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Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question what others tell you, what you read, hear or see. You can use critical thinking to analyse what someone is trying to get you to do, and whether you should do it or not based on what they’re telling you. It’s about being aware that you’re being persuaded to think or act in certain ways based on the argument the other is making.
For example, if someone asks you to give them some money, you will instinctively ask or think ‘why?’ If they cannot give you a good reason, you are unlikely to give them money regardless of the amount of money you may have.
Critical thinking skills can help you persuade others to think or act in a certain way. Attempting to persuade someone is called ‘making an argument’. An argument consists of reasons leading to a conclusion. Reason 1 + Reason 2 –> Conclusion.
Arguments can be formal or casual. Formal arguments in prison may include making an application to be transferred to a low security prison or an application to have a privilege reinstated that was taken from you. Informal and verbal arguments however, are indeed everywhere. Asking a person for help with a task and saying why they should help is an example of making an argument. Another example is Person A proposing that Person B should lend a packet of noodles. Person A should think carefully about the reasons they are going to put forward before asking!
Let’s work on an example: an application for parole. A person applying for parole is arguing that they are suitable for parole. The conclusion of the argument will be: ‘I deserve parole’. This conclusion must be supported by reasons. Some examples of reasons include: I have shown appropriate behavior during my imprisonment, or I have employment when released. Let’s now look at steps involved using critical thinking.
Critical thinking includes breaking down the argument into logical steps. This may seem long-winded, but it will help you make your arguments stronger.
I’ll now apply these steps to a hypothetical (and simplified) parole application. (Please note, a real parole application is much more complex than this demonstration.)
In this example, we’re trying to convince the Parole Board to grant parole. Therefore, I must understand what the Parole Board wants to see and hear to be able to grant parole. This is crucial to understand how to frame and present your argument. This may require some investigating, such as speaking to other people who have been granted parole or had their parole application rejected, speaking to a case manager, or writing to the Parole Board.
For the sake of this simplified example, let’s say you’ve found out the Parole Board requires just three things to gain parole:
I therefore must try to satisfy these three things in the argument for a successful application for parole.
List the conclusion and reasons. This helps to make all the propositions in the argument clear. This argument can be set out in a table as follows:
Next step is checking for ‘validity’. Validity is not about if the reasons are true or not, rather it is assessing whether the conclusion would be true if the reasons were true.
Let’s work through another example. In Argument #2, I’ll replace Reason (1) – I have been of appropriate behaviour, with the reason: I am good at sport. The argument now looks like this:
I already know that there are three specific requirements for parole. However, Argument #2 does not address the first of these requirements: appropriate behaviour. Furthermore, being good at sport does not add any value to the argument (because the parole board does not care if I’m good or bad at sport). So, I can see that the argument would fail, even if I could prove that I am indeed VERY good at sport! To make it valid, I would need to reconstruct the argument to make sure it includes reasoning relating to my behaviour. For example, I could re-frame ‘I am good at sport’ into ‘I am a team player and have shown good sportsmanship’ – this now shows appropriate behaviour. Better still, I could add a reason that specifically refers to appropriate behaviour (as in Argument #1). I can now talk about being good at sport AND appropriate behaviour and it would make the argument valid. Not every reason needs to be exactly what the other person needs to hear, however you need to make sure what they need to hear is included.
Sound arguments are the same as valid arguments but also include evidence to show that the reasons are true. For example, I could prove Reason 2 (‘employment upon release’) by providing a letter from my potential employer. I could prove Reason 3 (‘I have appropriate accommodation’),by providing a letter from the prospective landlord.
Writing arguments out helps to clearly identify the conclusion and reasons and assists in analysing the argument’s strength. Complex arguments can often be improved by taking time to assess and then improve the reasoning. Additionally, developing an alternate perspective can be crucial to making your arguments stronger.
Give it a go! Try analysing and improving some of your own arguments using the steps above.
Critical thinking is a kind of thinking in which you question what others tell you, what you read, hear or see. You can use critical thinking to analyse what someone is trying to get you to do, and whether you should do it or not based on what they’re telling you. It’s about being aware that you’re being persuaded to think or act in certain ways based on the argument the other is making.
For example, if someone asks you to give them some money, you will instinctively ask or think ‘why?’ If they cannot give you a good reason, you are unlikely to give them money regardless of the amount of money you may have.
Critical thinking skills can help you persuade others to think or act in a certain way. Attempting to persuade someone is called ‘making an argument’. An argument consists of reasons leading to a conclusion. Reason 1 + Reason 2 –> Conclusion.
Arguments can be formal or casual. Formal arguments in prison may include making an application to be transferred to a low security prison or an application to have a privilege reinstated that was taken from you. Informal and verbal arguments however, are indeed everywhere. Asking a person for help with a task and saying why they should help is an example of making an argument. Another example is Person A proposing that Person B should lend a packet of noodles. Person A should think carefully about the reasons they are going to put forward before asking!
Let’s work on an example: an application for parole. A person applying for parole is arguing that they are suitable for parole. The conclusion of the argument will be: ‘I deserve parole’. This conclusion must be supported by reasons. Some examples of reasons include: I have shown appropriate behavior during my imprisonment, or I have employment when released. Let’s now look at steps involved using critical thinking.
Critical thinking includes breaking down the argument into logical steps. This may seem long-winded, but it will help you make your arguments stronger.
I’ll now apply these steps to a hypothetical (and simplified) parole application. (Please note, a real parole application is much more complex than this demonstration.)
In this example, we’re trying to convince the Parole Board to grant parole. Therefore, I must understand what the Parole Board wants to see and hear to be able to grant parole. This is crucial to understand how to frame and present your argument. This may require some investigating, such as speaking to other people who have been granted parole or had their parole application rejected, speaking to a case manager, or writing to the Parole Board.
For the sake of this simplified example, let’s say you’ve found out the Parole Board requires just three things to gain parole:
I therefore must try to satisfy these three things in the argument for a successful application for parole.
List the conclusion and reasons. This helps to make all the propositions in the argument clear. This argument can be set out in a table as follows:
Next step is checking for ‘validity’. Validity is not about if the reasons are true or not, rather it is assessing whether the conclusion would be true if the reasons were true.
Let’s work through another example. In Argument #2, I’ll replace Reason (1) – I have been of appropriate behaviour, with the reason: I am good at sport. The argument now looks like this:
I already know that there are three specific requirements for parole. However, Argument #2 does not address the first of these requirements: appropriate behaviour. Furthermore, being good at sport does not add any value to the argument (because the parole board does not care if I’m good or bad at sport). So, I can see that the argument would fail, even if I could prove that I am indeed VERY good at sport! To make it valid, I would need to reconstruct the argument to make sure it includes reasoning relating to my behaviour. For example, I could re-frame ‘I am good at sport’ into ‘I am a team player and have shown good sportsmanship’ – this now shows appropriate behaviour. Better still, I could add a reason that specifically refers to appropriate behaviour (as in Argument #1). I can now talk about being good at sport AND appropriate behaviour and it would make the argument valid. Not every reason needs to be exactly what the other person needs to hear, however you need to make sure what they need to hear is included.
Sound arguments are the same as valid arguments but also include evidence to show that the reasons are true. For example, I could prove Reason 2 (‘employment upon release’) by providing a letter from my potential employer. I could prove Reason 3 (‘I have appropriate accommodation’),by providing a letter from the prospective landlord.
Writing arguments out helps to clearly identify the conclusion and reasons and assists in analysing the argument’s strength. Complex arguments can often be improved by taking time to assess and then improve the reasoning. Additionally, developing an alternate perspective can be crucial to making your arguments stronger.
Give it a go! Try analysing and improving some of your own arguments using the steps above.
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In this series, we showed that arguments are attempts to persuade people to act or believe something. The strongest arguments are sound arguments.
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Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
Help us get About Time off the ground. All donations are tax deductible and will be vital in providing an essential resource for people in prison and their loved ones.
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