| This concise guide offers relevant, rigorous and approachable methods... thoughtfully structured series of chapters, with clear definitions... this book [is] a valuable resource for developing a useful understanding of methods of persuasion. - Times Educational Supplement
Attempts to persuade us - to believe something, to do something, to buy something - are everywhere. What is less clear is how to think critically about such attempts and how to distinguish those that are sound arguments. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide is a much needed guide to argument analysis and a clear introduction to thinking clearly and rationally for oneself. Accessibly written, this book equips readers with the essential skills required to discuss a good argument from a bad one.
Key features of the book include: * Clear, jargon-free discussion of key concepts in argumentation * How to avoid common confusions surrounding words such as "truth," "knowledge" and "opinion" * How to identify and evaluate the most common types of argument * How to spot fallacies and tell good reasoning from bad * Chapter summaries, exercises, examples, and a glossary
The second edition has been updated to include topical new examples from politics, sport, medicine and music, as well as new exercises throughout.
About the Author
Gary Kemp is lecturer of Philosophy at Glasgow University. Tracy Bowell is lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. |