Beyond Feelings

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CHAPTER 10 Errors of Procedure 119 Basenjis notwithstanding. When Mommy says, “Be careful of that pencil, it can poke your eye out,” the child understands, again rightly, that all pencils have that capacity. As these modest examples suggest, generalizing is not only natural but indispensable to learning. We never see things in general—that is, all dogs, all pencils, all mountains, all rivers, all teachers, or all anything else. Rather, we see particular members of a general class—individually or in groups—and generalize from them. As long as we exercise reasonable care, generalizing serves us well. Unfortunately, it is easy to overgeneralize—that is, to ascribe to all the members of a group what fits only some members. If you visit New York City and meet a few rude people, you would be correct in saying, “Some New Yorkers are rude,” but not “Most New Yorkers are rude,” let alone New Yorkers are rude,”* Yet such sweeping generalizations are heard every day, not only about New Yorkers, but also about liberals, conservatives, born-again Christians, politicians, homosexuals, feminists, environmentalists, intellectuals, and many other groups. A stereotype is an overgeneralization that is especially resistant to change. The most common types of stereotypes are ethnic and religious. There are stereotypes of Jews, Poles, African Americans, Hispanics, Italians, fundamentalists, Catholics, atheists—and “dead, white, European males,” or DWEMs. As you might expect, any generalization that is fixed and unbending can be considered a stereotype. Although stereotypes may be either positive or negative, they are more often negative. Sadly, people who deplore the negative stereotyping of their own groups often do not hesitate to negatively stereotype other groups. Does every reference to group characteristics constitute a stereotype? No. Recurring patterns of thinking and acting are observable in groups, and references to those patterns are therefore legitimate. In ancient times the Chinese were more creative than most other peoples; in the late nineteenth century and much of the twentieth, German industrial technology led the world; in recent decades the Japanese have demonstrated remarkable inventiveness and concern for quality. Furthermore, not all cultural patterns are complimentary. For centuries the Spanish and Portuguese disdained manual labor, thinking it a sign of dishonor, and emigrants to Latin America carried that attitude with them. Today Sri Lankans have a similar attitude. The prevalence of this attitude in these societies can be acknowledged without suggesting that all Hispanics and Sri Lankans are lazy. (Incidentally, the belief that manual labor is dishonorable reflects illogical reasoning rather than indolence.) As Thomas Sowell points out, the acknowledgment and examination of all cultural patterns, desirable and undesirable, advantageous *Note that any generalization that does not include a specific qualification such as most, many, some, several, or Agnes is understood to mean all members of the group. Thus saying, “New Yorkers are rude,” is the same as saying, “All New Yorkers are rude.”
120 PART TWO The Pitfalls and disadvantageous, is essential to understanding the success and failure of groups, nations, and entire civilizations. 7 Both overgeneralizations and stereotypes hinder critical thinking because they prevent us from seeing the differences among people within groups. To avoid these errors, resist the urge to force individual people, places, or things into rigid categories. In forming generalizations, keep in mind that the more limited your experience, the more modest you should make your assertion. In the continuums presented below, the center terms (one or some, occasionally, and possible) require the least experience. Each division to the right or the left of the center requires additional experience. The Subject Continuum all / most / many / one or some / few / almost none / none The Frequency Continuum always / usually / often / occasionally / seldom / hardly ever / never The Certainty Continuum certainly so / probable / possible / improbable / certainly not so Oversimplification Simplification is not only useful but essential, particularly at a time like the present, when knowledge is expanding so rapidly. People who know a great deal about a subject find it necessary to communicate with those who know little or nothing about it. Teachers must explain to students, experienced employees to novices, attorneys to clients, physicians to patients, and scientists to the general public. Simplification scales down complex ideas to a level that can be understood by less knowledgeable people. Oversimplification, on the other hand, goes beyond making complex ideas easier to grasp; it twists and distorts the ideas. Instead of informing people, oversimplification misleads them. Unfortunately, oversimplified statements can sound insightful; in such cases, the errors can be detected only by careful analysis. Here are two typical examples of oversimplification: Oversimplification If the students haven’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught. Analysis Students’ failure to learn is sometimes the teacher’s fault and sometimes the students’ own fault for not putting forth the required effort. This statement suggests that the fault always lies with the teacher; thus it oversimplifies.
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Beyond Feelings A Guide to Critical
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To the memory of Howard Trumble, wh
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vi CONTENTS Imperfect Memory 35 Def
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viii CONTENTS Using Your Inventory
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x PRFACE evaluate them carefully wh
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xii PRFACE Aimee Ross-Kilroy, Loyol
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2 INTRODUCTION applications cover p
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CHAPTER 1 Who Are You? Suppose some
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6 PART ONE The Context The Influenc
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8 PART ONE The Context What effects
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10 PART ONE The Context was not to
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12 PART ONE The Context does not su
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14 PART ONE The Context 1. Do a bri
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CHAPTER 2 What Is Critical Thinking
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18 PART ONE The Context that has ch
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20 PART ONE The Context Thought Pro
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22 PART ONE The Context Are interes
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24 PART ONE The Context Basic Activ
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26 PART ONE The Context And when th
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28 PART ONE The Context number of p
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30 PART ONE The Context Application
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CHAPTER 3 What Is Truth? For hundre
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34 PART ONE The Context You have he
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36 PART ONE The Context in their ti
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38 PART ONE The Context to express
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40 PART ONE The Context the example
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42 PART ONE The Context ripples can
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44 PART ONE The Context Application
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46 PART ONE The Context range of vi
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48 PART ONE The Context We may not
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50 PART ONE The Context time of Col
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52 PART ONE The Context seventeenth
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54 PART ONE The Context that their
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56 PART ONE The Context approach is
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58 PART ONE The Context one view is
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60 PART ONE The Context hot dog wit
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62 PART ONE The Context require rea
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64 PART ONE The Context In the 1980
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66 PART ONE The Context What are th
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170 PART THREE A Strategy You canno
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172 PART THREE A Strategy Any feeli
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174 PART THREE A Strategy Sample Is
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176 PART THREE A Strategy Narrowing
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CHAPTER 17 Conducting Inquiry Inqui
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180 PART THREE A Strategy BACKGROUN
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182 PART THREE A Strategy cases, as
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184 PART THREE A Strategy Once you
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186 PART THREE A Strategy opposing
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188 PART THREE A Strategy are harmf
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190 PART THREE A Strategy Managing
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CHAPTER 18 Forming a Judgment Judgm
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194 PART THREE A Strategy Expert op
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196 PART THREE A Strategy Here is a
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198 PART THREE A Strategy As the ex
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200 PART THREE A Strategy 1. Strive
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202 PART THREE A Strategy MAKE YOUR
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204 PART THREE A Strategy and dismi
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CHAPTER 19 Persuading Others When y
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208 PART THREE A Strategy the compa
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210 PART THREE A Strategy 2. Gun co
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212 PART THREE A Strategy Any reaso
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214 PART THREE A Strategy Consider,
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216 PART THREE A Strategy Violates
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218 PART THREE A Strategy Neither i
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220 PART THREE A Strategy restore t
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222 PART THREE A Strategy by the an
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Notes CHAPTER 1: WHO ARE YOU? 1. Th
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226 NOTES 7. “Town’s Terror Fro
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228 NOTES CHAPTER 8: THE BASIC PROB
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230 NOTES 5. “An Exercise in Educ
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abortion, 104, 138 absolutism, 108,
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Henry, Carl F., 99-100 Henslin, Jam
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psychology, 6-7, 11-13, 161 publish
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Beyond Feelings

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