting reason for that reason assumes the truth of the conclusion. She needed to provide us with independent evidence that the corporate executive had a psychopathic personality. And even if that had been accomplished, the effort to explain by naming would most likely have left us with a false sense of understanding because it so greatly oversimplifies causal understanding. Naming fails to reveal what complex pattern of internal and external influences led to his behavior.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 6

Bill: Countries that harbor terrorists who want to destroy the United States must be considered enemies of the United States. Any country that does not relinquish terrorists to the American justice system is clearly on the side of the terrorists. This sort of action means that the leaders of these countries do not wish to see justice done to the terrorists and care more about hiding murderers, rapists, thieves, and anti-democrats.

Taylor: That’s exactly the kind of argument that I would expect from someone who has relatives who have worked for the CIA. But it seems to me that once you start labeling countries that disagree with America on policy as enemies, then eventually almost all countries will be considered our enemies, and we will be left with no allies.

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Bill: If that’s the case, too bad. America stands for freedom, for democracy, and for truth. So it can stand against the world. Besides, the United States should be able to convince countries hostile to the United States of the error of their ways because our beliefs have a strong religious foundation.

Taylor: Do you really think most religious people are in favor of war? A Gallup poll last week found that 75 percent of highly religious people didn’t think we should go to war with countries harboring terrorists.

Bill: I think that’s an overestimate. How many people did they survey?

Taylor: I’m not sure. But getting back to your original issue, the biggest problem with a tough stand against countries that harbor terrorists is that such a policy is not going to wipe out terrorism in the world.

Bill: Why do you keep defending the terrorists? I thought you were a patriot. Besides this is a democracy, and most Americans agree with me.

Analysis: Issue: How tough a stand should the U.S. take against countries that don’t support our policies on terrorism?

Bill’s Conclusion: The U.S. should take a hard-line stance against countries that do not support our policies.

Taylor’s conclusion: The U.S. should not take a tough stand against countries that harbor terrorists.

Bill’s first reasons: (1) Countries that harbor terrorists must be considered enemies of the U.S. Such an action means that the leaders don’t want to see justice done to terrorists and care more about hiding murderers, rapists, etc.

Taylor’s first reasons: (2) That’s what I would expect from someone with relatives working for the CIA. (3) Once you start labeling countries that disagree with U.S. policy as enemies, then eventually almost all countries will be considered our enemies.

Bill’s next reason: (4) America can handle that. It stands for freedom, for democracy and for truth and thus can stand against the world. (5) America should be able to convince countries hostile to it of the error of their ways because of the strong religious foundation of its beliefs.

Taylor’s next reason: (6) But most religious people don’t think we should go to war with countries harboring terrorists.

Bill’s next reason: (7) That’s an overestimate. How many people did they survey?

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Taylor’s last reason: (8) I’m not sure. (9) Biggest problem with a tough stand is that it’s not going to wipe out terrorism Bill’s last reason: (10) How can you defend the terrorists; I thought you were a patriot. (11) This is a democracy, most Americans agree with me.

What are the fallacies in the above reasoning? As we ask the question, we want to be considering to what extent the reasons mention specific advantages or disadvantages of taking a tough stand.

Let’s take each reason in succession.

(1) This argument reflects several reasoning fallacies. First, there is an either-or quality to the argument; either you’re for us or against us, when there may be a variety of complex reasons for why a country might harbor terrorists. The argument oversimplifies. Also, the language of “murderers” and “rapists” appeals to such strong emotions that it might distract us from more specific reasons why a country might harbor terrorists.

(2) Taylor commits an ad hominem fallacy here by attacking the person’s background, rather than directly addressing the ideas.

(3) This reasoning is an example of the slippery slope fallacy because it makes the faulty assumption that once we take the first step, we won’t be able to stop ourselves from repeating the step with other countries.

(4) In defending America’s ability to handle the potential slippery slope, should it occur, Bill states a number of glittering generalities rather than specific reasons as support, thus resorting to an appeal to positive emotions.

(5) Here we see an example of wishful thinking, a major clue being the use of the phrase SHOULD be able to convince. Because something should be does not mean it will be.

(6) First Taylor has introduced a red herring by shifting the issue to the beliefs of religious people, rather than the power of a religious belief foundation to change opinion. In addition, this reason also has the quality of a straw person argument.

Taylor has extended the phrase “consider as enemies” to “go to war,” when no one has argued for going to war.

(7) Bill has now been caught up in the red herring argument, rather than the issue at hand.

(8) Taylor stays on the red herring trail by responding to Bill’s irrelevant comment.

Sample size is not a relevant issue.

(9) Taylor tries to present a disadvantage of taking a tough stand, but in doing so, commits the fallacy of searching for a perfect solution.

(10) Bill resorts to an ad hominem argument here. Whether Taylor is a patriot is not the issue; it is Taylor’s ideas that matter.

(11) This final argument reflects an inappropriate appeal to common opinion.

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#Connection of Interest. Meaning of “Begging the Question.” Because the phrase “begging the question” is often misused and thus can be confusing to students, it is helpful to point out what the phrase does NOT mean if used precisely. It does NOT mean to raise the question, or to beg that the question be asked. See the Website http://begthequestion.info for further information.

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Chapter 7: How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Case examples, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?

Chapter Topics

v Introduction v The Need For Evidence v Locating Factual Claims v Sources of Evidence v Intuition as Evidence v Appeals to Personal Experience as Evidence v Case examples as evidence v Testimonials as Evidence v Appeals to Authority as Evidence v Using This Critical Question v Problems With Citers Citing other Citers v Evidence and Your Writing and Speaking v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

This chapter represents a different emphasis than that of earlier parts of the book. This is the first time that evidence has taken center stage. A commonality of this chapter and the next several chapters is an emphasis on EVALUATING EVIDENCE. It is useful to begin the chapters on evidence by listing for the students all the varieties of evidence that authors might use in supporting their claims, and to encourage them to ask of all essays they read: “What KINDS of evidence does the author use?”

It is also helpful to contrast how evidence is related to the conclusion in a descriptive argument, such as the use of a research study to support a generalization, and how it is used in a prescriptive argument when it is usually used to support a reason, rather than to support the main conclusion. When focusing on prescriptive arguments, you may want to emphasize that the best reasons are ones that we have good reason to believe are true and are also relevant to the conclusion. Relevance was a central issue in the chapters on assumptions and fallacies.

Truth will be the central issue in the next few chapters. We have found discussions of the meaning of the term “truth” to be valuable, and you may want to caution the students that while certain truth of many claims is an ideal that we rarely achieve, we would certainly want to rely more on claims strongly supported by evidence than claims lacking much support.

A fun way to introduce this chapter is to illustrate the tenuous nature of truths by exposing students to some excerpts from Cerf and Navasky’s book, The Experts Speak.

The book is full of examples of expert claims that were later proven to be wrong.

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Another interesting perspective on the status of experts in our society is provided by a book published in 2005 by Philip Tetlock called Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? The book provides many examples to illustrate why we should be cautious of experts. For example, Tetlock reviews studies that show that the average person is often just as competent, if not more competent, than an expert in making political predictions. Of further interest is the psychological focus of his book. He argues that experts suffer from the same psychological biases and misconceptions as the rest of us.

An informative review of Tetlock’s text by Louis Menand in the December 5, 2005 issue of the New Yorker, which you might want to recommend to interested students, can be found at: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/12/05/051205crbo_books1 We have found it very enlightening to ask students to generate various sources of evidence that they use in their own lives. An additional rewarding step is for them to generate what is useful and what is dangerous about each of the sources they use.

One exercise we have found useful is asking students to spell out the questionable descriptive assumptions implicit in the use of testimonials or reliance on authorities as evidence. In doing this activity, it is important that they think carefully about when it is advisable to rely on authorities, as well as how one goes about choosing among authorities.

Students often find specific examples of what looks like intuitive judgment to be compelling arguments for the value of intuition as evidence. It is helpful to discuss with students notions of probability, especially the high probability that AT LEAST SOME intuitive judgments will turn out to be validated—on grounds of chance only. Also, remind them of our tendency to be much more attentive to the intuitive “hits” than to the “misses.” In addition, have students generate reasons why some experienced experts might be able to make valid judgments but not be able to verbalize their reasons for such judgments.

An article by David Myers in the November/December 2002 issue of Psychology Today makes an excellent stimulus for discussion of intuition. It asks the question, “When is it safe to go with your gut?” At the time of this writing, the article was also available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/PTO-20021209-000001.html You can also find some interesting examples from Malcolm Gladwell’s recent popular book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking to insert into class discussion.

A good way to remind students of how authorities differ is to expose them to magazines or periodicals with widely diverging viewpoints on similar issues, such as having them read from the National Review: A Journal of Fact and Opinion, a conservative political viewpoint, and The Nation, a leading liberal periodical. Both present scholarly articles, and students can be asked to check out the credibility of the various writers as authorities 58 .

on various topics. Having the students check out movie reviews by the experts at Internet movie sites like the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com) and RottenTomatoes.com also gives them vivid demonstrations of expert disagreement.

Students need to be very sensitive to the way that authorities are cited by writers or speakers. You can point out to them that quotes from authorities are often used as a persuasive technique to support a communicator’s position with the implied questionable assumption that if an expert has made such a statement, it must be true and/or profound.

But, of course, a quote is not true just because an expert has stated it. You’ll want to encourage them to get in the habit of asking, “But why should I believe THAT expert?”

You will find that often when students defend a personal belief in class, they will resort to their own personal experiences. Such occurrences make an excellent learning opportunity for the entire class to vividly grasp the shortcomings of such evidence.

Asking the question, “How typical do you think your experience is?” can start insightful discussions. # Connection of Interest: Talking Points. Article on hidden influences on media coverage, which shape public perceptions. New York Times article, April 20, 2008, “Behind Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand.” Reports on how retired officers have been used to shape terrorism coverage from inside the TV and radio networks. Integrates well with discussion of examining the credibility of authorities. # Connection of Interest: Selective Perception. This Website summarizes a classical study on how our interests, experiences and values influence the way we perceive events, in this case events in a football game. http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/social/ hastorf_cantril_saw_game.html Hastorf and Cantril conclude: “In brief, the data here indicate that there is no such ‘thing’ as a ‘game’ existing ‘out there’ in its own right which people merely ‘observe.’ The game ‘exists’ for a person and is experienced by him only insofar as certain happenings have significances in terms of his purpose.”

Discussion Questions

Ø Differentiate among the major kinds of evidence discussed in this chapter. Ø Discuss the major problems of each of the kinds of evidence and indicate any situations in which you think such evidence might be persuasive in an argument. Ø What criteria should you use to decide how much credibility to give to an authority’s conclusions? Ø Consider several of your own strong beliefs concerning controversial social issues. What kinds of evidence do you have for such beliefs? How adequate is such evidence? Ø How would you do a well-designed study to determine whether some people have intuitive powers? Ø Discuss the major strengths and weaknesses of case examples as evidence and why they think case examples often seem to persuade people more powerfully than statistics based on studies of large numbers of people.

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Ø Are some case studies better evidence than others; and if so, what would make them better?

Assignments

See Chapter 8 for assignments for Chapters 7 and 8 combined.

Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE Student activity: Analyze evidence used I am planning to sign up for Mr. Feiner’s class because from everything I can find it’s a fun class. My sister’s cousin had the class last year, and she really enjoyed it. She’s been urging everyone to take Mr. Feiner.

Analysis: Conclusion: I should sign up for Mr. Feiner’s class.

Reason: A person I know urged me to sign up because she knew someone who had enjoyed the class.

This argument is a very common one. Frequently students know very little about their options in terms of alternative teachers. In a sense, they are desperate for any information they can find. So they take the word of a testimonial from another student. In an instance where one’s perceptions of a good class matched those of the information source, the testimonial might be reliable. But ordinarily the person receiving the advice has no basis for believing that this shared perception is present.

Then the testimonial provides highly risky evidence.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 7 Are Macs really better than PCs? The answer is a resounding yes!

Computer Nerds Quarterly recently ran an article thoroughly outlining every advantage that Macs have over PCs. Furthermore, just ask Mac users, and they will quickly explain how Macs are superior to PCs. For example, Sherry, a Mac user, states, “My Mac is the best thing I ever purchased. It is fast and easy to use. Plus, it has never crashed on me. All of my friends who have PCs have complained about all kinds of problems my Mac has never had.” More importantly, a recent report in Consumer Affairs states that more new businesses are using Mac-based systems than PC-based systems. Clearly, Macs are a cut above the PCs.

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Analysis: Conclusion: Macs are superior to PCs. Reasons: 1. Computer Nerds Quarterly says so.

2. Mac users say so.

3. Report in Consumer Affairs states more new businesses are using Mac-based systems.

What kind of evidence is used? Reasons 1 and 3 resort to Appeals to Authority in the form of magazines, and reason 2 reflects personal testimonials. We would want to know much more about the authoritative sources before considering their support as credible. Also, the testimonials are of dubious value, most importantly because they are highly selective. #Connection of Interest. Credibility of Web sites as Authority. “A Prescription for Fear: Despite the Mayo Clinic site’s credibility, symptom addicts still use WebMD,”

by Virjinia Heffernan. Suggests the potential role of the impact of pharmaceutical marketing on information one gets about drugs on two widely used sources for drug recommendations: WebMD.com and MayoClinic.com. Article discusses credibility of these two drug information sites. Potentially useful read for students to contemplate possible ties between drug Website advice and financial support from drug companies. See also “Letters: A prescription for fear” at http://www.nytimes.com/ 2011/02/06/magazine/06FOB-Medium-t.html. Also see http://www.nytimes.com/ 2011/02/20/magazine/20Letters-t-APRESCRIPTIO_LETTERS.html, for two followup letters.

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Chapter 8: How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, and Analogies?

Chapter Topics

v Personal Observation v Research Studies as Evidence v Problems with Research Findings v Clues for Evaluating Research Studies v Generalizing from the Research Sample v Biased Surveys and Questionnaires v Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument v Analogies as Evidence v Identifying and Comprehending Analogies v Evaluating Analogies v Summary v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

This chapter is the densest chapter in ARQ in terms of information covered. Also, it covers many complex issues in a very condensed version. Thus, for those classes in which such material is especially pertinent, teachers will find that they need to allot extra time for its coverage. Also, because the chapter provides such a large number of limitations to research, you need to remind students of the many potential benefits of systematic research and that no research evidence is perfect. Having them point out strengths as well as weaknesses of research evidence is helpful in this regard.

Excellent resources for practice materials for the two chapters focusing on the use of evidence (Chapters 7 and 8) are the popularized social science review magazines, such as Psychology Today and the Utne Reader. Also, surveys and essays presented in popular magazines, such as Time, Newsweek, Cosmopolitan, and Ladies Home Journal provide the student with an opportunity to apply questions about quality of sources, quality of research, selectivity of the researcher, and generalizing from the research samples.

Essays from the Science and Health sections of the New York Times, especially the Tuesday Science Times section, make for excellent classroom use, and various health magazines, such as Health and Men’s Health are also good practice sources. For more lengthy articles for practice in evaluating evidence, we have found the Atlantic Monthly and Discover to be especially good sources. Arguments from court cases or legal journals are a rich source for practice in evaluating analogical reasoning.

If you are using a text for a specific discipline, you can encourage students to develop the habit of writing in the margins the kinds of evidence being used by the textbook author(s). You can discuss with them under what conditions they think the textbook should present evidence and what kind of evidence is missing that would be helpful.

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A helpful exercise to illustrate the large error in small sample size is to have half the class conduct a brief survey of perhaps three to five items, each sampling about 10 persons, and the other half complete the same survey with each student sampling about 30–40 persons. Each group can then share their distributions of results. The much larger range of results in the small sample group will illustrate very clearly the larger variability that occurs across samples when smaller sample sizes are used.

A related exercise that is enjoyable for students is to bring in a large jar of M&M candies, distribute various amounts of the candies, and have class members count the various colors. The inference task is to estimate what percentage of M&M candy is of a particular color.

Getting students to state a research question and to state how they would optimally investigate it helps them appreciate problems in other people’s presentation of evidence.

Also, presenting the write-up of a well-designed, thorough research study provides a useful model of how evidence might be presented in its most complete form—sensitizing them to how much is usually omitted by secondary sources.

Sensitizing students to the fact that much research in the social sciences is conducted using VOLUNTEERS, often students in psychology courses, and having them discuss how volunteers in studies might be very different from randomly selected participants helps them appreciate how biased many research samples might be, thus limiting their generalizability.

You may want to share with your students results from a July 13, 2005, article in the Journal of the American Medical Association to provide a vivid example of the need for replication of research studies and the tenuous nature of research “truths.” The researcher examined all original clinical research studies published in 3 major general clinical journals or high-impact-factor specialty journals in 1990–2003. These articles had been cited more than 1,000 times in the literature. The researchers then compared the results of these articles with subsequent studies of comparable or larger sample size and similar or better-controlled designs. More than 90 percent of the original studies examined concluded that an intervention was effective; but 16 percent of these were contradicted by later studies, and another 16 percent showed weaker effects than later studies. Only 44 percent of the original studies were replicated. In all cases, the later study used for comparison was either based on a larger sample or better controlled. (See Ioannidis, J., “Contradicted and Initially Stronger Effects in Highly Cited Clinical Research,” JAMA 2005; 294:218–228.)

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Discussion Questions

Ø How would you expect research generalizations about social behavior to differ from generalizations about physical phenomena? How might cultural factors influence each kind of generalization? Ø Summarize the questions that you would want to ask about research studies in your discipline. Are some analogies better “proof” than others? Explain. Ø Why are arguments from analogy so common in the law? Ø Data do not directly PROVE conclusions. The data must be interpreted by a human being—the researcher; and human beings often differ about the MEANING of data. What factors might influence a researcher’s interpretation of data? Ø There are some situations in which a small sample size is adequate for making a generalization. Can you think of such situations? Clue: One sample drink of sour milk from a gallon of milk leads most of us to the generalization: “All cups of milk from that container will be sour.”

Assignments (for Chapters 8 and 9)

Require students to: 1. Use a search engine, such as Google, to identify and examine several Websites that focus on the credibility of Website sources and to make a list of criteria they would use to determine whether a Website source of evidence is a reliable one. As added incentive, you could give the students extra credit for finding a criterion that is not mentioned in Chapters 7 or 8 of Asking the Right Questions.

2. Scan library periodicals and magazines to identify relationships among them and the dominant kinds of evidence used in their articles. A major benefit of this exercise is providing students an increased familiarity with the kinds of journals and magazines available to them. A possible writing assignment might be to compare two periodicals in how they present evidence, such as comparing a medical journal with a very detailed use of data with a more opinion-oriented journal.

3. Read a fairly lengthy, evidence loaded, secondary source article on some topic in which they are interested and identify the kinds of evidence used in the article. Time and Newsweek magazines are good sources for this assignment because their stories tend to include a mix of kinds of evidence—especially appeals to authority, testimonials, and research studies. Students can then discuss in class the limitations of the evidence, or write a paper on the limitations.

4. Locate survey findings either in periodicals or on Websites and have students critically evaluate the survey, especially the wording of the survey items and the sampling procedures used. To expand the assignment you could have them locate both a very good survey and a very poor one.

5. Evaluate the annual ratings of colleges published by U.S. News and World Report by focusing on the methodology used, especially the criteria used for the ratings. This information is of high interest to students and an especially good source for them to 64 .

get practice on addressing the validity of measurement question: Just how valid are these rankings? The rankings can either be found in the magazine or on the Web, at a site such as the following: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/ rankindex_brief.php.

6. Locate what they perceive to be a “good” research study supporting a particular conclusion. Have them present the study to a small group for critical feedback from the group. They will quickly obtain insight that no empirical study is perfect. A useful addition to the assignment is to have them suggest specific ways that the study might be improved. An important aspect of this assignment is to remind students that the fact that no study is perfect hardly means that all studies are horrible.

7. Seek out research evidence contrary to a strong personal position. Ask students to evaluate that evidence and explain how their personal position has been modified, if at all.

8. Practice stating QUALIFIED GENERALIZATIONS. Read all of a research study except the discussion and conclusion section, state an appropriate qualified conclusion, and then contrast that conclusion with the writer’s. Alternatively, collect newspaper articles presenting generalizations from social science research, then take an appropriate generalization from the research cited and contrast it with the headline.

For example, a research conclusion “Most college students study fewer than 10 hours per week,” might be qualified as “Most female second-year college students at a large public college in Minnesota who are willing to volunteer for a research project and who completed a 5-item survey at the Student Union during the month of October report studying 10 hours per week.”

9. Conduct a survey and present it to class or to small groups for critical feedback.

Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Student activity: Evaluate evidence I was recently hired to find the best cherry pie recipe in the state of Virginia. I found it in the kitchen of Evelyn Smith. My search began by requesting all interested cherry pie tasters to answer my newspaper ad. All respondents in the state met in a central location and tasted cherry pies. Each of 68 persons tasted the five cherry pies that were judged superior at the recent Virginia State Fair. To assure fairness, each “taste” was made on a different day so that the taste buds would not be confused. The winner? Ms. Smith’s pie! She received over 40% of the votes. Her closest competitor received 22%. Apparently, Ms. Smith has something special when it comes to cherry pies.

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Analysis: Conclusion: Evelyn Smith has the best cherry pie recipe in Virginia.

Reason: Ms. Smiths’ cherry pie received almost twice the number of votes as that of her nearest competitor in a contest judged by 68 people who responded to a newspaper ad seeking cherry pie tasters.

The population being generalized about in this passage is the set of people in Virginia who eat cherry pie. The quality of the sample used to select Ms. Smith’s recipe is very poor. It lacks breadth, randomness, and size. For example, are respondents who read and respond to newspaper ads diverse enough to provide a good sample of cherry pie eaters? Also, are those who would respond to such an advertisement likely to have taste preferences similar to the broader population of cherry pie eaters? We cannot tell the answers to these questions from the passage, but the author should have done a better job of showing the reader that the sample was adequate if he wanted to conclude such a broad generalization.

Is the measurement of cherry pie taste valid? To answer that question, we would want to see the data on the time sequence of the tasting. Was Ms. Smith’s pie tasted first (or perhaps last) by most respondents? In other words, did the contest merely show that the best cherry pie is the first (or maybe the last) tasted? Another serious measurement problem in this passage is caused by the fact that only those five pies that were successful in the Virginia State Fair were included in the contest. There may well have been numerous, better cherry pie recipes that were not represented in the State Fair, and thus were not included in the contest we are analyzing here.

EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 2 Politicization of the college classroom is much less an issue than Americans believe. Researchers questioned a random sample of 1300 professors from all disciplines in 2007 and found that 95% reported that they were “honest brokers” among competing political views. About 75 percent said they don’t let students know their political beliefs.

Analysis:

The biggest concern of this survey report is the accuracy of the professors’ responses.

For example, their responses may be influenced by the need to be politically correct, and also they may not be aware of clues that they give off to students relative to their political beliefs. Also, much more information about the random sampling would be helpful in determining whether it had corrected for possible biases.

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EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 3 “Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 8 One of the greatest symbols of the U.S. is the American flag. While cases in the past have defended desecration of the flag as symbolic speech, I argue, “Where is the speech in such acts?” I do not believe allowing people to tarnish the flag and thus attack everything that America stands for is the same as allowing free speech. If you have something bad to say about the U.S., say it, but do not cheapen the flag with your actions. Many Americans died to keep that flag flying.

Those who want to support flag burning and other such despicable acts are outnumbered. Last month, 75 people were surveyed in a restaurant in Dallas, Texas, and were asked if they supported the unpatriotic desecration of the American flag in an attempt to express some sort of anti-American idea. Ninety-three percent responded that they were not in favor of desecration of the American flag. Therefore, our national lawmakers should pass a law protecting the American flag against such horrible actions.

Analysis: Conclusion: There should be a law against flag burning.

Reasons: 1. Burning the flag is not the same as free speech 2. Burning the flag cheapens it and disrespects all the Americans who died to keep the flag flying.

3. A survey shows that most Americans are not in favor of desecration of the American flag.

The major evidence used in this argument is criticism of the analogy comparing burning the flag, free speech, and results of a survey. To decide whether the analogy between burning the flag and free speech is a good one and thus decide whether we agree with the author’s reason, we need to consider important similarities and differences between these two acts. If we decide the similarities are more important than the differences, we might reject this reason.

The survey has several important deficiencies, and thus we cannot consider it as credible evidence. First, the sample is VERY biased. It greatly lacks randomness and 67 .

breadth of sample because participants are from ONE setting, in ONE city, in ONE state. For example, results from a restaurant in California or New York would probably provide very different results from a restaurant in Texas.

In addition to the biased sample, the wording of the question is VERY leading because of its inclusion of the phrase “unpatriotic desecration of the American flag is an attempt to express some sort of anti-American idea.” Survey responses might have been very different if the question had simply asked, “Do you favor a law that makes burning the flag illegal? #Connection of Interest. Polls and politics—the Zogby polls. “Poll Position,” by Alexander Provan, published in the Nation, September 15, 2008. Book review of The Way We’ll Be, by John Zogby. Article raises many good issues about the use and values of polls such as the highly visible Zogby polls. # Connection of Interest. Critical thinking about a major study of critical thinking.

“Scholars Question New Book’s Gloom on Education.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 17, 2011. “Doubts are raised about study behind Academically Adrift.” Critical critique of very widely distributed study about what college students are learning. Supportive of need for targeting the teaching of critical thinking in the classroom. *Excellent article for stimulating a classroom discussion! #Connection of Interest. Potential power of companies to influence research.

Article argues that industry groups strive to emphasize scientific uncertainty as means to counter government regulations. Gives several concrete examples to illustrate.

Reference: Doubt is Their Product. By: Michaels, David, Scientific American, June, 2005, Vol. 292, Issue 6. Can also be accessed at: http://www.powerlinefacts.com/ Sciam_article_on_lobbying.htm #Connection of Interest. Challenged truth example. Article provides students with example of discrepancy between how the media is perpetuating a particular belief – the chemical imbalance theory of depression, and the current state of research related to this issue. Title: “Study: Media perpetuates unsubstantiated chemical imbalance theory of depression.” At: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/fsusmp030308.php #Connection of Interest. Problems of “expert opinions.” Article posted on Slate Website. Jurisprudence C.S.Oy: Forensic science is badly in need of reform. Here are some suggestions. By Radley Balko and Roger Koppl, posted August 12, 2008.

Focus on important issue: use of forensic science in criminal trials—and also the need for critical thinking about such evidence. Topic in which many students have interest.

See http://www.slate.com/id/2197284 #Connection of Interest. Animal analogies as evidence. “Today’s Lab Rats of Obesity: Furry, Fattened Couch Potatoes.” Interesting article published in New York Times on 2/20, 2011. Article describes research on monkeys that raises issue of whether such 68 .

research can reveal causes of human obesity. For example, will diet drugs tried on monkeys have same effect on humans? See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/ health/20monkey.html # Connection of Interest. Illustration of important flaws in how scientific medical research is conducted and communicated. “Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science.” By David H. Freedman. Published in The Atlantic, November, 2010. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medicalscience/8269/

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Chapter 9. Are There Rival Causes?

Chapter Topics

v Introduction v When to Look for Rival Causes v The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes v Detecting Rival Causes v The Cause or A Cause v Rival Causes and Scientific Research v Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups v Confusing Causation with Association v Confusing “After This” with “Because of This” v Explaining Individual Events or Acts v Evaluating Rival Causes v Using This Critical Question v Rival Causes and Your Own Communication v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

This chapter has both a critical and creative dimension to it. First, searching for rival causes provides a check against accepting the interpretation of what facts mean. Second, the search initially requires the generation of causes that were not provided. You can emphasize with the students that even the best experts miss rival causes, and inferring the wrong causes can have dramatic effects on societal actions. Good contemporary examples are searches for the causes of recent increased global temperatures and causes of disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

Searching for rival causes is a difficult task, requiring much creative thinking from the student. Thus, for this chapter, you will find it useful to provide students opportunities for “brainstorming.”

A good way to get students interested in the concept of rival causes is to relate this critical thinking to their own lives. For example, you can have them consider recent times in which someone has behaved in a negative way toward them, such as not showing up for a date, or getting unduly angry at them, and then have them state their hypothesis of why the person acted that way. Other students in the class can then offer possible alternative causes for the same behavior. Students can then discuss how thinking about different causes leads to different feelings about the negative act.

An excellent source for exercises to provide students with practice in identifying rival causes in research settings is Huck and Sandler’s text, Rival Hypotheses: Alternative Interpretations of Data Based Conclusions. These authors present one- to two-page summaries of social science research, which gives students enough information about the research to enable them to determine rival causes. In addition, the book’s appendix provides a summary of 20 categories of rival causes, many of which overlap with those 70 .

categories mentioned in ARQ. This text is most helpful when ARQ is being used as a supplemental text in a course in the social or physical sciences.

Because “cause” is such a complex concept, discussing its meaning with students is essential. Having them discuss reasons why it has been relatively easy to establish contributory causes for some events (e.g., crop growth caused by fertilizer) but difficult to establish contributory causes for other events (e.g., eating disorder behavior caused by early childhood experiences) sensitizes them to difficulties inherent in sorting out rival causes for the latter type of event.

To facilitate student brainstorming of causes of human behavior, we have found it useful to provide students with examples of kinds of causes. For example, commonly expressed causes are environmental conditions or stressors, childhood experiences, personality traits, unconscious dynamic processes such as psychological defenses, biological states such as genes and neurophysiology, positive and negative reinforcement, and classical conditioning. A useful exercise is for students to identify a behavior of interest, and then to search Google for causes that have been proposed for that behavior. For example numerous causes have been proposed for depression in college students. The class can then generate some common kinds of causes by having students share the results of their searches. Such an exercise can lead to a useful discussion of the distinction between A cause and THE cause of events. It also can sensitize them to the different kinds of research that is conducted to study causes of a behavior.

Remind students that the more they become aware of different kinds of causes through their education and personal experiences, the easier it will be for them to generate rival causes and they should find that developing the habit of asking the question, “Are there rival causes?” will have many personally beneficial payoffs.

An attention-grabbing reminder of the pervasiveness of rival causes is a song by folksinger Cheryl Wheeler, entitled “If It Were Up To Me,” from the album Sylvia Hotel.

The powerful lyrics address possible causes of the dramatic increase in violence among children and are available at http://www.cherylwheeler.com/songs/iiwutm.html.

Discussion Questions

Ø What are some good clues for recognizing that a questionable causal claim has been made? Ø What factors influence the kinds of causes we think of when we try to understand the causes of people’s behaviors? Ø Events can go together or be associated for a variety of reasons. Explain four ways that events X and Y might be related. Ø If someone claims that X is a cause of Y, does that mean that every time Y occurs, then X will have caused it? Explain. Does that mean that every time that X occurs, then Y will occur? Explain. Ø Researchers have significantly associated large numbers of causes with behaviors of general interest such as depression, obesity, happiness, success in marriage, tolerance for ambiguity, and impulsiveness. Most of these studies have been 71 .

correlational studies. What do such findings tell us about the search for causes of human behavior? In this context of so many significantly related causes for a behavior, how do we decide which causes are most important? Does it matter?

Why?

Assignments

Require students to: 1. Maintain a notebook of events in the newspapers, such as economic trends, outcomes of sporting events (e.g., winning streak by team, major upset), or other newsworthy events (e.g., science and health reports) that are accompanied by causal explanations, then note both the given explanation and plausible competing explanations that they can generate.

2. List causal explanations of some event of interest from a chapter or section in one of their textbooks, then generate rival hypotheses to explain the same event. This assignment can be expanded by asking them to discuss which cause, or combination of causes, they believe is the most likely one and why they think that’s the case.

3. Interview each other about what they believe to be the major causes of some contemporary event and what evidence they would use to support that belief. The interviewer can then try to generate rival causes consistent with the evidence.

4. Choose one of their own behaviors or traits, such as getting angry easily, being compulsive, or not being athletic, and write an essay suggesting possible causes for the behavior or trait. This assignment can act as a stimulant for diverse kinds of class discussion.

For example, students can reflect on the question of whether it’s reasonable to expect any behavior or trait to have the same general cause for ALL persons; and if it’s not, what the limitations are of asking the question, “What is THE cause of various human behaviors?”

You could also have students reflect on the different perspectives they used in deciding on important causes. For example, did they focus on biological, psychological (internal), or environmental (external) causes?

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Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Student activity: Identify rival causes A new 10-year follow-up study of nearly 7,000 men and women in California showed that skipping breakfast is among seven health risks that increase your chances of an early death. The study, by the University of California at Los Angeles Center for Health Sciences, found that death rates were 40% higher for men and 28% higher for women who “rarely or sometimes” ate breakfast, compared with those who ate breakfast “almost every day.”

A previous 10-year study conducted by the University of Iowa Medical College showed that eating a nutritious breakfast was associated with better physical and mental performance among children and adults.

In particular, the study revealed that those who ate breakfast were more productive during the late morning. They also had a faster reaction time (which may mean fewer accidents) and a less muscular figure than those who skipped breakfast. Children who had no breakfast were more likely to be listless and have trouble concentrating.

Analysis: Conclusion: Skipping breakfast increases your chances of an early death.

Reasons: 1. A study found that death rates were 40% higher for men and 28% higher for women who “rarely or sometimes ate breakfast” compared with those who ate breakfast almost every day.

2. Another study showed that eating a nutritious breakfast was associated with a better physical and mental performance among children and adults.

In reason number one the researcher has compared groups, but she has failed to provide important controls to eliminate a number of rival causes. The major question one needs to ask here is, “Did the breakfast eaters and non-eaters differ from one another in significant ways that might have accounted for the differences found?” For example, it is quite possible that people who don’t eat breakfast tend to have bad selfcare habits in general, such that they eat non-nutritious foods all day long, smoke a lot, and get little exercise. Without knowing whether the groups differ significantly, it is impossible to draw a causal generalization. Reason number two suffers from the same difficulties as reason one.

One rival cause is that people with a genetic predisposition for long life also have biological make-ups that stimulate appetite after sleep. The direction of causation is always one concern that careful hypothesis formation must attempt to nail down.

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One additional rival cause involves the nutritional composition of typical breakfasts.

It may not be breakfast that is having the projected effect. Instead, it could be the vitamin, mineral, and fiber content of typical breakfasts. Perhaps the identical nutrients eaten as a bedtime snack would have the alleged positive benefits attributed to breakfast.

EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 2 According to a recent study, one of the major causes of violence in schools is listening to aggressive heavy metal music. Researches studied more than 100 cases of “serious” violence within schools and found that 68% of the children involved in the violence listened to heavy metal music. These children would frequently come to school with headphones, listening to this music, as well as wearing clothing from heavy metal bands.

Frequently, these heavy metal songs discuss violence, and therefore are a direct cause of school violence.

Analysis: Conclusion: A major cause of violence in schools is listening to aggressive heavy metal music.

Reason: Research on more than 100 cases of serious violence within schools found that 68% of the children involved in violence listened to heavy metal music.

First, we don’t know how biased this sample is. The sample size is fairly large, which is good; but is it random and does it have much breadth? The results, for example, may reflect a bias due to the kind of school settings studied.

Second, as with most research testing causal conclusions, the omission of relevant comparison groups is a major defect. For example, if we studied 100 cases of students who had NOT been involved in serious violent acts, how many of those might have listened to heavy metal music? Maybe many students in the schools studied tend to be heavy metal listeners. A relevant comparison question is what percentage of children who listen to heavy metal music versus children who don’t listen to heavy metal music engage in violent acts.

Even if one could demonstrate an ASSOCIATION between listening to heavy metal and committing violent acts by using appropriate comparison groups, however, that would not by itself support a causal link. Many rival causes could account for this relationship. For example, we could ask, “What common factors might cause individuals to both listen to heavy metal music and to act violently?” Many rival causes come to mind, such as belonging to socially deviant peer groups, having problems with authority, a tendency to be stimulus seekers, and others.

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Note: With examples like the above, it is important to remind your students that the fact that SOME students who listen to heavy metal music don’t act violently does not prove that such listening is not a cause of violence.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 9 Regular exercise protects people against getting sick during the cold and flu season.

According to a recent study of 1,000 adult volunteers over a three-month period, those who exercised at least five times a week had 43 percent fewer days of illness than those who exercised less than one day a week.

Analysis.

Conclusion: Regular exercise protects people from sickness during the cold and flu season.

Reasons: Recent study found that over a three month period those who exercised at least five times a week had 43 percent fewer days of illness than those who exercized less than on day a week.

What factor other than exercising more frequently might have caused fewer days of illness? First, as far as we can tell study participants were not randomly assigned to two groups—one that exercised a lot and one that exercised very little. Thus, the high frequency exercisers likely differ in many important ways from the low frequency exercisers. Such differences thus may cause the results. What differences might matter? Perhaps people who choose to exercise have better health habits in general, such as eating and sleeping habits, than people who don’t exercise, and it’s these health habits that keep them from illness. Another possible cause of the difference is that when people are feeling ill, they don’t choose to exercise. #Connection of Interest. Placebo as rival cause. “Placebo Nation: Just Believe,” from Newsweek, March 17, 2008, by Sharon Begley. Also, see http://www.newsweek.com/ id/120094. For other interesting related article, see “Placebo Effect: Why we need less research on alternative medicine, not more,” by R. Barker Bausell, from Chronicle of Higher Education, March 14, 2008 issue. Shows how failure to consider placebo effect influences conclusions about effects of alternative medicines. #Connection of Interest. Rival causes for happiness. From New York Times, April 16, 2008, “Maybe Money Does Buy Happiness After All,” by David Leonhardt.

Interesting discussion of ongoing problem of attempts to show causal link between money and happiness. Also see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/ 16leonhardt.html # Connection of Interest. The research dilemma of isolating causes from the overall context and difficulties in ruling out rival causes. In Chapter 9, pp. 61–77, of his book In Defense of Food, which is entitled “Bad Science,” Michael Pollan provides a 75 .

fascinating story of the difficulty of conducting research studying the effects of nutrition and diet on the health of Americans. The chapter provides many insights into the need to be aware of rival causes, the difficulty of ruling out such causes, and the role of ideology and marketing in research findings on nutrients in our diet.

Chapter gives many insights into the pros and cons of randomized experimental studies of single causes.

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Chapter 10: Are the Statistics Deceptive?

Chapter Topics

v Introduction v Unknowable and Biased Statistics v Confusing Averages v Concluding One Thing, Proving Another v Deceiving by Omitting Information v Risk Statistics and Omitted Information v Using Statistics in Your Writing v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

This chapter is one of the most frequently enjoyed by our students. While the statistical flaws taught in this chapter are only the most basic ones, knowing about them is a powerful aid to critical thinking.

Our students regularly encounter arguments in statistical forms and see immediate utility in this component of critical thinking. An important consequence of their reaction is the need to counsel them not to conclude that all statistics are equally flawed. We don’t want to give them the impression that because statistical arguments are often imperfect, they are worthless.

We do not expect much statistical sophistication from most students and thus try to keep from overwhelming the students with too many numbers in this section. An important insight for students to acquire from this chapter is the fact that there are many different ways for statistics to be presented and that frequently those using the statistics are presenting them in a way most favorable to their conclusion. That is, statistics that are used represent a CHOICE by the individuals collecting and presenting them. They don’t just naturally emerge from a group of numbers.

For example, when reported by the media, statistics represent the product of multiple important choices—the choice of those who gathered the data (influenced by many factors), the choice of those who brought the data to the attention of the media (influenced by many factors), the choices by the media who selected this story to be covered (influenced by many factors), and the choices of those who ultimately package the information as news for the public (influenced by many factors). The insight makes them take a much closer look at statistics than they are used to.

Acquainting the students with real-life examples of misused statistics brings this chapter alive and greatly increases students’ sensitivity to numbers. There are a number of excellent sources for demonstrating flaws in statistical reasoning and for generating examples to use as practice for your students. Among these are the following:

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Huff, D. (1993). How to Lie With Statistics. Although dated, this book still provides illuminating examples and is a joy to read.

Murray, Schwartz and Lichter (2002). It Ain’t Necessarily So. This work focuses on misuse of statistics by the media. An interesting read that is also very informative.

Crosson, C. (1996). Tainted Truth: The Manipulation of Fact in America. Provides many good examples of how statistics have misled Americans, especially the use of survey data. Also highly recommended as a resource for Chapter 8.

Best, J. (2001). Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists. A readable book, with many interesting examples.

Best, J. (2008). Stat-Spotting: A field guide to identifying dubious data. Brief, very readable book that expands on a number of points made in the chapter, and adds many helpful hints for noticing deceptive statistics.

We provide our students with several exercises that use brief examples of statistical arguments. We have found it very helpful to have them first identify the question that the argument was trying to answer with statistics and then have them brainstorm what statistics they think would be most helpful in addressing the question. They can then compare their ideas with what the author actually did, which often gives them insight into problems with the statistics offered.

Discussion Questions

Ø Why are absolute numbers and percentages, when one is presented without the other, so often misleading? Ø Compare the mean, mode, and median. When is each one most appropriately used? Ø What are some steps that you can take to avoid being deceived by statistics that you encounter? Ø What are the different ways of presenting risk statistics? Why does it matter which one is used by a writer or speaker? Ø Discuss factors that might influence how a communicator, such as a newspaper reporter or a television analyst decides to present a set of statistics. Relate your answer to ARQ’s reference to “backward reasoning.”

Assignments Require students to: 1. Pick several topics in which a measure of central tendency would be of some interest, such as salaries in certain occupations, cost of housing, or cost of college, and then choose which measure—the mean, the median, or the mode—would be most informative, and give reasons for the choice.

2. Go to the Website: http://www.imdb.com, look up the average ratings of some of their favorite movies, and then examine the frequency distributions of viewer ratings; these are done on a 10-point scale and distributed by gender and by age. They can then discuss whether and how having the information about the range and frequency of responses adds to the information provided by the measure of central tendency.

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3. Play the role of someone they would like to be in the future, such as a teacher, a lawyer, a politician living in a particular state, a football coach, an environmentalist, a manager of a Walmart store, or a physician, and search the Internet to find articles with statistics pertinent to a question they might ask in the context of their role. They should use a search engine to find examples that include some use of graphical presentation of data and are relevant to their role. Have them work as a group of about five students and have them share their analyses of the articles with each other.

You may want to give them a list of questions to guide the analysis, such as the following: (1) Who is the source of the information? Is there good reason to trust, or not to trust,

the source?

(2) How appropriate were the statistics and graphical presentations, given the

intended audience and the nature of the data they are representing?

(3) Toward what conclusions are the presenters trying to point the reader? Are there

any causal inferences that are being made? Are these conclusions or inferences really justifiable? Why? Why not?

(4) If an average is presented, does it say which one? If not, can you tell which one was used? Does it matter? Would it be useful to have the range and distribution of numbers used?

(5) What additional information would you want in order to properly interpret the data?

4. Critically evaluate short statistical arguments that you have either made up or that you have sampled from sources like Murray, Schwartz, and Lichter’s book It Ain’t Necessarily So or Crossen’s text Tainted Truth.

Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Student activity: Analyze statistics Men, wait a while before you get married!

The older a man is when he marries, the more likely the marriage is to be successful. That’s the conclusion from a recent university study.

The researcher found that 20 percent of the divorce cases in this country involved men who married between the ages of 25 and 29 and that only 10 percent involved men married between the ages of 30 and 34.

Analysis: Conclusion: The longer a man waits to get married, the more likely the marriage will be successful.

Reason: Twenty percent of divorce cases involve men in the 25–29 age range, and only 10 percent involve men in the 30–34 age range.

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One of the best ways to discover the misuse of statistics with numbers like this is to first ask, “What would be the most relevant data to collect, and how does that compare to the statistics gathered by the author?”

This argument contains some striking percentage differences. Is it important to know the ABSOLUTE NUMBERS on which the percentages are based? Because the absolute numbers of men marrying at the younger ages is markedly higher than at older ages, the percentages used are very misleading. The researcher should not have presented percentages of total divorces, but should have shown percentages of those in the particular age range who are divorced. He used the wrong absolute numbers to start with. For example, if 50 percent of all marriages occur in the 20–24 age range, 30 percent in the 25–29, and only 10 percent in the 30–34, obviously the highest percentage of ALL divorces is going to occur in the age categories with the most marriages given the same actual divorce rate within an age category.

EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 2 Nevada’s house foreclosure rate in November of 2008 is not nearly as bad as many people seem to make it. It had only 14,000 foreclosures compared to 49,000 in Florida.

Analysis:

Obvious problem here is that the absolute numbers minimize the problem. Florida is much more heavily populated than Nevada. The RATE of foreclosures is much more informative than the absolute number. In fact, at that particular point in time, the rate in Nevada was 1 in 76, while the rate in Florida was 1 in 173.

EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 3 Looking fashionable has never been easier! Every year the number of fashion designers increases by 8 percent, making a wider selection of fashionable objects available. Also, because the price of fashionable merchandise reflects the status the clothing brings with it, it is very easy to pick out the most fashionable articles of clothing. Furthermore, the leading fashion magazines have improved in quality by 46 percent.

Certainly anyone can look fashionable if he or she wishes to do so.

Analysis: Conclusion: Looking fashionable has never been easier.

Reasons: 1. The number of fashion designers increases annually, making a wider selection of fashionable objects available.

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2. Prices reflect the status of the clothing, which makes it easy to pick out the most fashionable clothing.

3. The leading fashion magazines have improved greatly in quality.

The author uses statistics in both the first and third reasons. First, we note a percentage that is not accompanied by the absolute numbers. Does that matter? It could. If the initial number is small, such as 15, then the absolute increase would be very small, such as one or two. Also, we’d like to know how many years are being referred to. The more years and the greater the initial absolute numbers, the more we would be impressed by this statistic.

What does it mean to say that magazines have improved in quality by 46%? We’d want to know much more about the basis for that number before being impressed. A 46% increase over what? Number of pages? Number of contributors with different vantage points? Ratings by leaders in the fashion industries? Glossiness of the paper?

Until we get more information, we must wonder whether the author has proven one thing and concluded another.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 10 Aggressive counseling reduces troops’ mental problems. A recent study of 10,000 soldiers during a major battle surge conducted by the army revealed that more aggressive counseling methods decreased the risk of suicide attempts by soldiers by more than 50 percent.

Analysis.

Conclusion: Aggressive counseling reduces troops’ mental problems.

Reason: Research study revealed that more aggressive counseling methods decreased risk of suicide attemps by soldiers by more than 50 percent.

Much information is omitted that would help us put these results in perspective.

Results are presented as a percentage. But how was that percentage determined? How were suicide attempts counted? Who counted them? What were the suicide attempts in this surge compared to? A similar surge? A more deadly surge? What is the absolute number of suicide attempts made in this battle surge relative to the absolute number in other battles. For example, a decrease from 5 to 2 (a small absolute change) would give a different picture of the power of counseling methods than a decrease from 20 to 8 (larger absolute change). Also, there are potential rival causes for the decreased risk. Are there any other differences between this surge and whatever it is being compared to that might cause the reduction? For example, perhaps the soldiers’ stress level on this surge was lower than previous surges. #Connection of Interest. Psychic predictions and omitted information. Integrates also with Chapter 7 and topic of intuition. “The $10,000-a-Month Psychic,” by Tony Dokoupil, published in Newsweek, June 30, 2008. Illustration of willingness of 81 .

businesses and attorneys to hire mentalists, or psychics for much money. Good brief essay for illustrating importance of having outcomes of ALL predictions—especially the frequency of predictions that are NOT accurate. http://simplecomplexity.net/misleading-statistics/ # Connection of Interest. Concluding One Thing, Proving Another. Revealing Charts.

“From Simple Complexity: Making Simple Sense From Complex Data: Misleading Statitistics,” By Neal Levene on October 29, 2010. http://simplecomplexity.net/ misleading-statistics/ Two graphs. One shows Number of Drivers in Fatal Crashes by ages. The other shows Fatal Crashes per 100 million miles driven by age group. Attention-grabbing graphs.

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Chapter 11: What Significant Information Is Omitted?

Chapter Topics

v Introduction v The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information v The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning v Questions that Identify Omitted Information v The Importance of the Negative View v Omitted Information that Remains Missing v Missing information in Your Own Arguments v Using This Critical Question v Practice Exercises

General Teaching Comments

We usually point out to our students that this chapter differs from those that precede it because it evaluates information in terms of what the author did NOT say. Certain information should be included in an analysis of particular topics. One element of evaluation involves looking for those bits of information that should have been, but were not, included.

A helpful technique in this chapter is to ask students to make a list of information that they think they will need in a controversy about which they will later read and to be as thorough as possible. Armed with this list, the reader can compare what the author should have included with what he actually included.

Television commercials provide useful practice opportunities for identifying significant omitted information. Such assignments are productive and fun.

This chapter tends to be a particularly rewarding chapter for students, because they can generate lists of important omitted information pretty quickly and thus they find the task very self-rewarding. There is almost always much omitted information in an argument. It is important, however, to remind students that some omitted information is more important than other such information for judging the reasoning, much like some ambiguities are more important than others. Having the students brainstorm information they would like to have and then ranking the information in importance sensitizes them to the need to be more reflective and less reflexive in identifying missing information.

Remind students that they already have a wealth of material to help them generate examples of important omitted information—the earlier chapters of ARQ.

Discussion Questions

Ø How is this chapter related to earlier chapters in ARQ? Ø List and describe some important kinds of omitted information. Ø Describe some tactful ways that you might ask for omitted information when you are having a debate with one of your peers.

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Ø What are some strategies that you might use to develop the habit of looking for omitted information in communicators’ arguments? What are some of the obstacles that you face in successfully applying the critical question of what significant information is omitted?

Assignments Require students to: 1. Examine a chapter in a textbook, or a section from a chapter, for important omitted information, such as definitions, missing data, and incomplete figures or tables. Many textbooks, for example, fail to provide sufficiently specific definitions for abstract terms. Having students scan competing textbooks on the same topic can help sensitize them to missing information.

2. Locate two articles on the same topic, perhaps from newspapers or texts, read the second article to determine what the first article failed to include, and then locate a third article to determine what further information has been omitted. Students can then write up a description of the kinds of information omitted.

3. List information omitted from advertisements. Because advertisements are brief and sketchy, they are rich potential sources for important omitted information.

Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE Student activity: Identify important omitted information Bring your children to the day care center that kids want to attend.

Our biggest selling point is our guarantee that your children will want to come back to our preschool facility. They may even beg you to bring them on the weekends. Our school is not only enjoyable, but it enriches the mind of your preschooler. We have found that children who attend our school become better able to communicate after their experience with our trained staff.

Analysis: Conclusion: You should take your child to the day care center being touted by the author.

Reasons: 1. Kids are guaranteed to want to attend this particular day care center.

2. This day care center improves children’s communication skills.

Before we rush our children to this particular day care center, there are many bits of omitted information we should know. Why do children want so badly to return to this day care center? Is there a steady diet of cookies, attention, or what? What do I get if my child does not want to return? Would children’s communication skills improve as 84 .

much simply because they are getting older? What evidence is available to show that the facility’s staff is responsible for the improved communication abilities? Finally, we would find it especially useful to have comparative data for other competing day care facilities so that our decision could be a more informed one.

Authors’ Feedback for Practice Exercise 3 from Chapter 11 America is the policeman of the world. It is our job to go into countries that need our help and to watch over them. One effective way to limit the confrontations that we need to have with other countries is to encourage the development of democracy and free markets in these countries. After all, the modern Western democracies have not fought wars against one another, and they are all democratic with a free market structure.

Furthermore, look at the easy transition Germany had when it was reunited. Democracy was installed and the formerly split West and East Germany came along just fine. In fact, the German economy did really well with the transition. Germany currently has the third largest GDP of any country in the world, all because of democracy and capitalism.

Analysis: Conclusion: America needs to import its democracy to other countries.

Reasons: 1. Such a policy would reduce confrontations with such countries.

Supporting reason: democratic countries don’t fight wars with one another.

2. The installation of democracy in East Germany was a success.

3. Germany’s economy has flourished because of democracy and capitalism.

What does it mean to encourage the development of democracy and free markets?

How active should the USA be in doing this? Should it engage in coup d’etats to replace present leaders, for example? To what extent would foreign countries resent our presence in their homelands? Are there commonalities other than the presence of democracy that have kept democratic nations from fighting wars with one another?

How similar is the economic, social, and religious situation of Germany to other countries on which we wish to impose our system? Are there other causes for Germany’s present economic prosperity? What are possible unintended consequences from our trying to impose our political and economic values on countries with a long history of very different values? #Connection of Interest. Omitted Information and Health Claims. “Food With Benefits, or So They Say, by Natasha Singer, in New York Times, 5/15/2011.

Examines marketing of food products by stressing health benefits. Shows how omitted information often makes the health claims of foods highly questionable, by examining closely many of these claims. See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/business/15food.html

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Chapter 12: What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?

Chapter Topics

v Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions v Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions v Two Sides or Many? v Searching for Multiple Conclusions v Productivity of If-Clauses v Alternative Solutions as Conclusions v The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions v All Conclusions Are Not Created Equal v Summary v Practice Exercises v Final Word

General Teaching Comments

After readers have evaluated the reasons supporting a given conclusion, certain of these reasons should strike them as more worthy of their respect than others. These strong reasons will almost always be consistent with other conclusions in addition to the one the author preferred. A good practice exercise to give your students is to ask them to generate as many conclusions as possible that are consistent with a reason or set of data. Several such exercises should give them some appreciation for the importance of asking the critical question discussed in Chapter 12.

Students need to be reminded in this chapter of the purpose of the preceding chapters— using their critical questions to pan for gold—to sort out the strongest reasons.

Encouraging them to use some system to rate the strength of the reasons they have evaluated (for example, rating them from 1 to 4 stars) reminds them to link all their prior evaluations back to the central reasoning structure. Once they have noted the highest rated reasons, they are ready to check to see whether they are consistent with any other conclusions that have not yet been considered.

One particular kind of conclusion that will have broad generality for the student is that found for those controversies that pit some basic individual rights against group societal benefits, such as questions relating to the government regulation of television, food products, automobile safety, and pornographic literature. In such controversies one side of the issue is primarily supported by arguments citing societal benefits or losses of taking a particular action. It is informative for the student to practice asking, “Are there other solutions to the problem that do not cost as much in terms of individual rights?”

Answering this question usually provides the student with a number of viable conclusions.

For example, a major strong argument for federally requiring car manufacturers to increase the average mileage of their cars is that it saves gasoline, thus helping with the 86 .

energy shortage problem. Asking the above question should lead the student to recognize that there are other ways to reduce energy consumption, thus providing the student with useful alternative inferences. Reminding the student that many essays on controversies imply an either/or kind of thinking, where there usually are more than two viable solutions, facilitates the search for alternative inferences.

We have found that it’s important for students to approach the task of searching for alternative solutions in two steps. The first step is a brainstorming step, generating as many conclusions as they can, freely using conditional if clauses. The second step is to then rank the conclusions from the most plausible to the least plausible. This sensitizes them to the fact that not all reasonable conclusions are equal—some are more worthy of consideration than others.

An important reminder for students at this stage of the reasoning process is that the most reasonable conclusion indeed may be the argued conclusion that they are critically evaluating! Sometimes the most reasonable conclusion is the author’s. Some argued for conclusions are worthy of our acceptance—at least for the time being. Although most conclusions cannot be supported beyond a reasonable doubt, some are so well supported by the reasons and evidence that it would be foolish not to treat them as sufficiently justified. For example, we may never know FOR SURE that global warming is a certain truth, but may choose to treat it as a sufficiently justified conclusion to encourage society to act as though it were a true phenomenon.

This chapter has much in common with our earlier chapter on finding rival causes, Chapter 10. Indeed, sometimes searching for alternative conclusions is the same as a search for rival causes. This search will be the same, for example, when an author concludes a descriptive argument with a causal claim. This chapter, however, provides a more comprehensive perspective because of its emphasis on both prescriptive and descriptive controversies and their accompanying conclusions.

Discussion Questions

Ø Why is it so beneficial to consider alternative conclusions as you evaluate arguments? Ø How is this chapter related to the Either/Or Fallacy discussed in Chapter 7? Ø What are the relationships among ambiguity, assumptions, and evidence, and trying to generate multiple reasonable conclusions? Ø Describe thinking processes that you can use as you search for multiple conclusions. Ø Why is it helpful to use if clauses to help you find alternative conclusions? Ø How much justification do you believe a conclusion should have before you decide to accept it?

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Writing Exercises EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Please help us resist the processed noise ordinance. Those of us who are concerned about the number of jobs in our community want to attract as much industry as possible to our town. The proposed ordinance would prevent some industries from operating within our city limits. A little noise may be necessary for social progress.

Analysis: Conclusion: We should oppose the proposed noise ordinance.

Reason: Some industries would be prevented from coming to town because their noise level exceeds the proposed standards.

Opposing the noise ordinance is not the only way to attain the objective sought by the author. Other inferences consistent with her reason would be the following: a. Introduction of a two-tiered noise proposal—one rule for commercial use and the other for residential. b. Subsidization of new industry as a compensating inducement to come to a town with a stiff noise ordinance. c. Renewal of efforts directed toward attracting quiet industries.

EXTRA PRACTICE EXERCISE 2 Many people feel it is a good idea to legalize prostitution. A substantial number of people visit prostitutes now even though the practice is generally illegal. So proponents argue that it makes sense to legalize prostitution. Are these people right? Absolutely not! Prostitution is a horribly immoral practice, and it should not be legalized. Prostitution helps spread sexually transmitted infections. Also, the legalization of prostitution will cause more men to cheat on their wives with prostitutes with the consequent negative fallout for families. Nothing good could possibly come from the legalization of prostitution.

Analysis: Issue: Should prostitution be legalized?

Conclusion: No. Prostitution should not be legalized.

Reasons: 1. It’s an immoral practice.

2. It helps spread sexually transmitted infections.

3. It will cause increased cheating leading to negative fallout for families.

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If one were to value freedom of choice over obedience to religious moral codes and public health, and it could be demonstrated that most women are making free choices when they engage in prostitution, a conclusion consistent with the first two reasons is to legalize prostitution while placing strong health regulations on its practice.

Authors’ Feedback for Passage 3 Exercise from Chapter 12 For gay and lesbian teens, coming out to family members can be a stressful and emotional process. Recent research shows that family acceptance and support helps these teens avoid depression and suicide. In a survey of 245 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender adolescents and their relatives, those whose families were most supportive, such as parents openly discussing their child’s sexual orientation, were half as likely to have reported depressive symptoms in the previous six months of the study compared with teens whose families were less accepting.

Analysis Conclusion: Being supportive of coming out helps gay and lesbian teenagers avoid having depressive symptoms.

Reason: Survey shows that gays and lesbians whose families were most supportive were half as likely to have reported depressive symptoms as those whose families were less supportive.

What reasonable conclusions can be inferred from the main reason here, which is the findings of a survey?

Someone who assumed that a gay or lesbian lifestyle was a misdirected choice and not a sexual orientation that one is born with might see the following qualified conclusions as reasonable: If supportive means continuing to treat the child with care and kindness, then yes, support of the child is desirable.

If supportive means validating the lifestyle, then support of the child is not desirable.

Another possible qualified conclusion: If it can be shown that a rival cause, such as the higher frequency of depressive behavior being caused by the general family dynamics of those who were depressed, rather than by the child’s coming out, then the difference in depressive episodes could be due to general family dynamics rather than the reaction to coming out. More parents in the high frequency depressed group may be less supportive and accepting in general, and thus their children tend to have higher rates of depression.

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Section IV Sample Student Critical Thinking Papers Introduction How would we like our students to express their critical thinking in writing? There are many ways they can show off their skills. We encourage you to try different kinds of instructions. We believe, however, that seeing examples of some student papers can be helpful to you in making choices about how you want your students to show their skill development. The examples also may help you consider options for evaluating your students’ critical thinking skills, such as how you might want to structure midterm and final exams. Thus, the following sections provide some student writing examples that we have judged as being of high quality.

All of the following papers were written as take-home papers by first-year students in Introduction to Critical Thinking classes. In all cases, instructors have judged the papers as being good illustrations of high-quality first-year student critical thinking activity. The students have consented to make their papers available at this Website to help both teachers and students acquire a greater appreciation of how the skills might be applied in writing exercises.

Although instructions have varied, in all cases the essential task for the student writing assignments has been to critically evaluate an essay or multiple essays by applying their critical thinking skills in such a way that they make clear an understanding of the skills and also show what IMPACT each of their critical thinking activities had on their reaction to the reasoning in the essay. The writing task is consistent with our philosophy that the best way to evaluate the learning of a skill is to demonstrate competence in applying the skill. Also, we want our students to consistently be asking as they critically evaluate others’ reasoning: “How did asking each question influence my perception of the quality of the reasoning?”

Below is an example of the kind of instructions that we have found to work well for critical thinking classes. The instructions elicit student critical thinking activity that is meant to be a valuable learning experience and that also leads to essay responses that provide reliable and valid indicators of students’ understanding of the critical thinking skills.

We believe that the model papers can be of help to you in a variety of ways. First they provide good examples of “putting it all together.” It is an opportunity to see many or all of the critical thinking questions applied to a lengthy argument in a holistic fashion. For example, they may provide some new insights into how some of the material in Asking the Right Questions might “come alive.” In addition, you can use them to stimulate your 90 .

own thinking about how you want your students to express their newly learned critical thinking skills. Check out what you like and what you don’t like about the student essays.

The sample responses can help sensitize you to both strengths and weaknesses of student responses to the critical questions.

Another possibility is to make copies of some of the sample papers available to your students, accompanied by your own comments about the papers’ strengths and weaknesses, as one way to help your students construct their own written responses.

Student viewing of model papers can often be a helpful learning device.

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Student Midterm Papers Teacher Instructions for Model Midterm Papers

Here are the instructor’s instructions for the two model midterm papers that we include in this section.

Follow the instructions below in analyzing the attached article.

Central task: Write an essay that analyzes the attached argument by Charles Murray. In writing the essay, you should show that you have answered all our critical thinking questions thus far covered, that is, those through “What are the descriptive assumptions?” You may approach the task in many creative ways, but the final product should reveal the answers to these questions.

Your paper as a whole should be in essay form, including reasons and sub-reasons, and should have a coherent organization to it.

Your writing should be such that the impact on the reasoning of your answers to the critical thinking questions is clear. When you identify and discuss ambiguous terms and phrases and value and descriptive assumptions, it should be clear to the reader (me) how your analysis and evaluation influences the reasoning structure; that is, show how any ambiguity or assumption influences how you might react to the reasoning.

Feel free to use “if” clauses, “it is possible” clauses, “for his reason X to be true” clauses, and “for the reason to support his conclusion” clauses, or any other creative device you choose to show the impact of any ambiguity or assumption that you have identified (e.g. show how it influences the truth [acceptability] or relevance of reasons).

Plan ahead! Be proactive!

You may DISCUSS the article with one another (my value preference of cooperation over competition for the brainstorming part of paper); but your WRITING of the paper should represent ONLY YOUR WORK (value of competition/autonomy over cooperation for the actual written expression of the paper). Note: Plagiarism of another’s written material will automatically result in an F on this paper, plus a very strong warning about the consequences of future plagiarism.

Be REFLECTIVE (Think deeply, engage in multiple rewrites, etc.), NOT REFLEXIVE. (By reflexive, I mean inserting the first ideas that come to mind. For example, when you find one assumption, always ask whether anything deeper has to be taken for granted for that assumption to be true. You may find a more profound assumption.) Also, be THOROUGH AND PRECISE, and especially be CONVINCING. Do not make me have to read your mind.

Also, feel free to pursue further information related to your topic at the library or on the Web. Usually, the more info you have on a topic, the easier it is to answer the critical thinking questions.

Who is your audience? Well, assume you’re writing the essay for publication in a journal devoted to the analysis of controversial essays; the audience is educated and intelligent but not willing to read your mind. It is willing to tolerate lengthier elaborations than might usually be included in the journal. The audience is mainly interested in having a much better grasp of Murray’s reasoning structure so that they may be better prepared to evaluate the quality of the essay.

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Criteria for Grading 1. How well you have answered the critical thinking questions as you’ve developed your critique? The visible and invisible components of the reasoning structure should shine through. Depth of thought is important.

2. Selectivity of thought—are you identifying the most important ideas?

3. Clarity and thoroughness of your essay. It’s easy to follow, and it’s convincing to the reader. The reader is not saying, “But why do you say that?” because you have already answered that question.

4. Coherence of your essay; do the paragraphs work together as a coherent whole?

Have you used transitional phrases to make your essay easy to follow? The reader should not be asking, “Now, what is that paragraph doing there?”

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Student Midterm Paper # 1 Context: This paper was written as a midterm for a first-year honors class in critical thinking, after coverage of the first six chapters in ARQ. The student was instructed to apply the questions in these chapters to a frequently cited controversial article, “The Coming White Underclass,” by Charles Murray, published in the Wall Street Journal, October 29, 1993: A13. A republication of the article can be found in Ramage, J.D. and Bean, J.C., Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, 4th ed. Needham, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1998, 27–31. The reasoning structure of this article is very complex, and the student had to filter out the basic reasoning structure and make it clear prior to applying the other critical thinking questions. Note how she provides reasons to support other reasons, in an attempt to provide as complete a reasoning structure as possible.

A striking feature of this student’s paper is its thoroughness. Note in particular the following strengths of this paper: •

This student anchors her criticisms within the reasoning structure so that she (and her audience) can be aware of which reasons are most impacted by her application of critical thinking questions.

•

To clarify the impact of ambiguity, she provides multiple possible meanings for the phrases and shows how the different meanings would influence her reactions to the reasoning in which the ambiguity is embedded.

•

When she presents her descriptive assumptions, she discusses them in some depth, citing plausible reasons why the assumption might indeed be false.

•

When she presents her value preferences, she defines the values and shows which parts of the reasoning they underlie.

The Paper Introduction to Critical Thinking: Analyzing “The Coming White Underclass” What are the Issues and the Conclusions?

What are the Reasons?

Issue 1: Is now the time to take action in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy in the United States?

Conclusion: Yes, now is the time to take action in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy in the United States.

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Reasons: 1. In 1991, 707,502 babies were born to single white women, representing 22 percent of white births.

2. The proportion of single mothers with less than a high school education who gave birth jumped to 48 percent from 35 percent in a single decade, and these numbers are dominated by whites.

3. White illegitimacy is overwhelmingly a lower-class phenomenon and will bring us to the emergence of a white underclass.

Sr1: Women with college degrees contribute only 4 percent of white illegitimate babies, while women with a high school education or less contribute 82 percent.

Sr2: Women with family incomes of $75,000 or more contribute 1 percent of white illegitimate babies, while women with family incomes under $20,000 contribute 69 percent.

Sr3: For white women below the poverty line in the year prior to giving birth, 44 percent of births have been illegitimate, compared with only 6 percent for women above the poverty line.

4. Now, the overall white illegitimacy rate is 22 percent, and the historical fact is that the trend lines on black crime, dropout from the labor force, and illegitimacy all shifted sharply upward as the overall black illegitimacy rate passed 25 percent.

5. Illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time.

Sr: It drives everything else.

6. Although American society as a whole could survive when illegitimacy became epidemic within black communities, it cannot survive the same epidemic among whites.

Issue 2: Should the rewards and penalties of marriage be restored in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy in the United States?

Conclusion: Yes, the rewards and penalties of marriage should be restored in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy in the United States.

Reasons: 1. A society with broad legal freedoms depends crucially on strong nongovernmental institutions to temper and restrain behavior, and of these, marriage is paramount.

2. Restoring the economic penalties of marriage translates into ending all economic support for single mothers, forcing single mothers to get support from somewhere other than the government.

Sr1: Enlisting the support of others raises the probability that other mature adults are going to be involved with the upbringing of the child.

Sr2: The need to find support raises the probability that a young single woman who keeps her child is doing so volitionally and thoughtfully. sr1: The need to find support will lead many young women to place their babies for adoption. sr2: The need to find support will lead many young women to take steps not to get pregnant.

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sr3: The need to find support will lead many young women to get abortions.

Sr3: The pressure on relatives and communities to pay for the folly of their children will make an illegitimate birth the socially horrific act it used to be. sr: Shotgun marriages have a wonderful and indispensable deterrent effect on those not on the receiving end.

Sr4: Society’s response to women who can find no support should be to make it as easy as possible for them to place their children for adoption at infancy by going back to using the old adoption policy, and if this occurs, some extremely large proportion of infants given up by their mothers will be adopted into good homes.

3. Restoring the rewards of marriage translates into making marriage once again the sole legal institution through which parental rights and responsibilities are defined and exercised.

Sr1: Little boys should grow up knowing that if they want to have any rights whatsoever regarding a child that they sire, they must marry.

Sr2: Little girls should grow up knowing that if they want to have any legal claims whatsoever on the father of their children, they must marry.

Sr3: A marriage certificate should establish that a man and a woman have entered into a unique legal relationship.

4. As recently as John Kennedy’s presidency, America’s elite accepted that a free society such as America’s can sustain itself only through virtue and temperance in the people, that virtue and temperance depend on the socialization of each new generation, and that the socialization of each generation depends on the matrix of care and resources fostered by marriage.

Which Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?

Ambiguous words or phrases can be found in several of the reasons that support the conclusion of the first issue and of the second issue. I will first discuss the ambiguity in the reasons that support the conclusion of the first issue. In the second reason, the phrase “dominated by whites” needs to be clarified. If one believes that in order for a group to dominate a set of numbers, the group must represent 51 percent or more of the set, his/her acceptance of the reason will be different than that of one who believes that in order for a group to dominate a set of numbers, the group must represent 75 percent or more of the set. If the latter definition is the definition of “dominated by whites,” I find the reason to be more supportive of the conclusion. This is because I believe that the greater the proportion of single white mothers with less than a high school education giving birth, the more necessary it is to take action in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy.

Two ambiguous phrases exist in the third supporting reason of the third reason.

The phrases “below the poverty line” and “above the poverty line” need to be clarified.

One may believe that a woman below the poverty line is unable to provide shelter, food, and clothing for herself and her children, and that a woman above the poverty line is able to do so. Being a woman below the poverty line could also be defined as being a woman unable to provide her children with the education and resources necessary to be successful, such as the ability to read, the ability to write, and knowledge of social skills.

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According to this definition, a woman above the poverty line is able to provide her children with such education and resources. Providing shelter, food, and clothing for children is an easier task than providing children with the resources necessary to be successful. Because of this, I believe that a growing number of children that are uneducated and lack the skills to be successful is a greater threat to society than a growing number of children whose lives lack shelter, food, and clothing. Therefore, I feel that the reason provides more support for the conclusion that it is time to take action in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy if the latter definitions of “below the poverty line” and “above the poverty line” are assumed.

In the fourth reason, a key phrase is “shifted sharply upward.” Before I could accept the fourth reason as strong support for the conclusion, I would need clarification of the phrase. If “shifted sharply upward” implies that the trend lines on black crime, dropout from the labor force, and illegitimacy increased by 50 percent as the overall black illegitimacy rate passed 25 percent, the reason provides strong support for the conclusion. If “shifted sharply upward” implies that the trend lines on black crime, dropout from the labor force, and illegitimacy simply began to rise as the overall black illegitimacy rate passed 25 percent, the reason provides less support for the conclusion.

The overall white illegitimacy rate is approaching 25 percent. If one believes that white illegitimacy will follow the same pattern as black illegitimacy and he/she assumes that the first definition of “shifted sharply upward” is true, the reason shows that it is necessary to take action before the trend lines on white crime, dropout from the labor force, and illegitimacy increase by 50 percent. Assuming that the second definition of “shifted sharply upward” is true does not provide such strong support for the conclusion.

Ambiguity can also be found in the reasons that support the conclusion of the second issue. Two ambiguous phrases are located in the fourth supporting reason of the second reason. The meaning of “some extremely large proportion of infants” needs to be clarified because as the proportion of infants adopted into good homes becomes larger, the reason provides more support for the conclusion. If “some extremely large proportion of infants” means 75 percent of infants, I feel that the reason provides stronger support for the conclusion than if “some extremely large proportion of infants” means 25 percent of infants. This is because I believe that the larger the proportion of infants adopted into good homes because of action taken to stop the trend of white illegitimacy, the more necessary it is to take action. The phrase “good homes” is also an ambiguous phrase in the fourth supporting reason of the second reason. One may define good homes as homes in which an infant is provided with shelter, food, and clothing. Good homes could also be defined as homes in which an infant is provided with basic necessities, such as shelter, food, and clothing, and love. Providing a child with basic necessities and love is more important than simply providing a child with shelter, food, and clothing. Because of this, I believe that if the latter meaning of “good homes” is assumed, the reason provides more support for the conclusion.

What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions?

An influential value priority in the reasoning structure of the first issue is that an equal distribution of wealth is more important than a class system. In order for the third reason to support the conclusion, the value priority that an equal distribution of wealth is more important than a class system must be assumed. By an equal distribution of wealth, 97 .

I mean that the financial worth of the majority of the members of a society is equal. By a class system, I mean that the financial worth of the members of a society varies greatly from high to low. In the third reason, Murray claims that white illegitimacy will lead to the emergence of a white underclass. He believes that action should be taken in order to stop the trend of white illegitimacy so that a white underclass does not emerge. Stopping the emergence of a white underclass would create a more equal distribution of wealth.

The emergence of a white underclass would create a class system. Murray argues that action should be taken so that such a class system is not created, proving that he values an equal distribution of wealth over a class system. I question the assumption that an equal distribution of wealth is more important than a class system because a class system is necessary in America’s capitalist society. Because I question the validity of the value priority, I find it difficult to accept the third reason.

An influential value priority in the reasoning structure of the second issue is that collective responsibility is more important than individual responsibility. The value priority that collective responsibility is more important than individual responsibility must be assumed in order for the second reason to support the conclusion. By collective responsibility, I mean that society is responsible for bettering the community. By individual responsibility, I mean that an individual is responsible for bettering himself/herself. In the second reason, Murray asserts that restoring the economic penalties of marriage means ending all economic support for single mothers provided by the government. One who believes that individual responsibility is more important than collective responsibility might assert that restoring the economic penalties of marriage translates into encouraging those who plan to marry to attend marriage classes. Because Murray argues that it is necessary for the government, a collective unit, to take action in order to restore the economic penalties of marriage, he values collective responsibility over individual responsibility. I agree that it is more important for the government to take action because I believe that in order for the economic penalties of marriage to be restored, drastic changes need to be made in society. The government has the ability to make such changes. Because of this, I believe that the second reason is valid.

Another influential value priority in the reasoning structure of the second issue is that the effect of an action on society is more important than the effect of an action on the individual. In order for the supporting reason of the third supporting reason to support the conclusion, the value priority that the effect of an action on society is more important than the effect of an action of the individual must be assumed. By the effect of an action on society, I mean that which happens to society after an individual acts. By the effect of an action on the individual, I mean that which happens to an individual after he/she acts.

In the supporting reason of the third supporting reason, Murray claims that shotgun marriages have a wonderful and indispensable deterrent effect on those not on the receiving end. Although shotgun marriages often have a negative effect on those getting married, such as unhappiness, Murray argues that such marriages should occur because of their deterrent effect on society. It is evident that Murray believes that the effect of an action on society is more important than the effect of an action on the individual. I feel that the effect of an action on society is as equally important as the effect of an action on an individual because ultimately, the individual is an important part of society. Because I do not agree with the value priority, I cannot accept the supporting reason of the third supporting reason.

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What Are the Descriptive Assumptions?

Descriptive assumptions can be found in the reasons that support the conclusion of the first issue. For the third reason to support the conclusion, it must be assumed that a white underclass is undesirable. It is possible that the emergence of a white underclass would help the economy by providing more unskilled workers. The emergence of a white underclass might also reduce racial tension among whites and minority groups by showing minority groups that whites are not always in a position of power and control.

These examples show that a white underclass could be desirable. Because the assumption can be refuted, I believe that it makes the reason invalid.

For the first supporting reason of the third reason to support the belief that white illegitimacy is a lower-class phenomenon, it must be assumed that women with a high school education or less are members of the lower class. It is possible that some women with a high school degree or less attended vocational school or work in a family business.

Such women have careers and can provide for themselves and their children. Because of this, such women should not be considered members of the lower class. It is difficult for me to accept the supporting reason because the assumption is questionable.

One must assume that the consequences of the white illegitimacy epidemic will be the same as those of the black illegitimacy epidemic for the sixth reason to be true.

Historically, the economic and social conditions of white Americans and African Americans have been different. The economic and social conditions of both groups continue to be different in present society. It is possible that because of these differences, white society would react differently to the trend of white illegitimacy than black society reacted to the trend of black illegitimacy. It is also possible that because white society has witnessed black society struggling to deal with the consequences of black illegitimacy, white society is more prepared to deal with the consequences of white illegitimacy. I am unable to accept the sixth reason because I do not believe that the consequences of the white illegitimacy epidemic will be the same as those of the black illegitimacy epidemic.

Descriptive assumptions are also located in the reasons that support the conclusion of the second issue. For the first reason to support the conclusion, it must be assumed that society will benefit from restoring paramount nongovernmental institutions.

It is possible that restoring less important nongovernmental institutions would be more beneficial to society than restoring paramount nongovernmental institutions. Restoring less important nongovernmental institutions might also make it easier to restore paramount nongovernmental institutions. Although it is possible that restoring less important nongovernmental institutions would be beneficial to society, I believe that restoring paramount nongovernmental institutions is the most productive way to better society. This is because restoring paramount nongovernmental institutions will lead to the restoration of less important nongovernmental institutions. I believe that the reason is valid because I am able to accept the assumption.

One must assume that the government is the only institution that provides economic support for single mothers for the second reason to be true. Several organizations and counseling programs exist to provide support for single mothers. It is possible that such organizations provide economic support for single mothers. It is also possible that the government is unable to force them to stop doing so. Because I am unable to accept that ending all economic support for single mothers provided by the 99 .

government will eliminate all economic support for single mothers, I believe that the second reason is invalid.

For the fourth reason to support the conclusion, it must be assumed that that which society depends on does not change throughout time. Because laws, moral standards, and societal expectations change throughout time, it is possible that that which society depends on does change throughout time. I cannot accept the fourth reason because the assumption that that which society depends on does not change throughout time can be refuted.

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Student Midterm Paper #2 Context : This is a second example of a response to “The Coming White Underclass” article by Charles Murray. See prior example for full reference to the article and to the instructions given to the student. The paper was written by a first-year student after having read the first six chapters of Asking the Right Questions, the chapters that stress analyzing the structure of the communicator’s reasoning.

We recommend contrasting this student’s response to the prior paper and reflecting on which one you like better and why. What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of this student’s paper?

The Paper “The Coming White Underclass” by Charles Murray Full Reasoning Analysis What are the issues, conclusions, and reasons?

I have organized my analysis into two reasoning structures in order to separate the descriptive and prescriptive issues. The first structure is descriptive; the second is prescriptive. I think these two should be separated for the sake of clarity. If I had put both issues in one structure, the probability of confusion on my part and on the reader’s part would dramatically increase.

Issue: Is an increase in white illegitimacy a major social problem?

Conclusion: Yes; illegitimacy is the single most important social problem of our time.

Reason 1: The white illegitimacy rate is alarming in the lower classes.

Support 1: A 1991 survey showed that the overall illegitimacy rate jumped from 35 percent to 48 percent among women with less than a high school education in a single decade.

Support 2: Of these numbers, women with a high school education or less contributed 82 percent of white illegitimate births.

Support 3: Women with an income of $20,000 or less contribute 69 percent of all white illegitimate births.

Reason 2: Illegitimacy is directly correlated to other dangerous social problems.

Support 1: Illegitimacy drives problems such as crime, drugs, poverty, illiteracy, welfare, and homelessness.

Support 2: When black illegitimacy passed 25 percent, problems such as crime and dropout from the labor force dramatically increased as well.

Reason 3: Illegitimacy is more dangerous now among the white population.

Support 1: While black illegitimacy reached the 25 percent figure in the mid1960s among the sexual revolution and shifting cultural norms, the white illegitimacy rate, currently at 22 percent, is approaching this dangerous figure in a time when cultural and sexual norms are still more degraded.

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Support 2: America could survive when illegitimacy became an epidemic among a relatively small ethnic minority. It cannot survive the same epidemic among whites.

Issue: What should be done about single mothers and their babies?

Conclusion: All means of support from the government should be curtailed.

Reason 1: Throughout history, a single woman with a child has not been a viable economic or social unit.

Support 1: In small numbers these families are a net drain on a community’s resources. In large numbers they destroy the community’s capacity to sustain itself.

Reason 2: Eliminating government support will force the woman to find support from her family and friends.

Support 1: This raises the probability that other mature adults will be assisting in the upbringing of the child—this is good.

Support 2: Forcing the woman to find ways of supporting her baby will lead many women who shouldn’t be mothers to put the baby up for adoption—this is good. It will lead other women to not get pregnant—this is good. Some may get abortions—whether this is good depends on your opinion of abortion.

Support 3: The social stigma attached to illegitimate births will reappear.

What words or phrases are ambiguous?

In the first reasoning structure, reason one (R1) that explains the alarming illegitimacy rate in the lower class is ambiguous because the gravity of the statistics is not made clear. It is possible that the number of women with less than a high school education is not large enough to significantly impact the overall birth rate. If the number of women with less than a high school education is a majority percentage of the population, I would be more likely to accept these statistics as worrisome. On the other hand, if the number of women with less than a high school education were a very small minority, the argument would not be strong and therefore not worth consideration.

Another significantly ambiguous phrase is located in support one (S1) of R3 in the first structure. This reason states that white illegitimacy is approaching the dangerous 25 percent in a time when “cultural and sexual norms are still more degraded.” I would like to know what this means. They are more degraded than what? The reason uses the mid-1960s as the comparison but fails to explain how much worse our cultural and sexual norms are compared to the sixties. If these norms have only become a bit more degraded since the 1960s, the argument is not as powerful. On the other hand, if the sexual norms are significantly more degraded, the argument bears more weight and I would be more likely to accept it.

Another ambiguous phrase is “viable economic and social unit” located in R1 of the second reasoning structure. If Murray means that a viable economic unit contributes a substantial amount of money to the economy in the form of taxes or purchasing, I would be more likely to accept the argument. This definition of “viable unit” does not fit single mothers and their children, since single mothers generally cannot contribute such funds to society and they need financial aid to care for their baby. They would not have the money to spend on consumer goods or substantial taxes since they are using all of their 102 .

resources, and in some cases, borrowed funds to care for the child. If Murray means that a viable social unit contributes substantial labor to the economy, I would hesitate to accept the argument because a single mother does work. With this definition of “viable social unit,” I would consider the single mother and her child to be viable. If a single mother did not work, her family would not be able to survive with any modicum of financial security. A young teenage mother may not work at first, but when she realizes that she must do so in order to properly care for her child, that girl will get a job.

What are the value conflicts and assumptions?

In the first reasoning structure, Murray values tradition over novelty. He constantly emphasizes the problems involved when illegitimacy increases in a society, especially in reasons two and three. This suggests that Murray believes the traditional family unit (mother, father, children) is the ideal social situation. He appears to especially regard this traditional family unit as highly important among the lower social classes.

Since the highest increases in illegitimacy occurred in the lower classes, there is clear cause to worry about the effects of such an increase on this particular social group. One assumption that may prove relevant is that most of the crime that occurs is among poorer citizens, and in less affluent neighborhoods. This is related to R2, which states that crime increased as illegitimacy increased. Murray thinks more of the traditional family units in lower classes would greatly diminish crime in this group.

On the other hand, Murray clearly disregards the novelty of the freedom to sleep with whomever you wish and not commit to a permanent relationship. He believes that the social problems, such as poverty and illiteracy, that would result from such sexual freedom would greatly outweigh the benefits of more freedom, like happier men and women as a result of less public pressure to commit to a permanent relationship with those with whom you are intimate.

In the second structure, Murray values individual responsibility over collective responsibility. He believes that it is not the duty of the government to compensate women for their own poor decisions. The women must be forced to account for their actions by finding ways to support their children without government assistance. This is similar to the causal assumptions we discussed in class; Murray sees illegitimacy as the mother’s own doing. He does not accept the idea that the mother was somehow influenced by her environment or other people to give birth out of wedlock. Some may argue that the woman’s family or the father of the child persuaded her to give birth, even if she did not want to. Murray would refute that by saying that the woman has ultimate control of her own body in this situation; she does not have to give birth if she does not want to.

Therefore, by choosing to have the baby, she is saying to the public that she accepts responsibility for the care of that baby, whether by putting the child up for adoption or finding the means to care for the baby on her own.

What are the descriptive assumptions?

In the first reasoning structure, for R1 to support the conclusion, we must assume that an increase in illegitimacy among the lower classes will result in a massive public epidemic that straddles all social classes. Either illegitimacy will spread to higher classes or the number of single women who give birth in lower classes will dramatically increase. It is possible the phenomenon of single mothers will remain largely in the lower 103 .

class, therefore not affecting the population as a whole. This is, of course, unless the lower class dramatically increases in numbers. Then, the number of illegitimate births recorded will increase simply because the probability of occurrence is increased by larger numbers.

For S2 of R2 (black illegitimacy passes 25 percent) to be true, we must assume that whites behave in a similar manner compared to blacks. While black crime increased as the black illegitimacy rate increased, we do not know that white crime will increase in the same way. It is possible that whites have learned from the black illegitimacy problem of the 1960s and will not allow crime to increase. In order for S2 to be true, we must assume that the increase in crime is uncontrollable as illegitimacy increases, whether among blacks or among whites.

In the second reasoning structure, for R1 (not a viable unit) to support the conclusion, we must assume that families who contribute little to the economic or social facets of a society are not worth supporting. If a family unit in fact drains resources from a community, as stated in S1 of R1, they do not deserve further support in the form of government aid. It is possible that these families have other things to contribute to society, such as friendship or labor. This assumption says that if a family cannot pay taxes or purchase goods, then they are not “good enough” for third party support.

For R2 (eliminate government aid, women find help) of the same structure to be true, we must assume that these single mothers would react to a sudden decrease in government aid by getting a job and asking her friends or family for help. It is possible that a woman faced with this sudden responsibility would react by simply giving up; the woman in question would have to have a strong character in order to act sensibly in such a stressful situation. It is also possible that the woman faced with this situation would flip out and behave irrationally, possibly resulting in harm to the child. This assumption places a given measure of mental stability in single mothers that may not actually be present.

For S3 (social stigma) to support R2 in the second structure, we must assume that a woman would be so traumatized by having to admit that she cannot support her own child, that a significant stigma would develop. It is possible that being forced to seek aid from friends and family would not particularly bother women; therefore a social stigma would not develop in regard to illegitimacy. We must assume that women would resent the negative attention from those who disapprove of illegitimate births. Of course, women may not care what others think of them; therefore, if a stigma did develop, only those women who are influenced by public opinion would be dissuaded from giving birth. It is also possible that women would be more likely to seek an abortion rather than live with the general disapproval of an illegitimate baby.

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Student Final Papers We present a set of three final papers that instructors judged to be of high-quality thinking. Following are the instructions given to the students by their instructor for completing the papers.

The papers themselves follow in the form that the students wrote them. Because these first-year college students are just beginners in the learning of critical thinking skills, there will be many deficiencies to their responses. On the other hand, because the thinking skills that these particular students do demonstrate are of unusually high quality for first-year undergraduates, their papers can provide teachers with informative insights into what is possible (though not typical) to strive for with students over a relatively short period of instructional time.

Teacher Instructions for Final Paper Instructions (**Note: This paper should reflect your work, and only your work. Its purpose is to assess how well YOU can apply the critical thinking skills on your own.)

Given the reasoning that you have been presented, write a typed, double-spaced essay that answers the question, “How strong an argument have the individuals on this side of the debate provided?” (Note: here I am using argument in the more general sense—a group of statements, one or more of which [the reasons] are used to support or provide evidence for another [the conclusion.]) Assume that your audience is a reader who is interested in your analysis and evaluation of this reasoning because she knows you have special skills in critical thinking. Your primary purpose is a communication of your analysis and evaluation of the arguments that have been presented such that the reader can say, “Wow, you sure have learned how to critically evaluate others’ reasoning in an effective way.”

Be sure to make clear which arguments seem strongest and weakest, given the application of your critical thinking skills and your own personal values. In writing your essay, be sure to apply the critical thinking skills and dispositions that you have learned this semester. Feel free to seek out additional information on the topic that might help you do a good job in your analysis and evaluation. An excellent starting place is the Congressional Digest from which this side of the debate has been copied. Such information should be especially useful for answering the “omitted information” question.

You should construct your own organization of your paper. The reasoning structure should NOT be in outline, or list, form. You should reveal your awareness of the most important reasoning structure through your essay. I encourage you to “cluster” or “group” ideas where appropriate and also to frequently support your points with examples and explanations. A successful strategy commonly used in the past has been to carefully evaluate each of the most central reasons used by the arguers and then draw a conclusion about the strength or weakness of the reason. Be sure to cite strengths, as well as weaknesses!

You can also assume that when you use a common abstract value name, the reader will know to what you are referring and thus you will not need to provide its GENERAL definition, but you should make very clear how the values are reflected in the reasoning in these particular arguments. ***YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE SUFFICIENTLY CLEAR THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO FOLLOW YOUR POINTS WITHOUT HAVING TO REFER TO THE ORIGINAL TEXT. Thus, in this particular sense, your evaluation is analogous to writing a review of a book for the New York Review of Books, one that focuses on the writer’s reasoning and does not assume that the reader has read the book.

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1 (Incidentally, reviews in the NYRB [not to be confused with the New York Times Book Review] are about the best you will see anywhere in terms of applying critical thinking skills to book reviews, and I recommend that you check them out sometime to see highly talented critical writers at work.)

PAPER LENGTH: You should demonstrate to me as many critical thinking activities as you know how to demonstrate, given the energy that you wish to devote to the project. The length of the paper should reflect the amount of energy you want to devote, so there is no set page length. However, there is an upper limit of 16 pages. I can imagine excellent papers shorter than the upper limit—but I don’t want to discourage ambition on your part. The more you show off your skills—both in terms of quantity and quality—the better.

FORMAT FOR PAPERS: PLEASE FOLLOW!!

Papers should be double-spaced, font size of 12, margins of one inch all around. Times New Roman font is preferred. Proof your paper prior to turning it in. The more you plan ahead the better.

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Criteria for Grading

I will grade your paper holistically.

Most importantly, I will be attentive to the extent to which you have effectively applied the critical thinking skills learned from this class. For example, how well have you demonstrated an understanding of the critical thinking questions that you have learned this semester? Have you made clear the impact of your criticisms on the reasoning?

(Note: this criterion is extremely important.) Have you avoided vague generalities in responding and have you avoided committing reasoning errors of your own?

In addition, I will be attentive to the Coherence, Comprehensiveness, and Clarity of your work. Does the paper reflect ambitiousness of effort? Does the organization of the paper show some originality? Are there effective transitions? Have you avoided long, rambling paragraphs? Have you avoided making repetitive trivial points? Have you avoided grammatical and spelling errors? Are your points sharp and clear and understandable without my having to carefully refer to the original document? Does the paper “flow” nicely? Is it clear that the paper is not a rushed first draft, but is an example of reflective self-editing? Have you minimized the need for mindreading on the part of the reader? Is the paper reader-friendly for your instructor?

Be REFLECTIVE, not REFLEXIVE. The more depth to your thought the better. I encourage you to PLAN AHEAD! AVOID PROCRASTINATING!!!

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Student Final Paper #1: Pro Side of Lethal Drug Abuse Debate Context: This essay is in response to instructions for students’ final paper for the semester. The source for the critical evaluation is The Congressional Digest. Essays from five different issues were selected by the instructor. Students were assigned to read and critically evaluate a position taken on a particular issue. To do this, they had to read arguments presented by multiple authorities and decide how best to organize those arguments.

This student adopted the strategy of evaluating each authority’s argument separately.

Other students integrated all arguments into a single reasoning structure. The title of the pro/con debate is “Should the House Approve H.R. 4006, the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998?” This student is evaluating the Pro side of the debate. We also present excellent papers of two other students who were assigned to evaluate the con side of the debate. It is published in the November 1998 issue of Congressional Digest.

As you read this paper, note especially how the student elaborates thoroughly on most of her points and ties her criticisms to the reasoning structure that she provides. This approach makes it easy for her (and the reader) to follow the impact of her criticisms on her beliefs about the quality of the reasoning.

The Paper Opening Remarks The following three men present their arguments and reasons concerning the support of H.R. 4006, the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998. Some of their reasons are good, well-supported reasons, while others are poor, unsubstantiated opinions. In this paper, I will summarize the reasons of each gentleman, and then outline the problems I found located within their reasoning. At the end of the paper, I will present apparent value preferences and alternative conclusions that may be drawn from the given reasoning.

What are the Issue and Conclusion?

Should the House of Representatives support the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998, in order to prevent the use of lethal drugs in physician-assisted suicide? Rep. Tom A. Coburn (OK-R), Herbert Hendin, M.D. (AFSP), and N. Gregory Hamilton, M.D. (President, PCC) all conclude that, yes, the House should support the Act. What are Tom A. Coburn’s reasons?

The House should support this Act because legalization of physician-assisted suicide will put pressure on vulnerable, gravely ill patients to choose to eliminate themselves. We should not accept a policy like physician-assisted suicide, because it degrades the medical profession, cheapens life, poisons society, and is evil. Slavery is another such evil. Lethal drug use in physician-assisted suicide violates the Controlled Substances Act, which only allows controlled drugs for “legitimate medical purposes.”

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Coburn says physician-assisted suicide is not legitimate because it goes against the Hippocratic oath, which only considers those measures intended to protect life as “legitimate.” A confidential survey reveals that only a tiny fraction of those in the medical profession would cooperate in a physician-assisted suicide. Physician-assisted suicide is not necessary because new advances in pain management mean patients need not suffer.

Which words or phrases are ambiguous?

In the reason outlining why assisted suicide is wrong, the phrase “degrade the medical profession” is probably intentionally ambiguous. It could refer to either slight degradation or a great deal, that is not made clear. Also, if physician-assisted suicide is accepted, what aspect of the medical profession would suffer: the quality of medical care, the trust of people in their doctors, or a doctor’s diminished work ethic, for example? All of these are radically different aspects of the medical profession, and a degradation of each would carry unique consequences. For example, if the quality of medical care decreased with the acceptance of physician-assisted suicide, the consequence would probably be an increase in doctor-caused illness, and possibly more malpractice lawsuits.

If trust in physicians decreased, people would most likely refrain from visiting the doctor out of a lack of faith in the doctor’s abilities. If physicians stopped caring about their work, again, more sick people needing care would result. All of these possibilities would indirectly result in more illness in our society, thus requiring more medical care. And that seems to be opposite the intended goal of physician-assisted suicide.

What are the descriptive assumptions?

For the reason that states physician-assisted suicide will put pressure on the ill to choose death to be true, we would have to assume that many gravely ill patients would choose physician-assisted suicide if it were available. There are likely many more patients who would try to avoid death at any cost; our society seems to be “deathly afraid” of dying, as evidenced by numerous anti-aging and herbal supplement gimmicks.

Furthermore, many patients have families, jobs, or a life to finish living before they succumb to death. These patients will not want to die before they feel their business is complete, so it is doubtful they would choose physician-assisted suicide instead of a true treatment for their illness, unless of course they suffered from depression or other indicators of suicidal thought.

Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?

In the reason that states physician-assisted suicide will pressure the vulnerable, gravely ill to choose suicide, Coburn exploits strong emotion. By using words such as “vulnerable” and “gravely ill,” Coburn attempts to disguise his unsubstantiated reason with emotionally charged language. If one were to remove the emotional language, Coburn’s reason would be “legalization of physician-assisted suicide will put pressure on ill patients to choose to eliminate themselves.” This reason is fairly poor because it has no evidence to support it; the reason is simply a guess about what might occur in the future.

However, with the emotional language, the untrained reader might overlook this lack of evidence.

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The reason stating that policies such as physician-assisted suicide and slavery cannot be allowed because they poison society presents a faulty analogy in its use of slavery as a comparative example. Several fundamental differences make this a very poor analogy. For example, slavery was the long-term abuse of an entire race of people, while physician-assisted suicide is a single episode of abuse of one person. While both slavery and physician-assisted suicide may be morally repugnant, slavery bears more weight as an evil that poisons society because of its broad belief base; nearly everyone at that time believed slavery was acceptable, while very few people today find physician-assisted suicide acceptable.

How good is the evidence/are the statistics deceptive?

The reason that states how, based on a confidential survey, only a few physicians would cooperate in a physician-assisted suicide uses some questionable, extremely vague data. For example, what are the raw numbers for the sample of survey respondents?

Exactly how many is “a tiny fraction” of the respondents? Also, who administered this survey, where was it administered, how many respondents, was it a random sample or did they solicit volunteer respondents, what questions were on the survey and in what order, etc.…? These inquiries are all important because they would give us a clue as to how random the sample was, the breadth of the sample (were there many different fields of the medical profession represented, for example), and the size of the sample.

In his reasoning, Coburn appeals to himself as an authority on the meaning of the phrase “legitimate medical purposes.” He claims he is an expert because he has been a practicing physician since 1983. This is not an adequate credential because Coburn does not reveal in which field he practices. A search on www.google.com reveals that Coburn is in fact a family doctor, specifically an Obstetrician, and thus not likely to ever be faced with a suicidal patient. However, if Coburn were a surgeon, or otherwise regularly employed in a hospital, I would be more likely to accept his appeal to his own experience, since being a surgeon implies more experience with seriously ill, possibly suicidal patients. And another thing: does Coburn stand to gain financially from the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act? Would his company, Coburn Optical Industries, receive funds from a concerned party in return for his support of this Act? Are there any rival causes?

In the reason stating that legalization of physician-assisted suicide will pressure ill patients to choose suicide, Coburn is ignoring the other factors that might cause an ill patient to choose assisted suicide instead of actual treatment. If a patient is clinically depressed, for example, he might feel the need to simply end the suffering instead of waiting for a treatment. Of course, if physician-assisted suicide were legalized, these particular patients would feel free to request the procedure since it was not against any laws. If a patient had had suicidal thoughts in the past, totally unrelated to illness, and if those thoughts still lingered, he might request physician-assisted suicide since it was available. In this case, the legalization of physician-assisted suicide would not be the cause of a patient’s selection; rather, a patient would choose the procedure for his own personal reasons because it was available, not because the existence of such a procedure pressured him into choosing it as an alternative cure for an illness.

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What significant information is omitted?

Some information that might be useful would be examples of how physicianassisted suicide would negatively affect the medical profession—will it cause physicians to terminate seriously ill patients in lieu of actual treatment? will physicians give up on patients sooner with the acceptance of physician-assisted suicide? Also, what new advances in pain management render physician-assisted suicide useless? At what cost do these new measures come? Do serious side effects result from utilizing these measures?

For example, if a new medication eliminated all pain in the body, would a potential side effect be a dramatically increased possibility of heart failure? Would such extreme side effects really be preferable to the pain the medication is treating?

What are Herbert Hendin’s reasons?

The House should support this Act because medical illness plays an important role in 25% of all suicides. This percentage increases with age, from 50% of all suicides over 50 years old to 70% of all suicides older than 60 years old. The majority of these cases suffer from treatable depression, which has been found to be the only predictor of the desire for death. Sanctioning assisted suicide would markedly worsen the care we provide to terminally ill patients. Physician-assisted suicide is used primarily when doctors feel helpless and don’t know what to do. Studies have shown that the more physicians know about palliative care, the less they favor assisted suicide; the reverse is also true. For example, when presented with several cases in which patients requested physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia advocates in the Netherlands and in America agreed the patients should get their wish. But when these same experts were given the actual treatment results, they weren’t so sure physician-assisted suicide was best.

Which words or phrases are ambiguous?

One phrase that is highly ambiguous is “markedly worsen” the care we provide to terminally ill patients. This phrase is not explained, so we do not know if Hendin is referring to palliative care or treatment for the illness. For example, if doctors did not doggedly pursue a cure for their patients because they intended to suggest physicianassisted suicide, this would be more serious than if doctors stepped down palliative care if they intended assisted suicide for that patient. The first is more serious because this is in direct violation of the Hippocratic oath, as described by Tom Coburn. A doctor pledges to protect life when he begins his profession; a failure to attempt such treatment would be against all that a doctor stands for. I guess my value conflict here is honor and trust over convenience. On the other hand, palliative care is not meant to cure, just to manage pain.

I am assuming (knowing very little about medical care) that palliative care is chiefly administered to the terminally ill when a cure is no longer possible. If a doctor chose to neglect this aspect of his job, this would certainly be a serious transgression, but not as serious as if he neglected to attempt a cure.

What are the descriptive assumptions?

The reason that states how doctors resort to assisted suicide when they don’t know what else to do assumes that when a doctor is at a loss for treatment options, he will not seek help from a colleague. Doctors must be somewhat reliant on the knowledge of their fellow physicians since it cannot be expected that each doctor knows everything 110 .

about medicine. If a doctor has a knowledge gap, he asks a colleague for medical advice.

Hendin’s reason assumes an unrealistic autonomy among physicians. The idea that doctors will resort to such extreme procedures before asking for advice is silly given the demands on resourcefulness in the medical field, and the general desire to cure patients.

Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?

The reason that states that the more doctors know about palliative care, the less they favor physician-assisted suicide assumes some causal association of these two variables. Does an increased knowledge of how to treat pain really determine how willing a doctor is to accept physician-assisted suicide? A doctor may have extensive knowledge of pain management, yet still value the freedom of choice of the general population. A person’s knowledge might have an influence on his values, but in this case, the specific knowledge of palliative care to which Hendin is referring does not influence the value preference of freedom of choice over public safety.

Are the statistics deceptive?

In the first reason, the major problem with the statistics is their source. Where did Hendin acquire these numbers? Did he randomly examine hospital cases for degree of illness and the patient’s desire for death, or did he conduct a survey of seriously ill patients? How many patients were involved in this study? Were they all from one hospital, or were patients from numerous hospitals studied? Where were the patients located? The difference between a small town hospital and a major city hospital is great when comparing quality of care, experience of staff, or atmosphere of the environment, just to name a few concerns. The unknown source and method of acquisition make this data highly questionable, and therefore much less compelling as it initially seemed.

Are there any rival causes?

Hendin’s statistics in his first reasons are confusing. If I read the data correctly, he is saying that 50% of all suicide victims age 50-plus were influenced by medical illness.

The percentage rises with age to 70% of all suicide victims age 60-plus being influenced by illness. Is this the only possibility? It is likely something else caused this correlation.

Older people do contract more illnesses; a weakened immunity is part of the aging process. It is safe to say that an increase in the frequency of an event can increase the likelihood of that event affecting other events. Thus, more illness among older people results in more illness affecting more suicides. Hendin also says that the majority of the patients who wanted suicide suffered from depression. Could the depression have caused a lessened immunity to disease, thereby resulting in more illness among the older demographic? Is the correlation between medical illness and the wish for death as striking as one that might exist between depression and the wish for death?

In the reason that states that the more physicians know about palliative care, the less they favor assisted suicide, Hendin is assuming the increased knowledge of palliative care directly affects the decreased acceptance of assisted suicide. It is possible that a doctor who knows more about palliative care is more conscious of a human being’s right to live comfortably, thus putting assisted suicide completely at odds with his values. Or a greater knowledge of palliative care might indicate a more enlightened physician,

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meaning someone more likely to be open to alternatives before relying on the extreme solution of total elimination.

What are N. Gregory Hamilton’s reasons?

The House should support this Act because assisted suicide is not a medical procedure, as is evident in these ways: medical malpractice claims are forbidden— doctors need only demonstrate good faith; there is a different death certificate process for assisted suicides; and medical procedures are defined by the intent to protect life. This Act will protect the use of prescription medications for pain treatment. The use of drugs in assisted suicide will eventually lead to euthanasia and then to non-voluntary medical killings. Studies done in the Netherlands show that the acceptance of assisted suicide will also lead to inadequate palliative care. This Act will protect the doctor-patient relationship, which is built on trust. Assisted suicide threatens health and safety.

Acceptance of assisted suicide will stigmatize the seriously ill. Also, an account of the first-reported assisted suicide (summarized later) demonstrates all the evils of such a procedure.

Which words or phrases are ambiguous?

One ambiguity is the phrase “good faith” in the reason stating that no malpractice suits will be allowed if the doctor can demonstrate good faith. What does this mean?

Does Hamilton mean a doctor need only present a good reason for killing a patient in lieu of actual care? Does Hamilton mean doctors only have to demonstrate the patient’s desire for the procedure, or that there really was no possible method of treatment? If Hamilton means the doctor only needs to demonstrate that there was no possible treatment, or that there was a good reason for the procedure, I would be slightly more inclined to accept this reason than if Hamilton meant a doctor need only prove that the patient desired the procedure. The other two speakers have talked too much about the correlation between depression and the desire to die for me to accept that a patient reasonably chose assisted suicide instead of treatment. I suspect the phrase “good faith” is very common in the medical world, but considering Hamilton’s speech was delivered to a committee of the House, he probably should have explained his reason in terms that are understandable to all those not in the medical field.

What are the descriptive assumptions?

In the reason stating that this Act will protect the use of prescription medication for pain treatment, Hamilton assumes that most doctors will obey any law enacted concerning the use of particular drugs. It is highly likely that doctors will use these controlled drugs however they want to, the common mentality being “rules are made to be broken.” It is also likely that doctors will think their misuse of certain drugs will go unnoticed, considering the improbability of such a regulation being effectively enforced.

Another assumption must be made when analyzing Hamilton’s reason stating that physician-assisted suicide will lead to euthanasia and non-voluntary medical killing.

These events are already occurring in our society. We frequently hear about people who are hooked up to respirators and life support. Patients often request that doctors “pull the plug” if life support is keeping them alive. Or, a family may request the same for a relative on life support who will not regain consciousness before passing away. To me, 112 .

this sounds suspiciously like euthanasia. Likewise, who administers the lethal injection to prison convicts sentenced to death? A doctor probably does this deed, as required by laws concerning public safety and “medical” procedures. Even though the convict may not be that doctor’s patient, he is still forced to administer a lethal dose of a controlled substance for the purpose of killing the convict. This sounds like the non-voluntary medical killing Hamilton referred to.

Are there any fallacies in the reasoning?

Hamilton commits the domino fallacy—also known as the slippery slope fallacy—in the reason stating how physician-assisted suicide will lead to euthanasia and finally to non-voluntary medical killings. Hamilton is saying that allowing patients to request death…will lead to doctors killing patients who don’t request it…will lead to doctors being forced by outside parties to kill patients. First, assuming this doesn’t happen already to some extent (remember death by lethal injection), what evidence does Hamilton have that proves society will accept euthanasia and non-voluntary medical killings? However demoralized our society might be, there are limits to what we will accept. For example, our society can accept gay marriage in some locations, but not group marriage in any location. This is even a less extreme example of what our society will accept than that of forcing doctors to kill their patients.

How good is the evidence?

Hamilton includes an account of the first reported physician-assisted suicide in his speech. Here is a paraphrase: The only information that was provided about the case came from the assisted-suicide advocacy group that moved to Oregon after its assisted suicide law passed. No evidence suggests the victim was in pain, but plenty suggests she was depressed. She saw five doctors, the fifth finally authorizing the procedure. She did not receive antidepressants per usual medical procedure; instead, she was used as a political pawn and her life was terminated.

This case is only one; in fact, it is the very first case of legal physician-assisted suicide. It is unlikely that such events will occur again. This case is very extreme in the number of doctors to which the patient was referred, the organizations involved in her case, and in the way the case was handled in the media. The patient was transferred to three or four doctors other than her regular physicians—she did not even know these doctors marginally. How often is a patient given to doctor after doctor in search of the desired diagnosis? Also, I doubt the Compassion in Dying Federation will play a role in every physician-assisted suicide case in Oregon, as they did here. And finally, this being the very first legal physician-assisted suicide case, the media naturally wanted the story.

Those closely involved with the case chose to (or were instructed to) keep the specifics secret from the media. This will not always happen; in fact, the media will most likely be uninterested in any subsequent cases since physician-assisted suicide is now no longer “breaking news.”

Another fallacy is the reason stating that studies done in the Netherlands show that the acceptance of physician-assisted suicide leads to inadequate palliative care, which raises some generalization questions. For example, how similar are the physician training programs in the Netherlands to those in America? Do they teach multiple palliative procedures in the Netherlands, or do they only teach the assisted suicide 113 .

procedure when dealing with gravely ill patients? Perhaps American physicians are generally more informed about various available procedures and alternative methods. To accept this reason—including the implied similarities with American physicians—we would have to assume that the representative Netherlands physicians are also representative of American physicians.

Are there any rival causes?

Hamilton is assuming a direct cause in the reason stating that acceptance of physician-assisted suicide will lead to inadequate palliative care. It is possible something else would cause doctors to neglect palliative care with the acceptance of physicianassisted suicide. For example, doctors may begin to specialize in assisted suicide procedures, just as doctors specialize in other fields of medicine. After time, more doctors may choose to specialize in assisted suicide instead of palliative care, resulting in fewer doctors who are familiar with palliative care. This is more likely than the direct cause Hamilton presents.

What significant information is omitted?

I guess one thing I wonder about after reading all three arguments is, how will this law be enforced? If its only objective is to regulate the use of controlled drugs to prevent their use in assisted suicide, how can this be enforced? Whether we want to believe it or not, there must already be a certain number of illegal assisted suicides occurring; these are not discovered and the perpetrators are not punished. Simply saying it is illegal to use controlled drugs in assisted suicide does not mean doctors will stop using them in assisted suicide procedures; remember the mindset “rules are made to be broken,” or possibly “that rule doesn’t apply to me” (for whatever reason). Would there be an official form asking for the intended use of a drug which doctors must fill out before collecting controlled drugs? Would someone sift through hospital records searching for “suspicious” deaths where an assisted suicide is suspect? This proposed Act seems like legislation for the purpose of making rules. Most logically and practically, it would have to operate on an honor code. The only problem with that is, who would follow an honor code? Can we rely on physicians—particularly those who do (or would) assist with patient suicide—to obey an honor code?

What are the value conflicts and assumptions?

All three men seem to value public safety over a patient’s freedom of choice; they also assume the audience holds the same value preference. By allowing physicianassisted suicide, the safety and health of the general public is at risk due to the pressure on the ill to select physician-assisted suicide as treatment. They value this safety over the right of a patient to choose physician-assisted suicide as a treatment option. Should a patient desire physician-assisted suicide, these men would not hesitate to withhold that option in the interest of protecting the safety of that patient, but also more importantly, the safety of the entire society. According to Tom Coburn, the gradual acceptance of physician-assisted suicide could only result in an eventual downfall of public safety.

The audience must also have this value preference in order for them to listen to the argument against assisted suicide. If the audience valued freedom of choice over public safety in this case, the arguments emphasizing the danger of assisted suicide on 114 .

public safety would bear no weight. Specifically, Coburn’s reason that acceptance of physician-assisted suicide will pressure gravely ill patients to choose the procedure will hardly sound like a negative consequence to someone who values freedom of choice.

What reasonable conclusions are possible?

After reading all the reasons in favor of supporting the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998, I have concluded that the three men are not really arguing in favor of this bill. They are arguing against physician-assisted suicide. The bulk of their reasons concern this rather than the bill in question; however, the issue of physicianassisted suicide is related to the bill. I guess Coburn, Hendin, and Hamilton were arguing that the consequences of the unsupported bill are disagreeable, rather than arguing that the unsupported bill is disagreeable. Besides that, another possible conclusion might be that we should allow physician-assisted suicide for those patients who are not clinically depressed and who reasonably select assisted suicide as an alternative to palliative care.

This goes against the value preference displayed by the men, but given the emphasis they placed on the correlation between depression and death, this conclusion would follow, though probably not from the mouths of these particular individuals.

Closing Remarks As I said at the beginning, some of the reasons presented by these gentlemen were well-supported. Coburn’s point that physician-assisted suicide violates the Hippocratic Oath was especially compelling to me, since I highly value honor and trust. If a doctor engages in activities that he vowed not to do, that is a very serious offense according to my values. Another reason I found compelling was Hendin’s example of what happened when assisted-suicide advocates were presented with two cases in which the patient requested suicide. The advocates thought the patients should get their wish, but after hearing what treatment was actually provided, they weren’t so sure suicide was right after all. This proves to me very vividly Hendin’s point that doctors need only be educated on palliative care measures to avoid assisted suicide in cases where it may not be appropriate. All in all, I accept the proposed conclusion; the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act should be supported by the House of Representatives to prevent assisted suicide with controlled drugs. I also think this Act will reduce the frequency of assisted suicides in cases where such a procedure is unnecessary. However, I found the reasoning presented by these gentlemen to be, on the whole, poor and unsupported.

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Student Final Paper #2: Con Side of Lethal Drug Abuse Debate Context: This is a student’s response to the final paper assignment. She is responding to one side of a debate in the Congressional Digest, Should the House Approve H.R. 4006, the Lethal Drug Prevention Act of 1998? She is evaluating the con side of the issue, addressing arguments against the bill. The reference for the arguments is Congressional Digest, November 1998, pp. 266–286.

Note how this student nicely interweaves the critical thinking questions into a smooth flowing essay, and then develops her own personal conclusion. For this assignment, students were encouraged to approach the essay in a way in which they felt most comfortable but to be sure to show off their critical thinking skills.

You should find it informative to consider the structure of this essay with the structure of the other student paper written on con side of the debate topic, Final Essay Example # 3. Both students show off their critical thinking skills, but do so quite differently.

The Paper

Should H.R. 4006 Be Approved?

A critical analysis of arguments presented in the Congressional Digest Bill H.R. 4006 is the latest in a long history of legislation concerning the prescription of lethal drugs. Bill H.R. 4006 aims to make it illegal for physicians to prescribe drugs to terminally ill patients with the intent of causing death. This bill is closely related to the issue of physician-assisted suicide, an issue each state is permitted to decide for itself. H.R. 4006 would overrule the recent decision by Oregon to permit physician-assisted suicide by making the dispensing of lethal drugs with the intent to aid suicide illegal. This is a very complex issue that will benefit from critical analysis.

Three qualified experts present arguments against H.R. 4006 in the November 1998 edition of the Congressional Digest. Each one is truly qualified to offer information on the topic, and that is why their arguments deserve careful consideration. John A. Kitzhaber is not only the governor of Oregon but a licensed M.D. as well. Thomas R. Reardon is a licensed M.D., President Elect, and Executive Committee Member of the American Medical Association. Calvin H. Knowlton is currently the CEO of Hospice Pharmacia, but was once the President of the American Pharmaceutical Association.

Reardon and Knowlton give not only their personal views, but the views of their organizations as well—both of which are well respected.

An argument against the bill that each organization gives is that H.R. 4006 is a direct usurpation of the state’s power in the area of medicine. Each state is permitted to make its own medicine-related laws through the use of its legislature, courts, and medical board. The state of Oregon, for example, has made it legal for physicians to assist their patients in committing suicide. Governor Kitzhaber argues that H.R. 4006 was proposed to undermine this decision that the people of Oregon made.

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One problem with this argument is the assumption that the state should continue to be the arbiter of medical practice laws. The federal government has usurped the state’s right to regulate certain legal matters in the past for the sake of bettering the country—slavery being the most notable example. States at one point were permitted to choose if they were “slave” or “free,” but the determination by the federal government that slavery was undesirable overruled the states’ power to choose. If one feels, as I do, that permitting the dispensing of lethal drugs is detrimental to our general population, one will disregard this reason. If one doesn’t feel this usurpation of power is achieving a greater good, as it did in the case of slavery, one will accept the above reason.

The other problem with this reason is that it doesn’t really touch the heart of the issue.

No doubt, issues of federalism are important. However, in this particular case, arguments that debate the physical advantages, physical disadvantages, moral issues, and freedom issues surrounding the bill are stronger arguments. This argument’s concern with issues of federalism would only be weighty if this would serve as a precedent for something highly undesirable. As has already been established, this wouldn’t be setting a precedent because the state’s power to make decisions about certain legal matters has already been usurped in the past.

Many issues concerning the competency of the D.E.A. to apply the ruling if H.R. 4006 did pass have been raised. Knowlton believes that the D.E.A. will have a tough time executing the policy because one can’t simply look at what dose of a particular medication is being prescribed to determine if a doctor is prescribing it with intent to kill. Due to each person’s body chemistry, age, size, and tolerance for the drug, the lethal dosage can vary from person to person. I disagree with Knowlton’s assumption. There is a range of dosage that all people will fall within, and those being prescribed more than their weight and age warrants would merit investigation. I believe that D.E.A. officials, if not currently trained to recognize the range a person should fall within, could be trained to do so.

Knowlton assumes that because the D.E.A. can’t judge on the basis of dosage alone that they will need to evaluate on the basis of “intent” alone—which leaves much room for error. Knowlton has erred by only seeing two options in this matter. It is very possible and most logical to assume that the D.E.A. would use all avenues available to determine a physician’s intent. I believe it most likely that they would look at the dosage given to a patient, and evaluate if the dosage was not only high but also incompatible with the person’s medical history. If these things were found to be true, then the D.E.A. would make an investigation into what the physician had said or written that would indicate their “intent.”

Kitzhaber argues that the possibility of having one’s license revoked by the D.E.A. on the basis of “intending suicide” may chill the rights of free speech. He predicts that physicians will fear expressing their view on the policy of physician-assisted suicide for fear that it would be used against them in the event of a patient’s death. This, however, may not be the case. It is never explicitly stated in H.R. 4006 or by the D.E.A. what will constitute proof of “intent.” If “proof of intent” is defined as an explicit statement that the “drugs for Patient X are being prescribed because the patient wishes to die.” one would not accept this reason. If “proof of intent.” were based on general statements that a practitioner has made that support physician-assisted suicide, one would accept this reason. I don’t feel that there is enough information about “proof of intent” at this time to responsibly accept or refuse Kitzhaber’s concern about H.R. 4006’s impact on free speech.

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Related to this argument is the precedent case of Vacco v. Quill that made a distinction between drugs prescribed “because of” their ability to cause death and those prescribed “in spite of” their ability to cause death. Governor Kitzhaber argues that H.R. 4006 “establishes a violation if the purpose was to cause or assist in the death of a patient for any reason.” Governor Kitzhaber’s response to the distinction made between “because of” and “in spite of” by Vacco v. Quill is weak. The case makes it clear that a distinction has been made by the courts between a physician’s intent to cause death and the occurrence of death when the intent was to relieve pain. Kitzhaber’s reply to the safety net that Vacco v.

Quill has created simply doesn’t make sense. One who recognizes that the “safety net” this bill provides strengthens the opposing case, one who sees the lack of connection between the information and Kitzhaber’s rebuttal, as well as one who believes the courts are competent at determining intent, will disregard this reason as I have.

Governor Kitzhaber argues that this bill prohibits physician-assisted suicide through indirection. He states that H.R. 4006 only serves to threaten medical professionals that are attempting to alleviate pain and suffering of terminally ill patients. Kitzhaber is absolutely correct in arguing that the bill prohibits physician-assisted suicide through indirection. This point only carries weight if you highly regard the state’s right to make its own choice on the issue or if you see problems that will be created by using this “indirection.” Given my value preferences, I do see some problems with this use of “indirection.”

The use of “indirection” to prohibit physician-assisted suicide does have problems.

Kitzhaber argues that physician-assisted suicide is the real issue, and a bill should be proposed on this topic instead. He also adds that this would allow the “real” topic at hand to be discussed thoroughly. I agree with this reason against approving H.R. 4006 because, given my value preferences, I don’t believe physicians should aid people in ending their lives. I would hope that this bill would pass and lead to a clear prohibition of physician-assisted suicide. I also agree with this reason because this bill only makes the prescription of lethal drugs illegal. There are other means through which a physician could aid a patient in suicide, due to the vast array of biological knowledge and tools at their disposal. If possible, I would favor a bill that eliminates the loopholes.

Reardon, who represents the A.M.A., and Knowlton, who represents the A.Ph.A., make a similar point. They fear that H.R. 4006 will restrict the use of potentially lethal drugs even when the only intent is to relieve pain. Reardon feels that while it is unethical and incompatible with the role of the physician to prescribe lethal drugs with intent to kill, that “when there are no other alternatives to increase the risk of death to provide comfort, the physician is ethically permitted to exercise that option.” Accepting this reason relies on one agreeing with several of Reardon’s values and assumptions. The first is one’s acceptance that lethal drugs are sometimes the only way to “provide comfort.” If one doesn’t believe this, one won’t be very concerned with their possible restriction. If one believes that there simply needs to be a push for better pain medications, that meditation and/or relaxation techniques may provide relief, or that prayer is effective, one will reject this reason as I have.

Another important question is that of the physician being “ethically permitted” to give drugs they know will cause fatal harm but will provide comfort as well. Is this truly permissible? Part of the Hippocratic Oath that all doctors take states “ . . . first, do no harm.”

Giving a lethal drug certainly constitutes harm. One may argue that this “harm” is negotiable in light of terminal illness. However, lifespan determinations made by doctors are inaccurate at times. Those with six months to live sometimes live on for three years. Granted, there are 118 .

many that die around the proposed time of their death. Prescribing lethal drugs can be very problematic in light of the fact that sometimes physicians are wrong in declaring someone terminally ill.

The question of the competency of a doctor is vital when discussing the permissibility of prescribing lethal drugs for any reason. How many opinions does one need before receiving lethal drugs? Even very qualified doctors disagree, so shouldn’t there be a provision made that a person needs to have a certain number of opinions in favor of them taking lethal drugs before they can receive a prescription for them? The current state of things gives no such provisions. This also raises the question of how well a doctor can communicate to his patient the impact a drug will have of her body, as well as his knowledge of other healing options. Even very knowledgeable doctors may have problems communicating what they know, and patients with low education levels may have a difficult time understanding this important matter.

This brings me to the biggest value preference that this issue touches on: quality of life versus quantity of life. One who values the length of one’s life, as I do, will have a difficult time accepting the deliberate ending of life under any circumstances. Conversely, one who more highly values living an enjoyable, comfortable life as opposed to a long one will be more likely to accept the ending of a life that is permeated by pain. In defense of my own value preference, I consider part of the quality of life to be the quantity of it that one experiences. This value preference conflict is very closely related to the biggest question of them all: Why are we here? If we are primarily here to do things for others, to learn, or to accomplish a goal that is given to us by a higher power, living on with pain is preferable to death. If we are here not to accomplish any particular goal but simply for our own good pleasure, ending a life that has ceased to be pleasurable is preferable to continuing to live. As is probably obvious from my preference for long life, I believe in the former philosophy on life.

An issue both Reardon and Knowlton are concerned with is the reluctance that doctors will feel prescribing “lethal” pain medications even when their intent is to relieve pain, not cause death. Knowlton states that physicians and pharmacists have reported their reluctance, but doesn’t give any statistics, case studies, or specifics on which drugs and in which situations the practitioners felt reluctance. This reluctance is immediately assumed to be a negative thing, something that will only result in people suffering without relief. This conclusion ignores another possible conclusion—that the reluctance may be a very good idea. Given my preference for living a long life, I believe any measure that causes more reflection on one’s decision to end a life early is a good one.

Knowlton states that because aggressive drug therapies will become suspect, we will be hurting patients’ access to the best treatments available. The phrase “best treatments available” is ambiguous and holds the author’s belief that there aren’t better ways of relieving pain. As I’ve explored earlier, I believe there are better ways of relieving pain, and that restricting the distribution of lethal drugs will push us to develop better treatments. I find it very ironic and quite problematic that the “best treatments available” for pain management result in death.

Kitzhaber’s statement that the bill only serves to “threaten medical professionals who are attempting to alleviate the pain and suffering of terminally ill patients” is full of emotive language and ambiguities. “Alleviate” is highly ambiguous. Only after several re-readings of the article does it become clear that “alleviate pain and suffering of terminally ill patients” 119 .

means “end the lives of terminally ill patients, thereby ending their pain and suffering.” One who believes that it isn’t a human’s job under any circumstances to end life intentionally will reject this reason as I have. Further, Kitzhaber’s statement ignores the fact that medical professionals who are trying to alleviate pain and suffering but aren’t assisting their patient in suicide will have nothing to fear from this bill.

Reardon brings up the fact that doctors prescribe potentially lethal drugs every day.

He states that 100 pills of Dilaudid, a non-lethal drug, could cause death. Reardon also says that prescriptions such as this may become suspect under the new bill. I believe that this is a very poor analogy. The main difference between the prescription of Dilaudid and that of a lethal drug is that the doctor is advising the patient to take a lethal amount of a drug in one case, but only advising the patient to take a non-lethal amount of a potentially lethal drug in the other. The analogy fails to account for this difference. I find Reardon’s assumption that the courts would not be capable enough to distinguish between the two—a lethal prescription and prescription abuse—inaccurate. For these reasons, I reject this analogy.

Reardon argues that this bill will lead to physicians being reluctant to prescribe aggressive pain medication, thereby leaving some patients in enough pain that they will seek suicide. As Reardon presents no statistics or case studies concerning the occurrence of this idea, combined with the fact that I don’t know of even one person in the media or personally who opted to take her own life because she wasn’t being given strong enough pain medications, I reject this reason. Someone who believes this is a real threat and sees a causal link between not being able to obtain strong pain medication and suicide will accept this reason.

Knowlton adds on this topic: “H.R. 4006 will further degrade the already abysmal management of chronic pain.” This statement adds little support because it is based on ambiguous terms and assumptions one may or may not agree with. What about our system of pain management is “abysmal”? Further, it assumes that more closely monitoring lethal pain medications will interfere with our ability to alleviate pain. In actuality, it may improve our ability to alleviate pain by pressuring drug companies to pour more money into research that develops more effective, non-lethal drugs that alleviate pain. This isn’t to say that drug companies are only motivated by profit, but it would certainly place pressure on the companies if their “lethal” drugs weren’t selling very well. Because of the ambiguity in Knowlton’s statement, combined with the fact that I find his prescriptive assumption inaccurate, I reject this reason.

The Management of Cancer Pain Guideline Panel of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research concluded that laws aimed at “controlling through diversion” would hamper the “appropriate use of opioid analgesics for cancer pain.” While this statement comes from a credible source, it assumes several problematic things. It first assumes that, as many groups have in relation to this issue, the D.E.A. and the courts would not be competent in sorting apart those prescriptions meant to heal and those meant to kill. It further assumes that physicians will hold this assumption and therefore be reluctant to prescribe opioids and analgesics even for the right reasons. I don’t feel I can responsibly accept or reject this assumption because I have no knowledge of how physicians feel about the competency of the legal system. The above statement also assumes that using opioids and analgesics is “appropriate.” Given my belief that extremely strong medications can’t be the only answer, I disagree with this assumption.

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Knowlton asserts that unrelieved pain is a “public health crisis” and worries that H.R. 4006 would further impede our ability to solve it. He cites two sources in support of his claim that our nation is experiencing a crisis in the area of unrelieved pain. The first is a statement by the National Cancer Institute Workshop on Cancer Pain that indicated “undertreatment of pain and other symptoms of cancer is a serious and neglected health problem.” As the Institute failed to qualify this assertion with any case studies, statistics, or evidence, I don’t feel it adds much support to Knowlton’s assertion about the unrelieved pain crisis.

The second source of support is a statistical piece of evidence: Knowlton reports that 26% of nursing home residents receive no medication for daily pain—not even aspirin. This statistic is a very poor one. We don’t know who gathered this data or in what manner it was gathered. We don’t know what the sample size was or what good reasons there might have been for the patients not receiving medication. Had these residents requested medication?

Did they have diseases or complications that made pain medication an undesirable option?

How much pain were they experiencing, and for what duration of time? Until there are answers for these questions, we have no reason to accept this statistic as indicative of a national “public health crisis” in the area of pain management.

The term “pain” is very ambiguous. In Knowlton’s defense, pain is a concept that is nearly impossible to define. We are unable to feel what another person is feeling in their body, and asking people to rate their pain on a number scale still does little to truly communicate to us the amount of pain they’re experiencing. We assume that Knowlton means “serious pain,” the kind that nearly inhibits one from going about daily life, when he declares that we are experiencing a crisis because of the amount of unrelieved pain that exists. However, he could also mean the type of daily pain we all experience each day. We stub our toe, pull out our back, or get blisters from our new shoes. If Knowlton is including this type of daily pain in his declaration concerning unrelieved pain, he is wasting his time in crusading against it—life hurts, it probably always will, but not so much that we can’t enjoy it. I have chosen to give Knowlton the benefit of the doubt and to assume he means “serious pain,” as it would be foolish to crusade against all pain.

Further, Knowlton has made the assumption that pain is a health crisis. Knowlton says this because he assumes that pain is something that doesn’t benefit anyone or have any purpose. If one had the assumption that pain is a punishment sent by a higher power for one’s evil deeds, one wouldn’t feel that unrelieved pain was a crisis and wouldn’t feel very motivated to solve the problem. Also, if one feels that pain serves as a valuable teaching tool for the afflicted and those around them, one wouldn’t feel that unrelieved pain was a crisis.

For example, we often have those that are experiencing the pain of lung cancer address our youth on the topic of smoking. One may believe that the observance of this pain will save many lives, thereby making the life that is being lost useful. As I don’t believe pain is a punishment, and due to the fact that I value the individual over the group in this instance, I agree with Knowlton’s assertion that unrelieved pain is a problem.

Knowlton makes the assertion that the “current regulatory environment” results in an increased reluctance by physicians to prescribe drugs that are wholly appropriate and that H.R. 4006 will only worsen the environment. He cites a survey done by the New York State’s Public Health Council that reported “71% of responding physicians reported that they do not prescribe effective medication for cancer pain if such prescriptions would require them to use a special State-monitored prescription form for controlled substances.”

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This statistic is loaded with problems. How many physicians were surveyed? From what area were they taken? If they were only from New York, were physicians from different cities surveyed or only those from one city? Was the sample random or selective? One could also draw other conclusions based on this statistic. Rather than the “regulatory environment” being the problem, it seems much more likely that a reluctance to complete paperwork is the real source of failure to prescribe adequate drugs. This conclusion becomes more believable than Knowlton’s conclusion when Knowlton later presents us with another statistic.

Knowlton tells us that records of administering Schedule II drugs to cancer patients in a 1,200 bed teaching hospital in Texas dropped 60.4% between 1981 and 1982 when they began requiring physicians to fill out forms in triplicate.

Knowlton tries to use this statistic to support the assertion that “if simply increasing the amount of paperwork hampers the dispensing of appropriate drugs, what will adding new regulations do?” The statistic is problematic in proving even the first part of the assertion.

This statistic could quite possibly not even be the result of extra paperwork. The statistic fails to mention if there were any similarities between the needs of the patients in the hospital during 1981 and 1982. It also fails to mention if the same students were there both years. The students of 1982 may have had different diagnoses and different ideas about what should be prescribed. Also, the statistic doesn’t tell us how many students were involved. The hospital had 1,200 beds, but there may have only been 40 students at work in the hospital. If so, this isn’t a very good statistic because the sample size is too small. Further, this statistic is based on physicians in training, but generalized to trained and practicing physicians. An inexperienced physician is much more likely to be intimidated by extra paperwork or regulations than an experienced physician.

Even if paperwork was the cause of reluctance among physicians to prescribe a drug, and even if student-physicians behave the same way that practicing physicians do, there are other conclusions possible. As in the case of the New York physicians, it seems quite possible that laziness, not a fear of review, was the cause of the reduction of prescriptions.

Knowlton’s connection between reluctance to do paperwork and fear of review is shaky at best.

Knowlton, who represents the American Pharmaceutical Association, worries that H.R. 4006 will force pharmacists to make judgment calls about which prescriptions are or aren’t intended to cause suicide. Knowlton’s concern does or doesn’t merit concern depending upon information that this article doesn’t give us. If a pharmacist believes the dosage requested is being used to cause suicide, what does H.R. 4006 obligate them to do? If a written warning that acknowledges the suspicion of the pharmacist and is signed by the physician is enough to relieve the pharmacist of any burden, Knowlton’s worry is without merit. If a pharmacist is expected to either interrogate the physician to discover his motives, submit the physician’s name to the D.E.A., or to refuse to dispense the drug because of his suspicion, Knowlton’s concern is merited.

Knowlton’s above concern is compounded by the fact that if a physician requests a prescription with intent to kill and the pharmacy issues it, they are considered an accessory to the crime and will have their license suspended if they are found guilty. Let me clarify; the license of the pharmacy, not just the pharmacist, will be suspended. The legitimacy of Knowlton’s concern is, once again, based on what the specific responsibilities of the pharmacy and the pharmacist are and how guilt will be determined. As these things are unknown to us, I find it irresponsible to make a decision on this matter at this time.

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Knowlton is also concerned that physicians and pharmacists will communicate less because knowledge of the physician’s intent may be used against the pharmacist and the pharmacy and that this communication is vital to a patient obtaining the proper care.

Knowlton fears that the act of a pharmacist issuing a warning to a physician would be a professional risk to both of them. He believes this because he assumes that pharmacists will be given that amount of responsibility for a physician’s actions under H.R. 4006. This assumption is unwarranted because we simply don’t have this information.

The reasons presented by Knowlton, Reardon, and Kitzhaber vary widely in strength when subjected to the rigors of careful analysis. Some were backed by poor statistics and some lacked sufficient information to make a judgment call, while others were very supportive of the speaker’s conclusion, given you held the same value preferences and made the same assumptions the speaker did. After determining the validity of each reason, one must then enter into one of the most difficult steps of critical analysis—weighing the reasons against one another. Quantity of “for” or “against” answers doesn’t offer us much help in arriving at a conclusion. I will discuss the reasons that, given my value preferences, carried the most weight for me and thereby determined my conclusion.

This article deals with a confusing issue-within-an-issue concept. There are really three questions one must answer. The first is: do I approve of prescribing lethal drugs for any reason? Given my assumption, preferences, and beliefs, my answer is no. I arrived at a conclusion different from the one presented when presented with the idea of unrelieved pain. As stated earlier, I believe there are better things we can do to relieve the pain of those with severe illnesses. I believe that making lethal drugs illegal would force pharmaceutical companies to work harder at discovering better drugs. I also believe that non-lethal drugs, when combined with other healing techniques, could bring many sufferers relief. These include relaxation techniques, meditation, prayer, and changes in diet. Healing in this way would help the body rather than harm it.

If one determines that lethal drugs are still the best answer to chronic pain, one may want to vote down H.R. 4006 because it might occasionally prohibit the prescription of lethal drugs that aren’t intended for suicide. One may feel differently about H.R. 4006 if one feels the D.E.A. and courts are competent in determining between prescriptions made “because” the drug will cause death, or “in spite of” the fact that the drug will cause death.

If one isn’t in favor of physician-aided suicide or isn’t in favor of the use of lethal drugs at all, another question must be answered. Is H.R. 4006 going to serve the purpose of preventing the distribution of lethal drugs without having negative ramifications on other aspects of the medical world? This question is more difficult to answer. While the bill does prevent the distribution of lethal drugs, it also complicates many other things. For example, it may place undue responsibility on pharmacists to determine the intent of the physician that prescribes strong drugs. It also may be difficult for the courts or the D.E.A. to determine the intent of the physician who writes the prescription.

I support H.R. 4006 because I feel that appropriate safety guards could be made for pharmacists, preventing them from needing to take on duties they weren’t really trained to do. Further, I have faith in the court’s ability to distinguish among the reasons that a physician would write a particular prescription. Combined with my previous ideas about lethal drugs, and in combination with my analysis of the reasons presented by the article, I have chosen to support H.R. 4006. It is my wish that my analysis will assist not only those

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that agree with my conclusion, but also those who disagree with it as well, to arrive at a better understanding of the issues and their impact.

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Student Final Paper #3: Con Side of Lethal Drug Abuse Debate Context: This paper is written in response to instructions for the final paper of the semester that focus on the issue, “Should the House Approve H.R. 4006, the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998?” This is the third example of student responses to final paper instructions, and is another well-reasoned paper. The student’s task is to integrate all the critical thinking questions learned during the semester. We recommend that you compare all three papers related to this debate topic and try to note the strengths and weaknesses of each to stimulate ideas about the criteria you would like to use in evaluating student critical thinking written activity.

The Paper An Evaluation of “Approve H.R. 4006, Prevention Act of 1998?”

In “Approve H.R. 4006, Prevention Act of 1998?” John A. Kitzhaber, Thomas R. Reardon, and Calvin H. Knowlton argue that H.R. 4006, the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998, should not be approved. Before evaluating the reasons provided to support the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved, it is necessary to review the history of physician-assisted suicide legislation in Oregon in order to understand the origin and the implications of H.R. 4006.

On November 8, 1994, Ballot Measure 16 was placed before the Oregon electorate. Ballot Measure 16’s title stated: “Allows Terminally Ill Adults to Obtain Prescription for Lethal Drugs.” Ballot Measure 16 was approved by the Oregon electorate by a margin of 51.3 percent in favor, 48.7 percent opposed. Following the November 1994 election, a series of appeals at levels of the Federal judiciary stopped implementation of Ballot Measure 16. In 1997, the Oregon Legislative Assembly considered several legislative proposals regarding physician-assisted suicide. At the November 1997 statewide election, Ballot Measure 51 was placed before the Oregon electorate. Ballot Measure 51’s title stated: “Repeals Law Allowing Terminally Ill Adults to Obtain Lethal Prescription.” Ballot Measure 51 was rejected by the Oregon electorate by a margin of 59.9 percent opposed to repeal, 40.1 percent in favor of repeal. The results of the 1997 election led to the passage of the Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act and to the introduction of H.R. 4006, the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998.

H.R. 4006 was developed to eliminate health care professional involvement in suicide by allowing the Department of Justice, through the Drug Enforcement Administration, to invoke the Controlled Substances Act to take adverse action against physicians who assist patients in ending their lives by prescribing controlled substances.

In “Approve H.R. 4006, Prevention Act of 1998?” two major reasons are provided to support the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved. In order to determine whether or not the reasons provided by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton provide sufficient support for the conclusion, the reasons provided must be evaluated. To make the reader aware of the first major reason, Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton argue that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because the fear of a Drug Enforcement 125 .

Administration inspector’s review of appropriate prescribing would discourage aggressive palliative care by making physicians more reluctant to fully treat pain.

In the reason provided by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton, the definition of the phrase “aggressive palliative care” needs to be clarified. The phrase “aggressive palliative care” can be defined as prescribing dangerous pain medication that often hastens death.

The phrase can also be defined as prescribing efficient pain medication in which the risk of severely harming the patient is nonexistent. I would be more willing to discourage prescribing dangerous pain medication that often hastens death than I would be willing to discourage prescribing efficient pain medication in which the risk of severely harming the patient is nonexistent. Therefore, if the latter definition of the phrase “aggressive palliative care” is assumed, the reason provides more support for the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved than if the phrase “aggressive palliative care” is defined as prescribing dangerous pain medication that often hastens death. Because varying the definition of the phrase “aggressive palliative care” can alter one’s reaction to the claim that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because approving H.R. 4006 would discourage aggressive palliative care, the definition of the phrase “aggressive palliative care” needs to be clarified.

In order for the belief that the fear of a Drug Enforcement Administration inspector’s review of appropriate prescribing would discourage aggressive palliative care by making physicians more reluctant to fully treat pain to support the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved, the value priority that personal contentment is more important than the risk of substance abuse must be assumed. According to the argument made by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton, personal contentment can be defined as the ability to live in the absence of chronic pain. The risk of substance abuse can be defined as a physician’s ability to prescribe pain medication that provokes death. Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton argue that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because approving H.R. 4006 would make physicians reluctant to fully treat pain. Although allowing physicians to prescribe pain medication that provokes death creates the possibility and risk of substance abuse, Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton claim that the personal contentment of a patient should be considered and that physicians should be allowed to prescribe pain medication that provokes death in order to relieve chronic pain. One who disagrees with the value priority that personal contentment is more important than the risk of substance abuse might argue that it is necessary for physicians to experience the fear of a Drug Enforcement Administration inspector’s review of appropriate prescribing in order to eliminate the possibility and risk of substance abuse. Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton would disagree with such an argument, explaining that they value personal contentment over the risk of substance abuse. I believe that if physicians are reluctant to treat pain, the number of people harmed will be greater than the number of people harmed if certain physicians begin to abuse the ability to prescribe pain medication that provokes death. Therefore, the value priority that personal contentment is more important than the risk of substance abuse is acceptable.

In “Approve H.R. 4006, Prevention Act of 1998?” Kitzhaber and Reardon explain that in some instances, administration of adequate pain medication hastens death by suppressing the patient’s respiratory system. To provide support for the claim that approving H.R. 4006 would discourage aggressive palliative care, Kitzhaber and Reardon argue that the permissibility of administrating such pain medication would be restricted if 126 .

H.R. 4006 were approved. In order for the argument made by Kitzhaber and Reardon to support the reason, it must be assumed that administrating pain medication that hastens death in order to relieve chronic pain is an appropriate form of aggressive palliative care.

One might argue that it is possible that eliminating the availability of such pain medication would lead scientists to recognize the need to discover more efficient pain medication that neither harms the patient nor hastens death. I believe it is acceptable to assume that administrating adequate pain medication, regardless of the secondary effects of such medication, is an appropriate form of aggressive palliative care. I believe the assumption is acceptable because a physician is obliged to attempt to relieve a patient from pain if he/she is unable to adequately treat the patient’s illness. Until more efficient pain medication that neither harms the patient nor hastens death is discovered, the assumption is acceptable.

Knowlton also provides evidence to support the belief that the fear of a Drug Enforcement Administration inspector’s review of appropriate prescribing would discourage aggressive palliative care by making physicians more reluctant to fully treat pain. Before concluding that the evidence provides strong support for the reason, the evidence must be evaluated. Knowlton explains that physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals report reluctance to prescribe sufficient amounts of controlled substances for fear of review and possible disciplinary action. Important information is omitted from Knowlton’s statement. It is necessary to know how many physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals report such reluctance. It is also important to know the regions in which the physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals reporting such reluctance reside. Knowledge of such information could impact the credibility of the evidence. For example, if 5,000 physicians residing in a variety of regions in the United States report reluctance to prescribe sufficient amounts of controlled substances, the evidence provides stronger support for the reason than if fifty physicians residing in the Midwest report reluctance to prescribe sufficient amounts of controlled substances. I cannot consider Knowlton’s statement to be acceptable evidence because significant information regarding the physicians, pharmacists, and other health care professionals is omitted.

In Knowlton’s argument, he includes a survey conducted by New York State’s Public Health Council in which 71 percent of responding physicians reported that they do not prescribe effective medication for cancer pain if such prescriptions would require them to use a special state-monitored prescription form for controlled substances. Before considering the results of a survey to be acceptable evidence, one must determine whether or not there are any biases in the measurements used by the researcher.

Knowlton does not include descriptions of the survey questions that the physicians were asked to answer. It is possible that the survey questions were biased. If so, the survey questions could have led the physicians to respond in a way that supported the belief that they do not prescribe effective medication for cancer pain if such prescriptions would require them to use a special state-monitored prescription form for controlled substances.

I cannot consider the results of the survey conducted by New York State’s Public Health Council to be acceptable evidence because it is necessary to be able to evaluate the survey questions that the physicians were asked to answer before determining the acceptability of the survey results.

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To provide additional evidence, Knowlton explains that in 1982, the State of Texas instituted a triplicate prescription law for controlled substances. A study of prescriptions for a 1,200-bed teaching hospital found that the total number of prescriptions received for Schedule II drugs decreased by 60.4 percent from 1981 to 1982. In order to be considered acceptable evidence, the results of a research study must be replicated. Knowlton fails to include descriptions of other research studies that support the conclusion of the research study conducted in Texas, and he neglects to include descriptions of research studies that contradict the conclusion of the research study conducted in Texas, making the acceptability of the results of the research study conducted in Texas questionable.

In order for the evidence provided by Knowlton to support the argument that approving H.R. 4006 would make physicians more reluctant to fully treat pain, it must be assumed that the institution of the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances is the cause of the decrease in the prescriptions received from 1981 to 1982 in the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in Texas. Knowlton engages in the post hoc fallacy by assuming that because the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances was instituted before the decrease in the prescriptions received occurred, the institution of the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances caused the decrease in the prescriptions received. Although the institution of the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances is one plausible cause of the decrease in the prescriptions received, it is important to consider rival causes. It is possible that from 1981 to 1982, several patients in the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in Texas did not suffer from chronic pain and the demand for prescriptions of Schedule II drugs decreased. It is also possible that from 1981 to 1982, the national supply of Schedule II drugs was inadequate and physicians were ordered to prescribe Schedule II drugs sparingly. Because plausible alternative causes exist, the assumption that the institution of the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances is the most plausible cause of the decrease in the prescriptions received from 1981 to 1982 in the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in Texas is unacceptable.

When analyzing the cause of the decrease in the prescriptions received from 1981 to 1982 in the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in Texas, one must consider the number of hospitals in Texas in which the total number of prescriptions received for Schedule II drugs did not decrease from 1981 to 1982. It is also important to consider the number of hospitals in states where triplicate prescription laws for controlled substances were not instituted in which the total number of prescriptions received for Schedule II drugs did decrease from 1981 to 1982. If such values are large, the assumption that the institution of the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances is the cause of the decrease in the prescriptions received from 1981 to 1982 in the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in Texas is weakened.

In order for the evidence provided by Knowlton to support the claim that approving H.R. 4006 would discourage aggressive palliative care, one must assume that the results of the survey conducted by New York State’s Public Health Council and the results of the research study conducted in Texas can be generalized to most physicians.

When generalizing from a research sample, it is necessary to consider the number of people studied. The research sample must be large enough to justify the generalization.

After analyzing Knowlton’s descriptions of each study, the number of physicians studied is unclear. Because the number of physicians studied in each study is unclear, I cannot 128 .

determine whether or not the results of both studies can be generalized to most physicians.

The breadth of people studied should also be considered when generalizing from a research sample. The results of the survey conducted by New York State’s Public Health Council and the results of the research study conducted in Texas reflect the beliefs and actions of physicians residing in a single state. It is possible that physicians practicing in other areas or regions would have responded differently to the survey conducted by New York State’s Public Health Council than the physicians surveyed in New York. It is also possible that physicians practicing in other areas or regions would have reacted differently to the introduction of a triplicate prescription law for controlled substances than the physicians practicing in Texas. Because the physicians participating in both studies did not possess a large amount of breadth, the belief that the results can be generalized to most physicians is questionable.

When generalizing from a research sample, it is necessary to consider the randomness of the research sample. Because a research sample that is not selected randomly often becomes a biased sample, the results of a study in which the research sample is selected randomly can be generalized to a greater amount of people than the results of a study in which the research sample is not selected randomly. The physicians who completed the survey conducted by New York State’s Health Council were not selected randomly. The results of the survey reflect the beliefs of only the physicians who were willing to respond to the survey. It is possible that the beliefs and values of physicians who are willing to respond to a survey would differ from the beliefs and values of physicians who are not willing to respond to a survey. It is also possible that physicians who are willing to respond to a survey would react differently to survey questions than physicians who are not willing to respond to a survey. Therefore, the results of the survey cannot be generalized to most physicians. Knowlton fails to explain the manner in which the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in the research study conducted in Texas was selected, making it difficult for me to accept that the results of the research study can be generalized to most physicians. After considering the number, breadth, and randomness of the research samples of each study, it is evident that the results of the survey conducted by New York State’s Public Heath Council simply show that physicians practicing in New York who are willing to respond to a survey do not prescribe effective medication for cancer pain if such prescriptions would require them to use a special State-monitored prescription form for controlled substances. It is also clear that the results of the research study conducted in Texas simply prove that the total number of prescriptions received in the 1,200-bed teaching hospital in Texas for Schedule II drugs decreased following the introduction of the triplicate prescription law for controlled substances.

To convince the reader that approving H.R. 4006 would discourage aggressive palliative care by making physicians more reluctant to fully treat pain, Knowlton appeals to two sources of authority. He includes a comment made by the Institute of Medicine in which the organization stated that controlled substance laws and regulations may obstruct good care, either by specific provisions or by the fear and misunderstanding surrounding the requirements. He also explains that in 1994, the Management of Cancer Pain Guideline Panel of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research concluded that laws and regulations aimed at diversion control are an impediment to the management of 129 .

cancer pain and recommended that laws and regulatory policies aimed at diversion control not hamper the appropriate use of opioid analgesics for cancer pain. Although appealing to sources of authority is not always fallacious, Knowlton neglects to provide the reader with important information regarding the Institute of Medicine and the Management of Cancer Pain Guideline Panel of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. I believe it is necessary to provide important information regarding both organizations, such as their reasons for making such claims, the number of years that they have been active organizations, and a brief history of the accuracy of their comments.

Without the knowledge of such important information, I cannot determine whether or not the Institute of Medicine and the Management of Cancer Pain Guideline Panel of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research are reliable sources. Because it is unclear whether or not both organizations are reliable sources, the statements provided by Knowlton cannot be considered acceptable evidence.

It is evident that the value priority in the first major reason provided by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton is acceptable. It is also clear that the descriptive assumption of the supporting claim made by Kitzhaber and Reardon provides strong support for the first major reason. Although strengths are evident when evaluating the first major argument of Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton, the presence of ambiguity and the presence of unacceptable evidence make the acceptability of the argument questionable. To make the reader aware of the second major reason, Kitzhaber and Reardon argue that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because such legislation is an unprecedented expansion of Federal power over the practice of medicine.

In the reason provided by Kitzhaber and Reardon, the definition of the phrase “practice of medicine” needs to be clarified. The phrase “practice of medicine” can be defined as including only the legislation regarding a physician’s ability to prescribe controlled substances. The phrase can also be defined as including a variety of realms of the field of medicine, such as the procedures that must be followed when providing care for a patient in the hospital, the requirements that must be met to become a psychiatrist, and the legislation regarding a physician’s ability to prescribe controlled substances. One might argue that the Federal government should have the power to regulate a physician’s ability to prescribe controlled substances. If the phrase “practice of medicine” is defined as including only the legislation regarding a physician’s ability to prescribe controlled substances, he/she would claim that the reason provided by Kitzhaber and Reardon does not provide strong support for the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved.

He/She might also argue that the Federal power over a variety of realms of the field of medicine should be restricted. If the latter definition of the phrase “practice of medicine” is assumed, he/she would argue that the reason provided by Kitzhaber and Reardon provides strong support for the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved.

Because one’s reaction to the claim that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because such legislation is an unprecedented expansion of Federal power over the practice of medicine can change by altering the definition of the phrase “practice of medicine,” it is necessary to clarify the definition of the phrase “practice of medicine.”

In order for the claim that H.R. 4006 is an unprecedented expansion of Federal power over the practice of medicine to support the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved, the value priority that individual responsibility is more important than collective responsibility must be assumed. According to the argument made by Kitzhaber 130 .

and Reardon, individual responsibility can be defined as the duty of state legislatures to control legislation regarding the field of medicine. Collective responsibility can be defined as the duty of the Federal government to control legislation regarding the field of medicine. Kitzhaber and Reardon argue that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because it expands Federal power over the practice of medicine. One who believes that collective responsibility is more important than individual responsibility would argue that the expansion of Federal power over the practice of medicine is necessary and would create positive changes within the field of medicine. Because Kitzhaber and Reardon would disagree with such a claim, it is evident that they value individual responsibility over collective responsibility. More information regarding the positive and negative effects of placing state legislatures or the Federal government in control of legislation regarding the field of medicine is needed before one can determine whether or not the value priority that individual responsibility is more important than collective responsibility is acceptable.

By claiming that H.R. 4006 should not be approved because such legislation is an unprecedented expansion of Federal power over the practice of medicine, Kitzhaber and Reardon engage in the ought-to fallacy. They assume that because state legislatures currently determine the scope of medical practice, state legislatures ought to determine the scope of medical practice. It is possible that the field of medicine would benefit from unified legislation regarding medical practice mandated by the Federal government. For example, if the Federal government formulated a general list of procedures for physicians to follow regarding the treatment of chronic pain, patients suffering from chronic pain could expect similar treatment from most physicians. If patients suffering from chronic pain could expect similar treatment from most physicians, the difficulty of selecting a physician would lessen. The assumption that because state legislatures currently determine the scope of medical practice, state legislatures ought to determine the scope of medical practice is questionable, making it difficult for me to accept the reason provided

by Kitzhaber and Reardon.

After evaluating the two major reasons provided by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton to provide support for the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved, it is clear that strengths and weaknesses exist in their arguments. Because of the presence of ambiguity, unacceptable assumptions, and unacceptable evidence in their arguments, I cannot conclude that the two major reasons provided by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton provide sufficient support for the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved. It is important to attempt to generate reasonable alternative conclusions supported by the reasons provided before discarding the arguments made by Kitzhaber, Reardon, and Knowlton. For example, one might argue that the two major reasons provided support the conclusion that certain aspects of H.R. 4006 should be considered for revisal before being approved. The two reasons provided might also support the conclusion that research studies should be conducted in order to determine a physician’s reaction to the fear of a Drug Enforcement Administration inspector’s review of appropriate prescribing. Although the arguments made in “Approve H.R. 4006, Prevention Act of 1998?” do not provide sufficient support for the conclusion that H.R. 4006 should not be approved, with the addition of important information, such as a justification of the assumptions made and acceptable evidence, the acceptability of the reasons provided could change.

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Section V Short Articles for Analysis Introduction While we have already in previous sections referred to a number of possible sources of materials—print, video, and online—for providing your students with practice in critical thinking, we have found that some instructors may desire references to some specific articles to use for various purposes in their classes. This section and the following section refer to a number of such articles that can be easily accessed on the Internet, and which in many cases can also be accessed in print form.

This section emphasizes brief articles, most of which vary in length from one to three pages. The essays are grouped according to how they might best match various parts of Asking the Right Questions. The essays grouped under the first half of the book (Chapters 1–6) make good student exercise material for virtually any of those chapters, and tend not to emphasize evidence in their arguments. The essays grouped under application of evidence chapters (Chapters 7–10) provide students with good practice in asking the “How Good is the Evidence?” question, including questions about rival causes, statistics and omitted information. Students would also need to answer questions about the structure of the reasoning—earlier questions in the book—as a prelude to answering the evidence questions.

The next Teachers’ Guide section (Section VI) highlights lengthier articles, which can be used for more demanding and integrative assignments. Sections V and VI are likely to be of most value to instructors teaching critical thinking courses rather than those teaching discipline specific courses that use Asking the Right Questions to integrate critical thinking skills into the discipline.

Suggested Articles Emphasizing Identifying the Reasoning Structure and Assumptions (Chapters 1–7) http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Resources/essays/legal-drugsNo.html Title: “Legalizing Drugs Makes Matters Worse,” by James Q. Wilson.

Originally published in Slate in Sept. of 2000, this site presents it and also locates topic sentences in green and transitions in red; thus it can be used as a writing hint.

Length: One page.

Comment: Good passage to use in early chapters of the text.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/522749.stm Title: “Should embryo testing be restricted?”

Question raised: Do you believe that testing on embryos to establish possible genetic disorders should be allowed or could it set a dangerous precedent?

Series of short arguments. Excellent for practicing structuring of reasoning: conclusions, reasons, ambiguity and assumptions. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/other/schaler8.html Title: “Smoking Right and Responsibility,” by Jeffrey Schaler. Originally published in Volume 2, Issue 2, Psychnews International, Feb–Mar, 1997, Section B: The Fifth Column.

Length: Two-page essay.

Comment: Good for value conflicts; refers to evidence some, but not much. http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0303/p01s02-usju.html Title: “Forced Medication: When Does It Violate Rights?” by Warren Richey. From the March 3, 2003 edition of the Christian Science Monitor.

Length: About one and a half pages Comment: Good article for early practice at identifying reasons and conclusions, plus value conflicts. http://slate.msn.com/id/31787/ Title: “Proxy War: Liberals Denounce Racial Profiling. Conservatives Denounce Affirmative Action. What’s the Difference?” by Michael Brus. Posted on Slate Website, Friday, July 9, 1999.

Length: Quite short; about two pages.

Comment: Especially good for focusing on ambiguity. http://beliefnet.com/story/85/Story_8578_1.html Title: “Are SUVs Immoral?” Original article published by Gregg Easterbrook at Beliefnet.com in November of 2002.

Length: Three pages.

Comment: Good for having students identify reasoning structure in multi-paragraph essay.

Essay is then responded to with a number of short arguments at the following site: http://beliefnet.com/boards/message_list.asp?boardID=15328&discussionID=70975 Length: Many arguments, most less than one page.

Comment: Excellent for practice in identifying fallacies, ambiguity, and identifying reasoning structure. http://www.central.edu/philrel/sullivan.html Title: “An Exchange on Same-Sex Marriage: William Bennett and Andrew Sullivan.”

Length: Short one-page arguments on both sides of issue, from Newsweek. 3 June 1996.

Comment: Good for early reasoning structure and value identification exercises.

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Suggested Articles Emphasizing Evaluating of Evidence (Chapters 7-9) http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF8&rlz=1T4TSHA_enUS308&q=health+mandate+fight+hinges+on+commerse Title: “Health Mandate Fight Hinges on Commerce Clause,” NPR, December 14, 2010.

Length: About one and a half pages of short paragraphs Comment: Ambiguity, Fallacy and Analogy come into play in this article. Good brief essay for students to identify the nature of the reasoning and make judgments about which arguments are most appealing. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-07-30-dementia-overthinking_N.htm Title: “Overthinking may offer protection from dementia,” by Mary Brophy Marcus, USA Today. Update 7/31/2008. About half a page. Short paragraphs with research data.

Especially good for evaluating research studies and generating rival causes. Good for short quizzes. http://www.newsweek.com/id/143792/output/print Title: “Having Kids Makes You Happy.” Brief article published in July 7–14, 2008 issue of Newsweek magazine, by Lorraine Ali. Secondary source of much published research on topic. References research studies and surveys. Good for issues of omitted information, qualifying generalizations, and rival causes. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-opboys20mar20,0,1891687.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions Title: “Boys or Girls – Pick Your Victim.” One-page article published in Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2005. Good for analyzing a research study and for deceptive statistics. http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/07/news/vo-carlos7 Title: “Close the Doors of Youth Prisons, by Deborah Carlos. Article published in Los Angeles Times, May 7, 2005. One-page article. Fallacies and questionable use of evidence to draw general conclusions. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/11/031112072907.htm Title: “Bullied Children at Risk of Depression.” Brief secondary source report of published research study, posted at Science Daily Web, November 2003.

Length: Less than one full page.

Comment: Excellent for practice of analyzing summarized research study, and for identifying rival causes and omitted information. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12890801 Title: “Reported Air Traffic Control Errors Double,” by Joan Lowy, Associated Press, February 2011.

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Length: About 10 paragraph newspaper article.

Excellent for ambiguity, possibly deceptive statistics, rival causes and omitted information. http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/300/13/1544.short Title: “News media coverage of medication research: reporting pharmaceutical company funding and use of generic medication names.” Abstract of Journal of American Medical Association article, October 2008, by M. Hochman, S. Hochman, D. Bor and D. McCormick.

Length: About one page. Good for evaluating research. Plus the results are highly relevant to what students are reading about in Chapter 8 of ARQ. http://www.breggin.com/congress.html Title: “Peter Breggin, M.D. Testifies Before Congress on Ritalin.”

Length: Two pages of text, plus abbreviated bibliography.

Comment: Much use of references to research studies; shows strong value preferences and selective use of research evidence. http://www.beliefnet.com/story/102/story_10281.html Title: “Forgiveness Is Good for Your Health: Psychological Studies Are Showing That It Is Better to Forgive than to Be Forgiven,” posted at Beliefnet by Gregg Easterbrook.

Results from multiple studies cited.

Length: About two long pages.

Comment: Great for evaluating evidence supporting causal claims and asking the question, “What are plausible rival causes?” http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20010425sally6.asp Title: “Making an Aggressive Case for Day Care’s Benefits,” by Sally Kalson. Critique of Belsky’s studies. April, 2001. Post Gazette News.

Length: About one and a half pages.

Comment: Good opportunity for students to see a disagreement with research findings. http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/02/study-says-red-light-cameras-save-lives/ Title: “Study Says Red Light Cameras Save Lives,” By Chuck Squatriglia, Wired Magazine, February 1, 2011.

Length: 12 short paragraphs Comment: Use of research data and causal thinking. Good for analysis of statistics. http://www.ahsc.arizona.edu/opa/news/apr01/stjohns.htm Title: “Study Shows St. John’s Wort Ineffective for Major Depression of Moderate Severity.” Secondary source report of article published in Journal of American Medical Association. At All About Depression Website. Several secondary sources report this study.

Length: About two pages.

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Comment: Good for having students evaluate the quality of a study reported in a major journal. Especially relevant to Chapter 9. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2002-09/uom-sct083002.php Title: “Closeness to Mother Can Delay First Instance of Sexual Intercourse Among Younger Teens.”

Length: Two pages.

Comment: Helpful for evaluating surveys and rival causes. http://www.cis.gsu.edu/~dstraub/Courses/Grandma.htm Title: “The Dead Grandmother/Exam Syndrome and the Potential Downfall of American Society,” by Mike Adams. Department of Biology, Eastern Connecticut State University.

Humor.

Length: About four to five pages.

Comment: Some fun figures and graphs. Probably not for all tastes, but it provides a potentially entertaining way to vividly illustrate the nature of false cause thinking. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/25/health/webmd/main3097899.shtml Title: “Cat’s ‘Sixth Sense’ Predicting Death? Nursing Home Cat Named Oscar Seems to Know When Death is Near.” CBS News, July 25, 2007.

Length: About a page and a half.

Comment: Article that students have fun with. Addresses both intuition and rival causes. http://slate.msn.com/id/2067854/ Title: “How the ADL Counts Anti-Semites.”

Length: About a page in length.

Comment: Excellent for identifying ambiguity and bias in surveys. http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20110118/iraqscreening18_st.art.htm Title: “Study: Help upfront reduces troops’ mental ills.” By Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, January 18, 2011.

Length: 12 short paragraphs. Brief Comment: Good study for addressing survey data (interviews), between group research design, and rival causes.

Suggested Articles Application of Full Range of Critical Questions http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2002/12/23/editorial1.html Title: “NCAA Stars Deserve Pay.” Editorial.

Length: About one page.

Comment: Short essay that provides practice of all questions.

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http://slate.msn.com/id/2522/ Title: “Vice Is Nice. Legal Gambling is Destroying Western Civilization? Don’t Bet on It,” by Steve Chapman at Slate Website.

Length: Three pages.

Comment: Good for identifying reasoning structure and assumptions, as well as for asking, “How Good is the Evidence?” Can work well for midterm exam. http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1004/p25s2-coop.html Title: “Racial Profiling Is Not the Answer to Security Concerns.” Christian Science Monitor writer Tom Regan.

Length: About one printer-friendly page.

Topics: Efficient short article for applying all critical thinking questions. http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?print=yes&id=11620 Title: “Radical Feminists Reinterpret Title IX,” by Phyllis Schlafly. Posted at Human Events Website, Jan 17, 2006.

Length: two pages Comment: Especially helpful for examining causal reasoning.

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Section VI Lengthy Articles for Analysis Several Internet Sites Useful for Selecting Lengthy Articles Google Society – Issues. http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Issues/ Links to Internet sites about current issues and controversial topics Hot Paper Topics http://library.sau.edu/bestinfo/Hot/hotindex.htm Excellent links to controversial issues Issues and Causes http://dir.yahoo.com/society_and_culture/issues_and_causes/ Links to current issues and controversial topics Pew Research Center for the People and the Press http://people-press.org/ Independent opinion survey group the examines attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy

Long and Short: Broad Application of Chapters http://www.mpp.org/assets/pdfs/download-materials/MMJArgumentsNov08.pdf Title: “Effective Arguments for Anti-Medical Marijuana Advocates,” by Bruce Mirken.

Can download PDF version.

Length: Quite long.

Comments: Lists 34 challenges to medical marijuana advocates and responds to each. As a set of arguments, could be used for virtually all critical thinking questions. Also, article provides many recent journal article references to this issue. http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/08/26/johnson Title: “Proving the Critics’ Case,” by KC Johnson, Aug. 26, 2005, at Inside Higher Ed Website.

Length: Could choose from short to very long, depending on goals for students.

Comments: Lengthy dialogue triggered by articles addressing the issue of whether university faculty promotes a liberal bias, and if so, is that a problem? Instructor could choose from among the many arguments presented here.

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http://www.newswithviews.com/health_care/health_care.htm Title: “Stop Medical Experimentation on Our Children,” by Maureen Gordon, posted at NewsWithViews site. Date unknown.

Length: About two pages.

Comment: Excellent for recognizing and analyzing different kinds of evidence (e.g., case examples, research studies), unsupported claims, assumptions (both value and descriptive), and, especially, misuse of statistics. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704590704576092460302990884.html Title: “Be a Gamer, Save the World. Videogames make players feel like their best selves.

Why not give them real problems to solve?” By Jane McGonigal. Wall Street Journal, January 22-23, 2011.

Length: About 15 newspaper paragraphs.

Comment: Emphasizes benefits of playing videogames. Especially good for identifying reasoning structure, value priorities, rival causes and omitted information

Application of First Six Chapters http://slate.msn.com/id/103963/entry/103964/ Title: The Pharmaceutical Industry. Merrill Goozner Debates Andrew Sullivan. From Slate Website, April 2001.

Length: Lengthy dialogue concerning the question of whether the pharmaceutical industry needs to charge high prices to protect innovation. Three days of exchange.

Comment: Excellent for reasons and assumptions. Not much data or use of evidence. http://www.menweb.org/paglsomm.htm Title: “Has Feminism Gone Too Far?” Camille Paglia v. Christina Hoff Summers. Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg. Airdate: November 4, 1994.

Length: Rather lengthy dialogue—5 or 6 pages.

Comment: Provides good practice for questions emphasized in first seven chapters of ARQ, especially ambiguity, values, and fallacies. http://www.nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/MLK-jail.html Title: Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 1963.

Length: 11 pages.

Comment: Frequently cited letter. Excellent opportunity for identifying reasons, assumptions, and value preferences in a carefully crafted and influential argument.

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Application of “How Good Is the Evidence?” (Chapters 7-10) http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript893.html

Title: “Is There a War against Boys?” Dialogue among several contributors, hosted by Ben Wattenberg. July, 2000.

Length: About 6 pages; lengthy discussion by panel.

Comment: Excellent for “How Good is the Evidence? ‘Lots of case example evidence; lacking in research studies. http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/040900rampage-killers.html Title: “Rampage Killers Part 1: A Statistical Portrait. They Threaten, Seethe and Unhinge, Then Kill in Quantity.”

Length: First of four-part New York Times series, April, 2000.

Comment: Excellent long essay for studying use of statistics. http://chronicle.com/article/Graduation-Rates-Fall-at/125614/ Title: “Graduation Rates Fall at One-Third of 4-Year Colleges,” by Jeffrey Brainard and Andrea Fuller, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 5, 2010.

Length: About two and one half pages.

Comment: Useful for survey analysis, deceptive statistics, and omitted information.

Application of Full Range of Questions (Useful for Final Exam) **General Good Print Source** Congressional Digest Pro and Con arguments.

Issues that should work well in critical thinking classes include: •

“Americans and Their Cars: The Debate Over Fuel Economy,” May 2002.

•

“Crack vs. Powder Cocaine: Mandatory Minimum Drug Penalties,” January 2003, vol. 82, no. 1.

•

“Importing Prescription Drugs: Balancing Affordability and Public Health,” November 2003, vol. 82, no. 9.

•

“Indecency in the Media,” Feb. 2005, vol. 84, no. 2.

•

“Medical Liability Insurance: Causes and Consequences of Rising Malpractice Premiums,” Feb. 2003, vol. 82, no. 2.

•

“Minimum Wage: The Debate over Raising the Hourly Rate,” March 2000, vol.

79, no. 3.

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•

“Oil Drilling in Alaska: Domestic Production & the Environment,” June–July 2001, vol. 80, no. 6–7.

•

“The Torture Debate: Determining Limits on Interrogation Techniques,” February 2008. vol. 87, no. 2.

•

“Food Safety,” April 2008, vol. 87, no. 4.

•

“Partial-Birth Abortion: The Ongoing Debate Over Reproductive Rights,” June 2003, vol. 82, no. 6

•

“The PATRIOT Act Revisited: Civil Liberties and the War on Terrorism,” November 2004, vol. 83, no.

•

“Physician-Assisted Suicide: Balancing Medical Ethics & Individual Rights,” Nov. 1998, vol. 77, no. 11.

•

Supreme Court Debates. “Church vs. State: Tax Credits for Religious Education,” March 2011, vol. 14, no. 3.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/30/science/30tier.html Findings: “For Good Self-Control, Try Getting Religious about It,” by John Tierney, published in NY Times, December 30, 2008. Several pages long. Discusses several research studies. Good for reflecting on causal explanations for complex behavior. http://slate.msn.com/id/33569/entry/33571/ Title: “Does Abortion Prevent Crime? Dialogue between Steven Levitt and Steve Sailer.

From Slate Website, August, 1999. Three back-and-forth dialogue presentations.

Length: About six pages.

Comment: Much evidence is presented; key issue: the meaning of the evidence.

Excellent for misuse of assumptions and evaluating evidence, and especially useful for rival causes chapter. http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript964.html Title: “Are Mothers Getting a Bad Deal?” Transcript from Think Tank, with Ben Wattenberg and guests. Show aired June, 2001.

Length: 4 to 5 pages of text, but a quick read because of dialogical nature.

Comment: Good for identifying arguments, values, and misuse of evidence. http://slate.msn.com/id/5853/entry/24154/ Title: “The Nature of Nurture: Parents or Peers.” Slate Website, November 1998.

Length: Long interchange, with many arguments.

Comment: Classic debate. Judith Harris vs. Jerome Kagan. Both participants have written widely read books related to the topic. Dialogue is useful for applying all critical questions, especially “What are plausible rival causes?”

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http://slate.msn.com/id/2000177/entry/1005495/ Title: “Bowling Alone.” Author of Bowling Alone (a widely cited book) discusses the book on Slate with Nick Gillespie.

Length: Three sets of interchanges, about a page long each.

Comment: Extensive value conflict, and evidence-relevant material. (These kinds of dialogues are always good for helping students work on identifying fallacies. It’s a lengthy exchange, but parts of it could be selected out.)

Google Search.

Access: Should be able to access the full text of arguments either through LexisNexis, or by inserting Gregg v. Georgia into Google or other search engine.

Title: “The Death Penalty: Gregg v. Georgia.” Influential Supreme Court case argued March 31, 1976, and decided July 2, 1976. Gregg v. Georgia, 428 US 153, 171 (1976) (joint opinion).

Length: Very long. But could pull out the most substantive arguments from the various opinions for use by the class.

Comment: Ambitious dialogue for students to encounter. Good for focus on kinds of arguments used in court cases. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000E5065-2345-128A-9E1583414B7F0000 Title: “Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic?” by Wayt Gibbs. Published in Scientific American, June, 2005 issue.

Length: Six pages.

Comment: Good for critical thinking practice on a lengthy argument on a controversial issue appearing in a journal with an excellent reputation. A briefer option is to have students access secondary source reports of this essay from a search engine and evaluate that source, rather than the original article. http://www.calstate.edu/pa/clips2003/october/27oct/despair.shtml Title: “In College and In Despair,” by Sabrina Tavernise, published in The New York Times, October 26, 2003.

Length: About three printed pages.

Comment: Issue that many students can relate to: What information should colleges be required to share with parents about their child, such as concern about their child being depressed? Essay is particularly good for value conflicts, assumptions, and use of evidence. http://www.tibetanliberation.org/happiness.html Title: “Finding Happiness: Cajole Your Brain to Lean to the Left.” Article published in The New York Times, February 4, 2003, by Daniel Goleman.

Length: About three pages.

Comment: Fruitful source for applying all critical thinking questions, focusing on the issue of how well meditation works as an antidote to stress.

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Sample of contemporary articles included in a set of 30 contemporary readings in Asking the Right Questions with Readings, Browne, M.N. and Keeley, S.M. Prentice-Hall, 2011. http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/We-license-plumbers-and-pilots-why-notparents-1155270.php Title: “We license plumbers and pilots—why not parents?” by Peg Tittle. Published in The Seattle Post Intelligencer, 2004.

Comment: Good example of essay that mentions and then addresses counterarguments. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1733316/ Title: “The Pursuit of Beauty: The Enforcement of Aesthetics on a Freely Adopted Lifestyle,” From Journal of Medical Ethics, 2000, by Henry Wijsbek.

Comment: Lengthy nine-page article. Provides many arguments, examples of critical thinking by the author, and opportunity for applying all of the critical thinking questions.

Pair of Articles in Conflict: http://www.mrc.org/bmi/news/2005/CNNs_Global_Warming_Special_Typifies_Liberal_ Title: Bias_of_Climate_Coverage.html CNN’s “Global Warming Special Typifies Liberal Bias of Climate Coverage,” by Dan Gainor and Amy Menefee, Business and Media Institute, 2005. http://motherjones.com/politics/2005/05/snowed Title: “Snowed: Why is the US News Media Silent on Global Warming?” by Ross Gelbspan. Mother Jones Magazine, 2005.

Comment: Good exposure to impact of value and descriptive assumptions, as well as causal reasoning. Provides opportunity for students to response to question: Which arguments are most compelling?

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