Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing, 2nd Ed

LINKING: THE KEY PROCESS IN REASONING 37

I believe the government's current approach to the UN over human rights

is incorrect.

Review

In this chapter we have looked at the key process of reasoning: linking. When

developing arguments and explanations, we link information expressed as

claims. In naturally expressed reasoning, the evidence for this process can be

found in certain words and phrases, or even in the arrangement of the claims.

But, to understand and control reasoning better, this natural expression is

inadequate. It is better to work with a format that shows the analytical

structure of reasoning more accurately and consistently. This format may not

be suitable for communicating, but it is a tremendous tool for understanding

and controlling reasoning in our minds.

The analytical structure of reasoning can be shown by separating an

argument or explanation into a list of claims, the interrelationships of

which are represented in a diagram using standardised symbols. We can

combine a number of simple structures into complex, overlapping, and

more effective reasoning. All the intricacies of reasoning can be reduced

to a much simpler format. Our initial puzzlement results, not from the

complexity of the structured format, but from our unfamiliarity with it. The

analytical structure of other people's arguments and explanations can, if

we wish, be recovered by 'casting' them into the structured format.

However, the analytical structure format is more useful as a tool for plan-

ning and thinking about our own reasoning than as a means of direct

communication.

CONCEPT CHECK

The following terms and concepts are introduced in this chapter. Before checking
in the Glossary, write a short definition of each term:

analytical structure

casting

complex structure

link words

list of claims

narrative flow

simple structure