Asking the Right Questions, A Guide to Critical Thinking, 8th Ed

138 Chapter 10
litde boy offered one interpretation of his observations: the sun sets at night
because my babysitter goes home. We expect that you can see another very plausible
explanation for why the sun sets.
Although rival causes will rarely be as obvious as they are in our story, you
will frequently encounter experts presenting one hypothesis to explain events
or research findings when other plausible hypotheses could also explain
them. Usually, these experts will not reveal rival causes to you because they do
not want to detract from the sound of certainty associated with their claims;
you will have to produce them. Doing so can be especially helpful as you
decide "how good is the evidence?" The existence of multiple, plausible rival
causes for events reduces our confidence in the cause originally offered by the
author.
Searching for rival causes will always be appropriate when a speaker or
writer presents you with some evidence and offers a cause to explain it.
(J)
Critical Question: Are there rival causes?
Attention:
A rival cause is a plausible alternative explanation that can
explain why a certain outcome occurred.
When to Look for Rival Causes
You need to look for rival causes when you have good reason to believe that
the writer or speaker is using evidence to support a claim about the cause of
something. The word cause means "to bring about, make happen, or affect."
Communicators can indicate causal thinking to you in a number of ways. We
have listed a few.
X has the effect of. . . X deters . . .
X leads to . . . X increases the likelihood . . .
X influences ... X determines . . .
X is a factor in . . . X contributes to . . .
X is linked to . . . X is associated with . . .
These clues to causal thinking should help you recognize when a communicator
is making a causal claim. Once you note such a claim, be alert to the
possibility of rival causes.