The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning About Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims - Softcover

Vaughn, Lewis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199856672 ISBN 13: 9780199856671

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2012

Synopsis

The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning About Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims explores the essentials of critical reasoning, argumentation, logic, and argumentative essay writing while also incorporating important topics that most other texts leave out, such as "inference to the best explanation," scientific reasoning, evidence and authority, visual reasoning, and obstacles to critical thinking.

The text integrates many pedagogical features, including hundreds of diverse exercises, examples, and illustrations; text boxes that apply critical thinking to student experience; step-by-step guidelines for evaluating claims, arguments, and explanations; a glossary of important terms; and many reminders, summaries, and review notes.
SUPPORT PACKAGE:

The text is supplemented by an Instructor's Manual and Test Bank in print and an Instructor's Manual with Computerized Test Bank on CD. The Computerized Test Bank is a completely customizable bank of questions to aid in the creation of exams and quizzes. Both versions of the Instructor's Manual feature notes on using the text effectively, sample syllabi, links to websites of interest, lectures in PowerPoint format, chapter summaries, and answers to the exercises in the text.

A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/criticalthinking includes all of the information found in the Instructor's Manual. It also offers a student study guide featuring a summary of the main points of each chapter, study questions, short review quizzes, flashcards, web links, and additional chapter exercises.

Course Cartridges for a variety of e-learning environments allow instructors to create their own course websites with the interactive material from the instructor and student companion websites.

About this title

About the Author:

Lewis Vaughn is the author or coauthor of several books, including Philosophy Here and Now: Powerful Ideas in Everyday Life (2012), Contemporary Moral Arguments, Second Edition (2012), Great Philosophical Arguments (2011), Philosophy: The Quest for Truth, Eighth Edition (2011), and The Moral Life, Fourth Edition (2010), all published by Oxford University Press.

Review:

"The Power of Critical Thinking is unique with its diverse collection of exercises--including field problems, writing exercises, and quizzes--which facilitate students' digestion of the material. I love the design. Both the photos and the art are helpful."--Stephen K. Ma, California StateUniversity, Los Angeles

"This book is very successful in its presentation of inference to the best explanation. It also does an excellent job of teaching writing skills along with critical-thinking skills. I highly recommend this text for its engaging writing style, clear layout, and variety of possible in-class and online exercises and assignments."--Carol McGury, DePaul University

"This is a very good text that covers the material clearly. So far this is the best such text I've seen."--Joseph Monast, Modesto Junior College

"Most importantly, this book provides well-organized skill-building exercises and resources that are essential to any critical-thinking class."--Marlisa Moschella, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0199856672
• ISBN 13: 9780199856671
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 624