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

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Contents
Kinds of Reasons 29
Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight 31
Reasons First, Then Conclusions 32
"Fresh" Reasons and Your Growth 32
Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking 33
Practice Exercises 33
4 What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous? 37
The Confusing Flexibility of Words 38
Locating Key Terms and Phrases 39
Checking for Ambiguity 40
Determining Ambiguity 41
Context and Ambiguity 43
Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary 44
Ambiguity and Loaded Language 46
Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity 48
Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking 48
Summary 49
Practice Exercises 50
5 What Are the Value Conflicts and Assumptions? 53
General Guide for Identifying Assumptions 55
Value Conflicts and Assumptions 56
Discovering Values 57
From Values to Value Assumptions 58
Typical Value Conflicts 60
The Communicator's Background as a Clue to
Value Assumptions 61
Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions 61
More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions 63
Avoiding a Typical Difficulty When Identifying Value Assumptions 64
Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own 65
Values and Relativism 67
Summary 68
Practice Exercises 68
6 What Are the Descriptive Assumptions? 71
Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions 72
Clues for Locating Assumptions 74
Applying the Clues 76
Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions 78
Assumptions and Your Own Writing and Speaking 78