Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, 12th edition
- M Browne
- , Stuart M. Keeley
Learn more, spend less
- Listen on the go
Learn how you like with full eTextbook audio
- Find it fast
Quickly navigate your eTextbook with search
- Stay organized
Access all your eTextbooks in one place
- Easily continue access
Keep learning with auto-renew
This print textbook is available for students to rent for their classes. The Pearson print rental program provides students with affordable access to learning materials, so they come to class ready to succeed.
For courses in argument, linguistics, and composition – or in any course where critical thinking is key.
Think critically, analyze objectively, and judge soundly when you know the right questions to ask.
Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking bridges the gap between simply memorizing or blindly accepting information, and the greater challenge of critical analysis and synthesis. Authors M. Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley teach students to think critically by exploring the components of arguments – the ¿¿issues, conclusions, reasons, evidence, assumptions, and language – ¿¿and showing how to spot fallacies, manipulations, and faulty reasoning. They demonstrate how to respond to alternative points of view and make the best personal choices about what information to accept or reject.
Now in its 12th Edition, this current and concise text greatly extends the understanding of critical thinking to writing and speaking. Additionally, the updated practice passages and exercises, as well as an enhanced visual program, add to this book’s appeal in a variety of courses and disciplines.
Published by Pearson (July 14th 2021) - Copyright © 2018
ISBN-13: 9780137501731
Subject: Composition
Category: Readers
Table of Contents
- Preface
- The Benefit and Manner of Asking the Right Questions
- The Noisy, Confused World We Live In
- Experts Cannot Rescue Us, Despite What They Say
- The Necessity of Relying on Our Mind
- Critical Thinking to the Rescue
- The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles
- Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking
- The Importance of Practice
- Critical Thinking and Other People
- Primary Values of a Critical Thinker
- Keeping the Conversation Going
- Creating a Friendly Environment for Communication
- Writing and Speaking as Critical Thinkers
- What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?
- Kinds of Issues
- Searching for the Issue
- Searching for the Author’s or Speaker’s Conclusion
- Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- What Are the Reasons?
- Initiating the Questioning Process
- Words That Identify Reasons
- Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight
- Reasons First, Then Conclusions
- Writing and Speaking as Critical Thinkers
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?
- The Confusing Flexibility of Words
- Locating Key Terms and Phrases
- Checking for Ambiguity
- Determining Ambiguity
- Context and Ambiguity
- Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary
- Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity
- Writing and Speaking as Critical Thinkers
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?
- General Guide for Identifying Assumptions
- Value Conflicts and Assumptions
- From Values to Value Assumptions
- Typical Value Conflicts
- The Communicator’s Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions
- Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions
- More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions
- The Value of Knowing the Value Priorities of Others
- Values and Relativism
- Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions
- Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions
- Common Descriptive Assumptions
- Clues for Locating Assumptions
- Writing and Speaking as Critical Thinkers
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?
- A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies
- Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point
- Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies
- Looking for Diversions
- Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question
- Summary of Reasoning Errors
- Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- The Worth of Personal Experience, Case Examples, Testimonials, and Statements of Authority as Evidence
- Fact or Opinion?
- The Need for Dependable Evidence
- Sources of Evidence
- Personal Experience as Evidence
- Case Examples as Evidence
- Testimonials as Evidence
- Appeals to Authority as Evidence
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation and Research Studies?
- Personal Observation as Evidence
- Biased Surveys and Questionnaires
- Research Studies as Evidence
- General Problems with Research Findings
- Generalizing From the Research Sample
- Generalizing From the Research Measures
- When You Can Most Trust Expert Opinion
- Research and the Internet
- Writing and Speaking as Critical Thinkers
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- Are There Rival Causes?
- When to Look for Rival Causes
- The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes
- Detecting Rival Causes
- The Cause or a Cause
- Multiple Perspectives as a Guide to Rival Causes
- Confusing Causation with Association
- Confusing “After This” with “Because of This”
- Explaining Individual Events or Acts
- Evaluating Rival Causes
- Rival Causes and Your Own Communication
- Exploring Potential Causes
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- Are Any Statistics Deceptive?
- Unknowable and Biased Statistics
- Confusing Averages
- Measurement Errors
- Concluding One Thing, Proving Another
- Deceiving by Omitting Information
- Using Statistics in Your Writing
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- What Significant Information Is Omitted?
- The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information
- The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning
- Questions That Identify Omitted Information
- But We Need to Know the Numbers
- The Importance of the Negative View
- Omitted Information That Remains Missing
- Writing and Speaking as Critical Thinkers
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?
- Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions
- Grey Thinking: Two Sides or Many?
- Productivity of If-Clauses
- The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions
- Summary
- Practice Exercises
- Sample Responses
- Speed Bumps Interfering with Your Critical Thinking
- The Discomfort of Asking the Right Questions
- Thinking Too Quickly
- Stereotypes
- Mental Habits That Betray Us
- Halo Effect
- Belief Perseverance
- Availability Heuristic
- Answering the Wrong Question
- Egocentrism
- Wishful Thinking: Perhaps the Biggest Single Speed Bump on the Road to Critical Thinking
- Final Words
Index
Your questions answered
Pearson+ is a one-stop shop for eTextbooks and Study & Exam Prep (also referred to as Channels), both designed to help students get better grades in college. eTextbooks and Study & Exam Prep can be purchased separately or together. eTextbooks have built-in tools that simplify studying, like flashcards, audiobook and search. Study & Exam Prep includes video lessons, practice problems, study guides, Q&A with experts and more, to help you understand tricky topics and get you prepared for test time — all in one place.
A Pearson eTextbook is an easy-to-use digital version of your assigned textbook. eTextbooks, available in Pearson+, give you access to upgraded study tools, including enhanced search, highlights and notes, customizable flashcards, and audio options for hand-free studying. Plus, you can learn on the go with the Pearson+ app.
Pearson+ offers an eTextbook rental, billed as a 6-month subscription. A subscription includes instant access to your eTextbook, including study tools such as the ability to create custom flash cards, take notes, and the option to search and highlight important info in your eTextbook. You can also bundle your eTextbook with Study & Exam Prep. When you check out, you can make a one-time, up-front payment for your eTextbook, or you can choose to pay monthly. If you opt for monthly payments, we will charge your payment method each month until your 6-month subscription ends. If something happens and you need your eTextbook for longer than 6 months, select Extend subscription on the Manage subscription page in My account at any time to continue your subscription before it ends.
A Study & Exam Prep subscription includes video lessons, practice problems and other study tools. With a subscription, you'll get unlimited access to the full range of subjects:
When you purchase an eTextbook subscription, it will last 6 months. You can renew your subscription by selecting Extend subscription on the Manage subscription page in My account before your initial term ends. If you extend your subscription, we'll automatically charge you every month. If you made a one-time payment for your initial 6-month term, you'll now pay monthly. To make sure your learning is uninterrupted, please check your card details. To avoid the next payment charge, select Cancel subscription on the Manage subscription page in My account before the renewal date. You can subscribe again in the future by purchasing another eTextbook subscription.
Channels, also referred to as Study & Exam Prep, is a video platform with thousands of explanations, solutions, and practice problems in 19 subjects to help you do homework and prep for exams. Videos are personalized to your course, and tutors walk you through solutions. Plus, interactive AI-powered summaries and a social community help you understand lessons from your class.
Channels doesn't replace traditional textbooks or eTextbooks. It's an additional tool to help you with your studies, and it can be used with Pearson textbooks or non-Pearson textbooks.
When you choose a Channels subscription, you're signing up for a 1-month, 3-month or 12-month term and you make an upfront payment for your subscription. By default, these subscriptions auto-renew at the frequency you select during checkout. You'll have access to the full video library across all 19 subjects once you've subscribed. You can bundle Channels (also referred to as Study & Exam Prep) with your eTextbook at the time of purchase. Bundle subscription terms vary. You can choose your subscription term and payment frequency at checkout.
When you purchase a Channels subscription, it will last 1 month, 3 months or 12 months, depending on the plan you chose. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of your term unless you cancel it. We use your credit card to renew your subscription automatically. To make sure your learning is uninterrupted, please check your card details. If your payment method fails, we'll send you an email with instructions for how to update it.