Current Issues and Enduring Questions A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument, with Readings

*= new to this edition

Preface

PART ONE Critical Thinking and Reading
1   Critical Thinking
Thinking about Thinking         
Thinking as a Citizen   
Obstacles to Critical Thinking             
An Essay on Types of Thinking (and Rethinking)      
*Adam Grant, A Preacher, a Prosecutor, a Politician, and a Scientist
Thinking through an Issue
Evaluating a Proposal
Survey, Analyze, and Evaluate the Issue
VISUAL GUIDE: EVALUATING A PROPOSAL
Anticipating Counterarguments
Critical Thinking at Work: From a Cluster to a Short Essay
Alexa Cabrera, Stirred and Strained: Pastafarians Should Be Allowed to Practice in Prison (student essay)
Generating Ideas: Writing as a Way of Thinking     
Confronting Unfamiliar Issues
Using Clustering to Discover Ideas
Approaching an Issue (or an Assignment)
Prompting Yourself: Classical Topics and Invention
An Essay for Generating Ideas
*Asao B. Inoue, Do Grades Help Students Learn in Classrooms?
THINKING CRITICALLY: Generating Ideas
Generating Ideas from Multiple Perspectives
A Checklist for Critical Thinking
A Short Essay Calling for Critical Thinking
*Anand Jayprakash Vaidya, The Inclusion Problem in Critical Thinking: The Case of Indian Philosophy
Assignment for Critical Thinking

2   Critical Reading: Getting Started
Framing Arguments
Active Reading
Previewing
A Checklist for Previewing and Skimming
A Short Essay for Previewing Practice
Thinking Critically: Previewing
Charles R. Lawrence III, On Racist Speech
Reading with a Careful Eye: Underlining, Highlighting, Annotating
Reading: Fast and Slow
Summarizing and Paraphrasing
A Checklist for a Paraphrase
Patchwriting and Plagiarism
Strategies for Summarizing
Critical Summary
A Short Essay for Summarizing Practice
VISUAL GUIDE: WRITING A CRITICAL SUMMARY
Susan Jacoby, A First Amendment Junkie
A Checklist for a Summary
Essays for Analysis
Gwen Wilde, Why the Pledge of Allegiance Should Be Revised (student essay)
*Sohrab Ahmari, Porn Isn’t Free Speech — on the Web or Anywhere
Suzanne Nossel, The Pro–Free Speech Way to Fight Fake News
Assignment for Critical Summary
 
*3   Understanding Rhetorical Appeals
Argument and Persuasion
Persuasive Appeals      
THINKING CRITICALLY: Identifying Ethos
VISUAL GUIDE: EVALUATING PERSUASIVE APPEALS
Seeing the Appeals in Real-World Events
Unethical Uses of Rhetorical Appeals 
Are Such Appeals Always Unethical? 
Nonrational Appeals: Satire, Irony, Sarcasm  
Does All Communication Contain Arguments?
THINKING CRITICALLY: Emotional Appeals
An Example Argument and a Look at the Writer’s Rhetorical Appeals                     
Kwame Anthony Appiah, Go Ahead, Speak for Yourself
Arguments for Analysis
*Afrika Afeni Mills, A Letter to White Teachers of My Children    
*Dodai Stewart, The Case for a National One-Week Vacation
*Jeffrey T. Brown, The Yelling of the Lambs            
 Assignment for Rhetorical Analysis

*4       Identifying Procedures of Argument
The Power and Perils of Reason
Rationalization 
Confirmation Bias        
Types of Reasoning
Induction
Deduction
VISUAL GUIDE: DEDUCTION AND INDUCTION
Premises and Syllogisms
Testing Truth and Validity   
A Checklist For Evaluating A Syllogism
THINKING CRITICALLY: Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Some Procedures in Argument
Definitions
THINKING CRITICALLY: Analyzing Definitions
Evidence
THINKING CRITICALLY: Authoritative Testimony
A Checklist For Evaluating Statistical Evidence
Assumptions    
A Checklist For Examining Assumptions
An Essay for Examining Assumptions        
*Elizabeth Aura McClintock, Should Marriage Still Involve Changing a Woman’s Name?
An Example Argument and a Look at the Writer’s Strategies 
John Tierney, The Reign of Recycling
Arguments for Analysis
*John E. Finn, The Constitution Doesn’t Have a Problem with Mask Mandates
*Loren Laomina, 13 Thoughts on Reparations, Afropessimism and White Supremacy
Assignment for Identifying Procedures in Argument 

5    Visual Rhetoric: Thinking about Images as Arguments
Uses of Visual Images
Seeing versus Looking
VISUAL GUIDE: ANALYZING IMAGES
Reading Advertisements
A Checklist for Analyzing Images
Detecting Emotional Appeals in Visual Culture     
Reading Photographs
Do Photographs Always Tell the Truth?
A Checklist for Inspecting Digital Photographs
Are Some Images Not Fit to Be Shown?
A Checklist for Publishing Controversial Images
Accommodating, Resisting, and Negotiating the Meaning of Images
Writing about Political Cartoons and Memes
THINKING CRITICALLY: Analyzing Memes and Political Cartoons
An Example: A Student’s Essay Analyzing Images
Ryan Kwon, The American Pipe Dream? (student essay)
Visuals as Aids to Clarity: Maps, Graphs, and Pie Charts
A Word on Misleading or Manipulative Visual Data 
A Checklist for Charts And Graphs
Using Visuals in Your Own Paper
Visual Arguments for Analysis
Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother
Nora Ephron, The Boston Photographs
Assignment in Visual Rhetoric

PART TWO Critical Writing
6   Writing an Analysis of an Argument
Analyzing an Argument
Examining the Author’s Thesis
Examining the Author’s Purpose
Examining the Author’s Methods
Examining the Author’s Persona
Examining the Author’s Audience
A Checklist for Analyzing an Author’s Intended Audience
Organizing Your Analysis
VISUAL GUIDE: ORGANIZING YOUR ANALYSIS
Summary versus Analysis
A Checklist for Analyzing a Text
An Argument, Its Elements, and a Student’s Analysis of the Argument
Nicholas D. Kristof, For Environmental Balance, Pick Up a Rifle
THINKING CRITICALLY: Examining Language to Analyze an Author’s Argument
The Essay Analyzed
Theresa Carcaldi, For Sound Argument, Drop the Jokes: How Kristof Falls Short in Convincing His Audience (student essay)
An Analysis of the Student’s Analysis
A Checklist for Writing an Analysis of an Argument
Arguments for Analysis
*Jennifer Bartlett, Disability and the Right to Choose     
Matthew Walther, Sorry, Nerds: Video Games Are Not a Sport
Justin Cronin, Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner
*Roxane Gay, The Price of Black Ambition     
Assignment for Writing an Analysis of an Argument

7   Developing an Argument of Your Own
Planning an Argument
Getting Ideas: Argument as an Instrument of Inquiry
Brainstorming Strategies
Revision as Invention
The Thesis or Main Point
Raising the Stakes of Your Thesis    
A Checklist For A Thesis Statement
THINKING CRITICALLY: “Walking the Tightrope”
Imagining an Audience
Addressing Opposition and Establishing Common Ground
A Checklist for Imagining an Audience
Drafting and Revising an Argument
The Title
The Opening Paragraphs
Organizing the Body of the Essay
VISUAL GUIDE: ORGANIZING YOUR ARGUMENT
Checking Transitions 
The Ending
THINKING CRITICALLY: Using Transitions in Argument
Uses of an Outline
A Checklist for Organizing an Argument
Tone and the Writer’s Persona
THINKING CRITICALLY: Eliminating We, One, and I
A Checklist for Establishing Tone and Persona
Avoiding Sexist Language
Peer Review
A Checklist for Peer Review
A Student’s Essay, from Rough Notes to Final Version
Emily Andrews, Why I Don’t Spare “Spare Change” (student essay)
Assignment for Developing an Argument of Your Own

8   Using Sources
Why Use Sources?
Entering a Discourse
Understanding Information Literacy
Choosing a Topic
A Checklist for Approaching a Topic
Finding Sources
Finding Quality Information Online
VISUAL GUIDE: FINDING DISCOURSE ON YOUR TOPIC
Finding Articles Using Library Databases
THINKING CRITICALLY: Using Search Terms
Locating Books
Evaluating Sources
Scholarly, Popular, and Trade Sources
Evaluating Online Sources
A Checklist for Identifying Reliable Websites
A Checklist for Identifying Fake News
Considering How Current Sources Are
A Checklist for Evaluating Sources
Performing Your Own Primary Research
Interviewing Peers and Local Authorities
Conducting Observations
Conducting Surveys
Research in Archives and Special Collections
Synthesizing Sources
Taking Notes
A Note on Plagiarizing
A Checklist for Avoiding Plagiarism
Compiling an Annotated Bibliography
Quoting from Sources
VISUAL GUIDE: INTEGRATING QUOTATIONS
Thinking Critically: Using Signal Phrases
Documentation
A Note on Footnotes (and Endnotes)
MLA Format: Citations within the Text
MLA Format: The List of Works Cited
An Annotated Student Research Paper in MLA Format
Lesley Timmerman, An Argument for Corporate Responsibility (student essay)
APA Format: Citations within the Text
APA Format: The List of References
A Checklist for Critical Papers Using Sources
An Annotated Student Research Paper in APA Format
Hannah Smith Brooks, Does Ability Determine Expertise? (student essay)
Assignment for Using Sources

PART THREE Further Views on Argument
9   A Philosopher’s View: The Toulmin Model
Understanding the Toulmin Model
VISUAL GUIDE: THE TOULMIN METHOD
Components of the Toulmin Model
The Claim
Grounds
Warrants
Backing
Modal Qualifiers
Rebuttals
THINKING CRITICALLY: Constructing a Toulmin Argument
Putting the Toulmin Method to Work: Responding to an Argument
*Jonathan Safran Foer, Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast    
Thinking with the Toulmin Method
A Checklist for Using the Toulmin Method

10  A Logician’s View: Deduction, Induction, and Fallacies
Using Formal Logic for Critical Thinking
Deduction
Examples of Deduction
Induction
Observation and Inference
Probability
Mill’s Methods
Fallacies
VISUAL GUIDE: COMMON FALLACIES         
Fallacies of Ambiguity
Fallacies of Presumption
Fallacies of Irrelevance
A Checklist for Evaluating an Argument with Logic
Additional Fallacies
THINKING CRITICALLY: Identifying Fallacies
Max Shulman, Love Is a Fallacy

11 A Psychologist’s View: Rogerian Argument
Rogerian Argument: An Introduction
VISUAL GUIDE: ROGERIAN ARGUMENT
A Checklist for Analyzing Rogerian Argument
Carl R. Rogers, Communication: Its Blocking and Its Facilitation
*Lewis Oakley, Is It Time to Retire the Word “Privileged”?               

12 A Literary Critic’s View: Arguing about Literature
Why Is Literature Important?              
Interpreting
Judging (or Evaluating)
Theorizing
A Checklist for Arguing about Literature
Example: A Student Interprets Richard Blanco’s “One Today”
Richard Blanco, One Today
*Jackson DiPiero, Unity in Times of Division: An Analysis of Richard Blanco’s “One Today” (student essay)
A Short Story for Analysis         
Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour
Thinking about the Effects of Literature

13 A Debater’s View: Oral Presentations and Debate
Oral Presentations
Methods of Delivery
Audience
A Checklist for an Oral Presentation
Delivery
Content
Formal Debates
Standard Debate Format
A Checklist for Preparing for a Debate

PART FOUR Current Issues: Occasions for Debate
Debates as an Aid to Thinking
A Checklist for Analyzing a Debate

14  Student Loans: Should Some Indebtedness Be Forgiven?
*Hillary Hoffower and Madison Hoff, The Case for Canceling Student Loan Debt Isn’t Political, It’s Practical
Analyzing a Visual: Student Loan Debt
Justin Wolfers, Forgive Student Loans? Worst Idea Ever

*15 Artificial Intelligence: Should We Let Computers Decide?
Safiya Umoja Noble, Missed Connections: What Search Engines Say about Women
Analyzing a Visual: Predictive Search
*Mark Manson, I, for One, Welcome Our AI Overlords

16  (Un)safe Spaces: Can We Tolerate Intolerant Speech on Campus?
Julia Serano, Free Speech and the Paradox of Tolerance
Analyzing a Visual: Student Views on Speech
*Shira Hoffer, Safe and Free: Envisioning a New Guide for Speakers on Campus

*17  Bitcoin: Fad or Future?    
*Elizabeth Kolbert, Why Bitcoin Is Bad for the Environment      
Analyzing a Visual: Bitcoin Meme
*Russell Okung, An Open Letter to the Nigerian Government

18  Genetic Modification of Human Beings: Is It Acceptable?
Ronald M. Green, Building Baby from the Genes Up
Analyzing a Visual: Genetic Modification of Human Beings
Richard Hayes, Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks

*19 Should we Cancel “Cancel Culture”?
*Dana Brownlee, Is “Cancel Culture” Really Just Long Overdue Accountability for the Privileged?    
Analyzing a Visual: Cancel Culture Cartoons from the Left and Right
*Evan Gerstmann, Cancel Culture Is Only Getting Worse    

PART FIVE Current Issues: Casebooks
20 A College Education: What Is Its Purpose?
Andrew Delbanco, 3 Reasons College Still Matters
Edward Conard, We Don’t Need More Humanities Majors
Christian Madsbjerg and Mikkel B. Rasmussen, We Need More Humanities Majors
*John Sailer, Is Our Obsession with College Fueling a Mental Health Crisis?
Caroline Harper, HBCUs, Black Women, and STEM Success

*21 Racial Injustice: Is the Problem Systemic?
*Kmele Foster, David French, Jason Stanley, and Thomas Chatterton Williams, We Disagree on a Lot of Things. Except the Danger of Anti-Critical-Race-Theory Laws
Except for the Dangers of Anti-Critical Race Theory Laws
*Ibram X. Kendi, Dueling Consciousness
Marian Wright Edelman, The Cradle to Prison Pipeline
*Reyna Askew and Margaret A. Walls,Diversity in the      Great Outdoors: Is Everyone Welcome...
*Tressie McMillan Cottom, Know Your Whites              
Heather Mac Donald, The Myth of Criminal-Justice Racism

22 The Ethics of Appropriation: Is It OK to Copy?
Kenan Malik, The Bane of Cultural Appropriation
Yo Zushi, What’s Mine Is Yours
K. Tempest Bradford, Cultural Appropriation Is, in Fact, Indefensible
Conor Friedersdorf, A Food Fight at Oberlin College
Kenneth Goldsmith, Uncreative Writing
Andrea Pitzer, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

23 Online versus IRL: How Has Social Networking Changed How We Relate to One Another?
Stephen Marche, Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?
*Jia Tolentino, The I in Internet
*Kristin Arola, Indigenous Interfaces
*Hossein Derakhshan, How Social Media Endangers Knowledge
*Josh Rose, How Social Media Is Having a Positive Impact on Our Culture
*Jaron Lanier, Trolls
*Touria Benlafqih, Has Social Media Made Young People Better Citizens?

*24  Representation Matters: How Does Media Potray Us?
*Terese Mailhot, Native American Lives Are Tragic, But Probably Not in the Way You Think
*Anna Swartwood House, How Jesus Became a White European 
*Marianna Cerini, Why Women Feel Pressured to Shave      
*Rebecca Jennings, The $5,000 Quest for the Perfect Butt    
*Marilyln Greenwald, Dr. Seuss, Meet the Sanitized Sleuths Known as the Hardy Boys 
*Aubrey Gordon, Into Thin Air                                  
*Tracy Deonn, Every King Arthur Retelling Is Fanfic             

*25 Conspiracy Theories: Are They a Cultural Problem?      
Russel Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum, The New Conspiracists
*James B. Meigs, Conspiracies All the Way Down        
*Anne Appelbaum, The My Pillow Guy Really Could Destroy Democracy   
*Ariel Bogle and Jane Lee, Children Feature in COVID-19 and QAnon Conspiracy Theories
*James Peterson, What’s Behind Black Conspiracism?         
*Ben Crair, Why Do So Many People Still Want to Believe in Bigfoot?         
  
PART SIX Enduring Questions: Essays, Poems, and Stories
26 What Is the Ideal Society?
Thomas More, From Utopia
*John Horgan, What’s Your Utopia?                
*Michael Shermer, Utopia Is a Dangerous Ideal: We Should Strive for “Protopia”
Niccolò Machiavelli, From The Prince
Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
Emma Lazarus, The New Colossus
*Lao Tzu, Far Indeed Is This from the Way                     
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

27 How and Why Do We Construct the “Other”?
Jean-Paul Sartre, Anti-Semite and Jew
Hans Massaquoi, Destined to Witness
W. E. B. Du Bois, Of Our Spiritual Strivings
Bridget Anderson, The Politics of Pests: Immigration and the Invasive Other
John Barth, Us/Them
Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (photographs)
Simone De Beauvoir, The Woman as Other
Rudyard Kipling, We and They
Emari DiGiorgio, When You Are the Brownest White Girl

*28 What Is Happiness?
Henry David Thoreau, Selections from Walden
*Gretchen Rubin, Buy Some Happiness
*Horace, Ode 1.11 (“Carpe Diem”)       
*John Martin Fischer, The Problem of Now              
Epictetus, From The Handbook
Bertrand Russell, The Happy Life
The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, Inner Contentment
Daniel Gilbert, Does Fatherhood Make You Happy?

Index of Authors, Titles, and Terms
 

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