Introduction

1. A toy puck and a hockey stick cost $1.10 in total. The

stick costs $1 more than the puck. How much does the
puck cost?
a) 10 cents
b) 5 cents
c) 15 cents
d) Cannot be determined

2. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the

patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to
cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the
patch to cover half of it?
a) 47 days
b) 24 days
c) 13 days
d) Cannot be determined
3. Bob is in a bar, looking at Susan, but she is looking at
Pablo. Bob is married. Pablo is not. Is a married person
looking at an unmarried person?
a) yes
b) no
c) Cannot be determined

4. What image do you see below?

A cow
  Critical thinking: ‘The systematic evaluation or
formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational
standards.’

Systematic: because it involves distinct procedures and

methods (not just gut feelings, what we believe, etc.)

Evaluation and Formulation: used to assess existing

claims and devise new ones.

Rational Standards: Claims are judged by how well they

are supported by reasons.

Perhaps, it can be said that the study of critical thinking

is nothing more intimidating or obscure than this, the
study of good thinking.
More generally: What is thinking?

One definition of “think” is this: Make use of the mind.

For our purposes, let’s say that thinking is the activity of

the mind.

Thinking includes activities like reasoning, perceiving, and

explaining, inventing, problem solving, learning, teaching,
contemplating, knowing, and even dreaming.
Think about this scenario and a possible creative solution
to it:
It is a dark and stormy winter night. You are driving
along on the outskirts of Ottawa in your SMART car (a
car with two seats and no trunk). You come across a bus
stop, where you see three people who are waiting for a
bus. One is a stranger who at that very moment keels
over with a heart attack. Next is an old friend. The last,
believe it or not, is the woman or man of your dreams.
For all concerned in this scenario, what would be the
best outcome?

The Basic Toolbox of Critical Thinking

 Statement
 Premise
 Conclusion
 Argument

 Statement: A claim that something is or is not the

case.
 Arguments have various parts, and the part that’s
easiest to identify is called the statement: also
sometimes called the proposition, or the claim. (For
the purpose of understanding argumentation, these
terms mean the same thing, and are often used
interchangeably.)
 A statement has just one meaning, for it expresses
one thought.

 Also, a statement asserts that something is the case,

or is not the case. When a statement asserts that
something is the case, it is also called an affirmation;
when it asserts that something is not the case, it is
also called a negation or denial.

 Not all sentences are statements. Some sentences

are questions, some are commands, some are
emotional exclamations, and some are poetic
devices like metaphors.

 One way to recognize a statement is to look for

sentences that could be given as a direct answer to a
straightforward question. Another is to look for
sentences that could be either true or false; a
 sentence that one could agree with, or disagree
with.

Which of the following sentences are statements?

1 The lamp on my table is switched on.
2
3 Good morning everyone!
4
5 My sweater is green.
6
7 How many cars are parked outside right now?
8
9 Smoking is bad for your health.
10
11 Smoking is good for your health.
12
13 What time is it?
14
15 My love is like a red, red rose.
Note: It is possible for a single sentence to contain within
it more than one statement.

1 It’s raining today, and I’m feeling blue. (Two

statements)
2
3 There is a book on my table, and coffee is brewing on
the stove. (Two statements)
4
This new kitchen gadget can slice any vegetable, the new
TV is a smart TV, and the new toilet is an eco-toilet that
uses 60% less water than a regular toilet. (Three
statements)

Once we have figured out what a statement is we can

build arguments by arranging statements into particular
relationships with other statements. An argument needs
at least two statements, not just one.

 Premise: A statement given in support of another

statement; a claim put forth as a reason for a
conclusion.
 Conclusion: A statement that premises are meant to
support; a claim meant to be supported by reasons
offered in the argument.
 Argument: A group of statements in which some of
them (the premises) are intended to support another
of them (the conclusion). A set of claims, one of
which is meant to be supported by others.
- How to recognize an argument: look for
conclusion, look for premise indicator words
(because, since, in view of the fact, given that, for
the reason that, or due to the fact that) ex. “we
should go back to Joe’s diner BECAUSE we had fun
there last week”
 So, in critical thinking terms, the word ‘argument’
doesn’t just mean a debate, a dispute, or a
contradiction.
- Conclusion indicators are followed by a conclusion
Ex: Therefore, thus, so, consequently, it follows
that, we can conclude that, ergo, hence
- Enthymemes: arguments with missing aspects
Ex. Argument: “you’re a student so you must be
short of cash”
Premise: “Students are always short of cash”

What’s implicit?
1)Spot is a cat, and all cats are mammals.
Implicit conclusion, implies that spot is a
mammal
 Simple (contains only one inference word) and
complex arguments (multiple inference words)

Ex. Complex “You’re a student. So, you’re

probably broke. So, you likely don’t have money
for beer.

Other statements that just make one claim

Conditionals: “If… then…”
If I study hard, then I’ll pass PHI 1101
Disjunctive: “Either… or”

Analyze arguments
1) identify inference indicators
2) identify if it is simple or complex
2 possibilities of arguments structure
- Independent premises: lend some support to the
conclusion on their own
Ex. Jake is a philosopher. And, Jake studies hard.
Therefore, Jake is smart
Each premise on its own offers info about the
conclusion

- Dependent arguments
I am taller then Rahul (1), Rahul is taller then you
(2). So I must be taller than you (3).

Non-deductive arguments
- Intended to provide probable support for its conclusion

- The premises are meant to make the conclusion probable or likely

- Never have 100% certainty, always a probability or certainty

- Support for the conclusion is a matter of degree

- Can be described as successful or unsuccessful

1. Successful:

- 3 degrees of certainty

I. Almost certain
II. Very likely
III. Somewhat likely (some basis but no great support)
2. Unsuccessful:

- Degree of support that the premise give the conclusion is little or none
at all

Examples:
1. There are times when many of us may need to protect ourselves from
intruders. Thus, we should all keep a hand grenade on our bed side.
(Unsuccessful)
2. Cole has been acting suspiciously for days, and he told Rachel he was
going to steal something valuable. We may assume he is up t no good.
(successful, very likely 3rd degree)
3. Most undergraduates never take organic chem. So, the chances are that
Claude, a gradating premed student, did not take organic chem
(Unsuccessful)
4. King has just received a scholarship to play b-ball at a div 1 college. This
leads us to believe that King must be very athletic young man.
(Unsuccessful) because nothing indicates his sexes.

3 types of non-deductive arguments:

1) Inductive generalization:

- Premises about individual members of a group and reason to conclusion

about the group as a hole.

- The movement is from the particular (the sample size) to the general.

- Begin with observation about some members of the group then from
that the hole group.

- Can be successful or unsuccessful.

- Basing a conclusion on inadequate sample size can be said as hasty

generalization. (Larger the sample, the more accurate, conducted
randomly)

- Ex: I’ve owned 2 dell computers, both sucked, starting to think Dell suck

- I got food poisoning last time I went to that restaurant now I’m afraid to
go back

- 2/3 of students at this uni receive student loans. Therefore 2/3 of all uni
student everywhere receive student loans.

- Question:

- Most ppl are fed up with celebrities who get up on their soapbox and air
their public opinions. When ppl on the street have been asked by TV
reporters how they feel about this issue, they almost say they wish
celebrities would keep their opinions to themselves. (unsuccessful)
- Most newspaper reports of deaths involved either homicide or car
crashes. Therefore, homicide and a car crashes must be leading causes
of death. (Unsuccessful)

- Two hundred samples of water randomly taken from many sites all along
Lake Ontario show unsafe concentration of toxic chemicals. (Successful)
2) Statistical syllogisms:

- Starts with general and moves down to the particular

- Ex. Most people who attend university are free thinkers. Erica attends
university, therefore Erica is probably a free thinker
3) Plausibility argument:

- Premises are meant to work together to build a case for the conclusion
being plausible or reasonable.

- Ex. Jones had a strong motive to murder smith

Jones had an opportunity to murder smith

The murder weapon had Jones’ fingerprints on it
Jones was psychologically capable of murdering smith
Therefore, Jones probably murder smith

- 4 premises that lead us to believe jones murdered smith.

 1st PHI 1101 K mid-term!

I. For each of the following, on the line provided, write what is implicit -- premise or
conclusion -- and then write what the implicit premise or conclusion is. Each is worth two
marks.

5 questions = 10 marks

II. Present the following arguments in standard form and provide a diagram for each. You
may want to keep in mind that you may have to reformulate some claims, that explanations
may occur, and that noise or redundancies may arise in some arguments. There are no
enthymemes in any of these arguments. The value of each question is five marks.

7 questions = 35 marks

III. For each of the following: (1) identify which of the three non-deductive arguments that
we considered in chapter three is used. Next, (2) state whether the argument is successful or
unsuccessful. (3) If the argument is successful, provide a brief explanation for why it is so.
If the argument is unsuccessful, provide a brief explanation for why it is so. Each is worth
two marks.

5 questions = 10 marks
 Practice test:

Section 1

1. Tony is Canadian. Thus, he is used to cold weather.

Implicit premise, Canadians are used to cold weather

2. Moore’s dog Is a bloodhound. And most bloodhound have a keen sense of smell.

Implicit conclusion, Moore’s dog probably has a keen sense of smell

3. October 2nd is the date for the first test, and today is the 30th of September.

Implicit conclusion, The test is not today

Section 2

1. Most atheists are liberals (1) and George is an atheist (2). Thus, George is probably a
liberal (3) 1,2therefore. George is probably in favor of decrease social benefits (5) 3,4
because most liberals are in favor of increase social benefits (4). Complex

1-2

3-4
5
2. I don’t think I should vote for any independent candidate in the next election (5).
Independents never win (1), and I want the person I will vote for to win(2). Also,
independent candidates have a tendency to be a little wacky (3). And we definitely
don’t need anymore wacky politicians in power (4). Simple

1-2 3-4

5
 3. Rocks do not make good pets (5) because they have no emotional lives (1), and they
are heavy to carry (2). Besides, a good pet should have a heartbeat (3), and rocks do
not have one (4). Simple

1 2 3-4

5 (everything leads to 5 separately other then 3-4)

Section 3

1. In all likelihood, the defendant is guilty of murder. After all, the murder weapon was a
pistol that was bought and registered to the defendant. And when the pistol was found,
the only fingerprints on the pistol belonged to the defendant. Also two reliable witnesses
heard pistol shots, and they identified

Plausibility, successful, lots of evidences multiple incidences that confirm the conclusion

2. A random survey of 300 nurses (out of 600) from various departments at the general
hospital revealed 98% are overly tired and stressed out, and overworked. Jane is a nurse
at the general hospital therefore, in all likelihood, Jane is overly tired and stressed out,
and overworked.

Statistical syllogism, successful because it’s random (bias prevented), sample size was
large suggests Jane is a nurse in the general hospital

3. The university paper recently reported the results of an online questionnaire asking many
students living in the dorms about their sex lives. It turns out that we can conclude that
young people today are shockingly promiscuous.

Inductive generalization , unsuccessful,