Time to start a thread devoted to this subject! Critical thinking is no longer taught in school, and the 7 liberal arts are not longer part of a liberal arts degree in college, so we must all be self-taught. What I'm interested in discussing is the 7 liberal arts, liberal meaning a free man not political leaning. These are made up of the Trivium (Grammar, Logic, Rhetoric) and Quadrivium (Math, Music, Geometry, Astronomy). I think Logical Fallicies fits with this topic but is so big it may deserve is own thread.
Here is a good, and brief, synopsis of the Trivium at wikipedia: Trivium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Faith and Religion Forum is a minefield of logical fallacies to pull apart and dissect....um....more like a cluster bomb range of logical fallacy UXO's. Pick any random thread there and you'll find the gamut of logical fallacies to identify and defuse: if one only had the time and patience for the task. On the Trivium subject of Rhetoric, the following YouTube clip is one of my favourites.
I am all for the trivium. I also think a special call for civility to come into play here, especially with respects toward the feelings and beliefs of others who post on these forums. Present valid arguments, fine. Be civil, fine. We should be good to go.
Faith has its own internal logic that makes sense to the faithful, even though it might not quite make as much sense to those who are not of their sect. People of faith are quite capable of making reasoned argument in their apologia. Some do it better than others: many do not. On the other hand...Atheists, agnostics and humanists are not immune to falling foul of logical fallacies either. I'm with Brokor....keeping things civil is a good call.
The following .PDF file is a useful primer on deconstructing logical fallacies. http://factchecked.org/Downloads/LessonPlans/Fallacies/fallacy.lesson.final(2).pdf
Super-ego: always take the right side, take the high road, follow the facts wherever they go, and never stray from reason, logic, and moral supremacy. Id: what is she wearing? Can I #$%@ it? Can I eat it? Is it dangerous? Ego: follow the logic\facts, true, but empathy is necessary as well to understand. (down boy!) be right, but avoid giving offense if possible. Ok, if this is true, and this is true, it follows that....(will you stop trying to look down her blouse?! Stop that!) now where was I? Oh yes, then this is also true. That would seem to follow. Left brain: the facts never lie! I will browbeat them with numbers, facts, statistics, formulas, and their petty emotions will trip them up! Right brain: no, I think an emotional response would be more effective, perhaps a related comedy\tragedy, would swing them over. midbrain: I'm awake! awake,awake..sleep. did you see that? AWAKE! hind brain: breath, smile, don't fall over, repeat. fore brain: grand central, now boarding! this is the operator, how may I direct your call? flight you are too low, pull up now! emergency! run! evade, kill! ego: and you want Critical Thinking from this mob? it's a damn madhouse in here! ( Id, let GO of that she BITES!!!)
A useful, concise article about critical thinking can be viewed at..... http://www.criticalthinking.org/files/Concepts_Tools.pdf A slightly longer, but much more comprehensive treatment of critical thinking called "A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking;" authored by Greg R. Haskins can be found at http://www.skepdic.com/essays/haskins.pdf .The document is well developed with good explanations of many hindrances to critical thinking drawn up in tabular form.
