Critical Thinking - Fallacies
The significance of fallacies in critical thinking is important to understand so that clear and concise arguments can be made on a logical, factual level instead of one that is proliferated with emotions and illogical reasoning. The basis of these fallacies are dependent
on critical thinking according to discussions in which the parties may not agree on a situation or one element is attempting to convince another of making a decision. The point of this type of disagreement is to give reasons in support of some conclusion. An argument commits a fallacy when the reasons offered do not logically support the conclusion. In many cases these fallacies are disguised in such a way that a normally rationale person is convinced to side with an opinion or argument. An argument, as defined by American Heritage dictionary "A discussion in which disagreement is expressed; a debate" (www.dictionary.com). In the discussion of fallacies we will cover the effects they have on arguments and the force and persuasion they have on individuals.
In order to understand what a fallacy is, one must understand the influence they have on critical thinking. (Basshmans)
"Critical thinking is the general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills and
intellectual dispositions needed to efficiently identify, analyze, and evaluate
arguments and truth claims, to discover and overcome personal prejudices and
biases to formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions,
and make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what you believe and what to
do."
The usage of critical thinking, with respect to arguments, involves two type of logic; deductive and inductive. A deductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) complete support for the conclusion. An inductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) some degree of support (but less than...
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