Reason in the Balance: An Inquiry Approach to Critical Thinking

Unlike most texts in critical thinking, Reason in the Balance focuses broadly on the practice of critical inquiry, the process of carefully examining an issue in order to come to a reasoned judgment. Although analysis and critique of individual arguments have an important role to play, this text goes beyond that dimension to emphasize the various aspects that go into the practice of inquiry, including identifying issues and relevant contexts, understanding competing cases, and making a comparative judgment.

Distinctive Features of the Text:

• Emphasis on applying critical thinking to complex issues with competing arguments
• Inclusion of chapters on inquiry in specific contexts
• Attention to the dialogical aspects of inquiry, including sample dialogues
• Emphasis on the spirit of inquiry

The Second Edition Features:

• Updated examples and items of current interest
• New dialogues on vaccination, prostitution, and climate change
• New material on biases in reasoning, including emotional, psychological, social, and cognitive

The Reason in the Balance Website includes:

• An Appendix on Logic
• Exercises
• Quizzes

Comments on the First Edition:

"The approach taken to critical thinking in its pages is refreshingly ambitious, original, and in-touch with all of the major approaches to the study of argumentation. . . . The model of inquiry set forth in the book is robust enough to provide students with the foundation they need to develop real skill in critical, interpersonal reasoning – a boast few offerings in the critical thinking textbook field can truly make." —Steven Patterson, in Controversia

"Reason in the Balance: An Inquiry Approach to Critical Thinking is distinctive in the emphasis it places not only on tools of critical inquiry (principles of logic and argumentation, etc.) but also the values and mindset that are required for the proper exercise of these tools, values like open-mindedness and fair-mindedness and critical scrutiny of assumptions. My own view is that critical thinking involves the simultaneous application of a number of different cognitive skills and attitudes in the service of improving the quality of our beliefs and judgments, and this text shares this multidimensional view of the components of critical thinking. This text understands that logic and argumentation are very different things, and the result is a more nuanced discussion of the relationships between logic, argumentation and critical inquiry than one normally sees in a critical thinking text." —Kevin deLaplante, Critical Thinker Academy and Iowa State University

"This is a terrific text: witty, engagingly written, with strong focus on inquiry and reaching reasoned judgments on complex issues. Emphasizes the dialectical dimension of CT, the importance of context, and the spirit of inquiry. Focuses on realistic examples of actual inquiry on questions that matter (e.g., is it OK to eat meat?; pit bull legislation; capital punishment) and that are complex and detailed but fast-moving and very well presented. Emphasizes comparative evaluation of arguments to conflicting conclusions and tight interconnection of critical and creative thinking. Offers a neat way of assigning strength/weakness measures to arguments. All in all an innovative and effective text. Highly recommended!" —Harvey Siegel, University of Miami