It would assist my critical thinking project if some of you could help me out with a few examples. What I am looking for are examples of statements in the usual forms logicians study but whose content is derived from some academic discipline other than philosophy. I'd also like to avoid the kinds of stock examples from biological classification that logicians are fond of like "All dogs are mammals." The statements could be quite simple or moderately complex.
For example, a very simple statement taken from business is "All budgets are estimates." A somewhat more complex example taken from geology is "All marble is non-foliated metamorphic rock."
So if you could supply me with a couple of examples of categorical statements (A,E, I, O) or conditionals or disjunctions that might actually appear in a textbook or lecture outside of philosophy, it would be of much help.
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For me, the most compelling reason to use simple examples is that the students are better able to see when things go wrong ("all fish have fur," etc). Because of that, I don't have a stock of more complex examples; I can imagine some student arguing with me about "All budgets are estimates," for example, and then the class gets bogged down.
However, I like what you're trying to do here, so I'll keep thinking of possible examples.
Craig,
Yes, the class can get bogged down if people argue about examples, but that can be minimized by reminding them that it doesn't matter whether the statement is really true or not, what matters is the logical relationships. The positive side of using more realistic examples is that it emphasizes to the student that logic isn't something that you use only in philosophy class. I like to make the point that logic is universal in application.
I find that emphasizing that the truth of the statements doesn't matter runs counter to using realistic examples. That is, using realistic examples which are inaccurate makes students more likely to dismiss formal logic.
Of course logic is universal in its application. I draw on examples from the current local paper to make that point, even as I dissect the arguments that people put forth there.
As for categorical statements outside of our field, I found the Instructors' Manual for Hurley's _Concise Introduction to Logic_ (quickly catching up with Copi in editions) as a good resource.
Craig,
I agree we shouldn't actually use false statements as a general rule so the real life examples I pick--like "all budgets are estimates" are in fact mostly true. There are reasons however why at least some of the examples have to contain false statements as premises. For example, to illustrate logical equivalence it is necessary to show how this isn't just true=true but also false=false. Second, people without strong logical skills have a strong tendency to judge the strength of arguments according to their opinions about the truth of the statements. To get these novices to see that it is logical form and not the truth of the premises that matters to the inferential claim you simply must deploy some valid arguments with false premises. Otherwise they never see what validity is. But I agree that the bulk of the examples should be realistic statements that are in fact true.
I do use Hurley for my logic courses so I agree it is probably the best book out there. However, I can't mine Hurley for this project or I would violate copyright law. I've got to come up with new stuff.
Hi, Richard - thanks for your comment on my blog. I design knitwear, so I could suggest things like, "all knitted items are practical" - which is mostly, but not entirely, true - and "all yarns are knittable". You'd be amazed at some of the things people have knitted with, so I think that one's true.
Are either of these helpful? I did a small amount of philosophy, a *very* long time ago....
Hi Heather,
My wife used to knit but arthritis prevents that now. She does very nice art quilts however. I think I will use "All yarns are knittable." The reason these examples are useful to me is that any one person really has a limited range of interests and so the examples they naturally think of reflect that limited range. But I really want to show students that logic literally applies to every subject, so enlarging the range of subjects represented in my examples is a big help.
Oh and thanks for your kind words on my daughters blog. I spoke with her on the phone this morning and she is doing much better now.
I have had a concern for the development of critical thinking for some time now. My biggest challenge with my Sociology stduents is to get them away from judgement ot analysis. I do this in a number of ways that get varied in format as I search for the perfect one! Have the students write an opinon piece at the beginning of the course and then revisit it either periodically or at the end, or in class discussions. If they change their opinion - a little a lot or do not, they have to justify that using what they have learned. Another thing I do is to take in to the class newspapers, magazines, a movie - and ask them to record forst their feeling reactions, and then to discuss definitions they se there - how is a specific person or group being defined for example. I have a sheet of questions for them to answer, such as who is the intended audience for this piece? How are they being approached - in what manner? and so on. (I don't use logic because I am not sufficiently familar with its structures).
Also I wanted to draw your attention to a sociological assertion "What is perceived as real is real in its consequences." The author I believe was H.I.Thomas, a sociologist. I'll watch for toher examples for you - C.Wright Mills would be a good source. He crated the term "Sociological imagination" to describe the process needed to make connections between individual biographies and social history.
Barb H
Thanks, Barbara.
My concern with critical thinking is at two levels. First, I've taught such a course for thirty years. Second, I've been assigned by my university to construct web-based critical thinking units which can be assigned by instructors in any discipline. The plan is that every student (over 27,000 this semester) will do one unit each semester for the full four years they are enrolled. So having lots of examples of specific statements from a wide variety of subjects is crucial to the eventual success of the universtiy wide program.
In my class I have the students pick up a copy of the NY Times and scan the editorial page every day. It's a great source of arguments--both good and bad. Our university participates in the readership program so the Times is free to students.
Part of what I am trying to do is understand better what people in other disciplines mean by "critical thinking." I think that many put an emphasis on looking at the source of statements/arguments. Is that a big part of how you look at critical thinking?
Not sure what you are looking for but how about "Godel proved that there are things that are true that cannot be proven". Or "There exist computer programs whose behaviour cannot be determined without running them". Or perhaps "All the world is mad save thee and I, and even thee art a little mad".
Ian Davis
Ian,
What I am looking for are statements that fit the standard forms of statements of the most common argument forms. These would be the categorical syllogisms: All men are mortal, Socrates is a man, etc. As well as standard propositional forms like modus ponens: If pennies are made of copper, then pennies conduct electricity. Pennies are made of copper. Therefore, pennies conduct electricity.
I'm looking for statements that fit these common forms whose content comes from a wide variety of disciplines. I don't want the examples to sound like they come from philosophers.
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