Personal tools
You are here: Home → Liberal Arts → Reasoning and Problem Solving (after 11/1/2008) → Week 2 - The Elements of Reasoning and Standards of Critical Thinking

Week 2 - The Elements of Reasoning and Standards of Critical Thinking

Document Actions
  • Send this
  • Print this
  • Content View
  • Bookmarks

Activity 1 :: Activity 2 :: Activity 3:: Activity 4

Key Concepts and Questions

As you read the text and work through the MindEdge Modules, you'll want to pay particularly close attention to the information regarding the following key concepts:

1.  Elements of Reasoning:

      • Purpose
      • Question at issue or problem to be solved
      • Point of view
      • Information (data, evidence, experience)
      • Concepts
      • Assumptions
      • Inferences
      • Implications

2.  Basic Standards of Thinking (these are not the only intellectual standards; they are simply the most fundamental):

      • Clarity
      • Accuracy
      • Precision
      • Relevance
      • Depth
      • Breadth
      • Logic
      • Significance
      • Fairness

3.  Bringing the Elements and Standards Together:

      • Purpose: Is it clear? Is it signficant? Is it achievable? Is it consistent? Is it justifiable?
      • Question at issue: Is it clear and precise? Is it significant? Is it answerable? Is it relevant?
      • Point of view: Is it flexible? Is it fair? Is it clear? Is it broad enough? Is it relevant?
      • Information/evidence: Is it clear? Is it relevant? Is it fairly gathered and reported? Is it accurate? Is it adequate? Is it consistently applied?
      • Concepts: Are they clear? Are they relevant? Am I thinking deeply enough? Are they accurate? Are they justifiable?
      • Assumptions: Are they clear? Are they justifiable? Are they consistent?
      • Inferences: Are they clear? Are they logical? Are they justifiable? Are they profound? Are they reasonable? Are they consistent?
      • Implications: Are they significant? Are they logical? Are they clear? Are they precise? Are they complete?
Copyright 2008, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. Week 2 - The Elements of Reasoning and Standards of Critical Thinking. (2008, October 10). Retrieved November 21, 2009, from Western Governors University Web site: http://ocw.wgu.edu/liberal-arts/clrps-after-11-1-2008/a43.html. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons License