LibGuides: PHL238: Module 3

Module 3 Required Resources

Textbook

Your course textbook can be accessed via the DART eBook link in the Getting Started module.

Critical Thinking by Brooke Noel Moore; Richard Parker
ISBN: 9781260241020
Publication Date: 2020-03-01
Moore, B.N. & Parker, R. (2021). Critical Thinking (13th edition). McGraw Hill.

Read:

Chapter 7: Induction Fallacies
- This chapter examines fallacies of induction, which are faulty, weak, or illogical attempts to raise the probability of the truth of an argument’s conclusion through inadequate means.
Chapter 11: Inductive Reasoning
- This chapter dives into thinking critically about inductive reasoning—neither valid nor invalid, but on a spectrum from weak to strong. Of main interest here is that scientific truths, in the main, are asserted on the basis of inductive reasoning in theorizing about the natural (physical) world.

*The content in these chapters will help you sharpen your understanding of how scientific generalizing from a sample differs from everyday reasoning from analogy and generalizing.

Module 3 Optional Resources

Misc. Resources

How We Argue
How We Argue is an interactive textbook designed by Harvard philosophers that helps learners learn about philosophical argumentation and practice their logical reasoning skills. The creators of this tool describe it as a “boot camp for arguments” because it asks users to work through numerous practice exercises to help them to strengthen their “logic muscles." There is a $25 fee for access to this learning tool. You have similar sorts of practice exercises in the course textbook and within the course itself, but this is a wonderful resource if you want a curated and interactive format in which to practice the skills of argumentation and sharpen your logical reasoning acumen.