12 Unit 1 Thinking and reasoning
understand it as a provocative or ‘punchy’ title
rather than a literal claim, and take the last
sentence of the article as the real conclusion,
then perhaps Jacey Dare has a more defensible
point. Maybe it is time to reopen the debate. If
that is all she is really saying, then she has a
stronger case. Or you may feel that even that is
going too far for the evidence available.
Whichever judgement you come to in the
end, you have now had a taste of critical
thinking, and in particular of two of its core
components: analysing (or interpreting) an
argument, and evaluating it. You have also
seen how the activity sections of the book
link up with the instructional part and
the commentaries.Looking ahead
There are three critical thinking units in the
book, interspersed – and sometimes
overlapping – with the problem-solving units.
Unit 2 is entitled ‘Critical thinking: the basics’,
which is self-explanatory. It covers the main
concepts and methodologies of the discipline.
Unit 4 is given over to ‘Applied critical
thinking’, introducing longer and more• Critical thinking consists of making
informed, evaluative judgements about
claims and arguments.
• The main strands of critical thinking are:
analysis (interpretation), evaluation and
further argument.
• Critical thinking is characterised by being:
fair and open-minded; active and informed;
sceptical; independent.Summary
complex documents and additional concepts
such as evidence and credibility, inference,
explanation. Unit 7 is entitled: ‘Critical
reasoning: Advanced Level’. As the name
suggests, it moves into more challenging and
sometimes more technical territory. It draws
on some of the methodology of elementary
logic and formal decision making, and
concludes with two chapters on drawing
together the different strands of critical
thinking that have featured in the foregoing
parts of the book.