Looseleaf for How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age

ForewordPreface
Chapter 1Introduction: Close Encounters with the StrangeThe Importance of WhyBeyond Weird to the AbsurdA Weirdness Sampler
Notes
Chapter 2The Possibility of the ImpossibleParadigms and the ParanormalLogical Possibility Versus Physical ImpossibilityThe Possibility of ESPTheories and ThingsOn Knowing the Future
SummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsDiscussion QuestionsField ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
Chapter 3Arguments Good, Bad, and WeirdClaims and ArgumentsDeductive ArgumentsInductive ArgumentsEnumerative InductionAnalogical InductionHypothetical Induction (Abduction, or Inference to the Best Explanation)Informal FallaciesUnacceptable PremisesBegging the QuestionFalse DilemmaIrrelevant PremisesEquivocationCompositionDivisionAppeal to the PersonGenetic FallacyAppeal to AuthorityAppeal to the MassesAppeal to TraditionAppeal to IgnoranceAppeal to FearStraw ManInsufficient PremisesHasty GeneralizationFaulty AnalogyFalse CauseSlippery SlopeStatistical FallaciesMisleading AveragesMissing ValuesHazy ComparisonsEvaluating Sources: Fake News
SummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsDiscussion QuestionsField ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
Chapter 4Knowledge, Belief, and EvidenceBabylonian Knowledge-Acquisition TechniquesPropositional KnowledgeReasons and EvidenceExpert OpinionCoherence and JustificationSources of KnowledgeThe Appeal to FaithThe Appeal to IntuitionThe Appeal to Mystical ExperienceAstrology Revisited
SummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsDiscussion Questions Field ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
Chapter 5Looking for Truth in Personal ExperienceSeeming and BeingPerceiving: Why You Can’t Always Believe What You SeePerceptual ConstanciesThe Role of ExpectationLooking for Clarity in VaguenessThe Blondlot Case“Constructing” UFOsRemembering: Why You Can’t Always Trust What You Recall Conceiving: Why You Sometimes See What You BelieveDenying the EvidenceSubjective ValidationConfirmation BiasThe Availability ErrorThe Representativeness HeuristicAnthropomorphic BiasAgainst All OddsAnecdotal Evidence: Why Testimonials Can’t Be TrustedThe Variable Nature of IllnessThe Placebo EffectOverlooked CausesScientific Evidence: Why Controlled Studies Can Be TrustedSummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsDiscussion Questions Field ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
Chapter 6Science and Its PretendersScience and DogmaScience and ScientismScientific MethodologyConfirming and Refuting HypothesesCriteria of AdequacyTestabilityFruitfulnessScopeSimplicityConservatismCreationism, Evolution, and Criteria of AdequacyScientific CreationismIntelligent DesignParapsychology
SummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsDiscussion QuestionsField ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
Chapter 7Case Studies in the ExtraordinaryThe SEARCH FormulaStep 1: State the ClaimStep 2: Examine the Evidence for the ClaimStep 3: Consider Alternative HypothesesStep 4: Rate, According to the Criteria of Adequacy, Each HypothesisHomeopathyIntercessory PrayerUFO AbductionsCommunicating with the DeadNear-Death ExperiencesGhostsConspiracy TheoriesClimate Change
SummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsField ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
Chapter 8Relativism, Truth, and RealityWe Each Create Our Own Reality Reality Is Socially ConstructedReality Is Constituted by Conceptual SchemesThe Relativist’s PetardFacing Reality 
SummaryStudy QuestionsEvaluate These ClaimsDiscussion QuestionsField ProblemCritical Reading and WritingNotes
CreditsIndex