Dr. Aufrecht's Pocket Guide to Critical Thinking

You don’t believe everything you read or hear. Why? The modern world is full of politicians, advertisers, spouses, roommates, and co-workers trying to convince you that they are right. Advertisers try to convince you their product is right for you. Politicians try to make you think they have the solutions. Pundits sound like they have all the answers. Too often, these messages seems convincing, even when you know what they are saying is not true. We often feel that something is amiss in the message, but it can be hard to say exactly what is wrong. In this book on Critical Thinking, I present techniques for understanding the logic behind these statements and conversations. I offer you the bare bones to get you started decoding these messages. With these techniques, you will have a language to turn that “funny feeling” into an explanation. You will be able to explain to yourself and to others what is wrong with these messages (or what is right). Using this language, specifically: you will be able to identify and explain if the arguments being presented to you are valid or sound, and why.