Introduction to Critical Thinking
Milestone Two Pointer Notes
1. When asked about an argument’s logic, remember this has to do with the quality of the
argument, whether it’s strong or weak (if inductive), valid or invalid (if deductive). An
argument’s logic also has to do with whether the author’s claims are clear, relevant, and
credible.
2. When you think through the question concerning your author’s bias (or lack thereof),
address the question in terms of the different forms of bias described in our text: There’s
gender bias and political bias and social bias and self-serving bias and sampling bias and
so on. If you find there is no evidence of bias, be specific in your explanation as to how
the author avoids bias by showing fair-mindedness.
3. Just taking a position is not evidence of bias. Bias is frequently reflected in the lack of
reliability (and credibility) of the author’s resources. In a biased report, the author will
exaggerate details and/or downplay (or omit) other details to keep the reader’s interest.
4. Factors that contribute to a person’s qualifications as an expert. They are (1) education;
(2) experience; (3) reputation among peers and (4) accomplishments.
5. If you claim the author’s argument is biased, you will immediately raise red flags if you
also go on to claim that the sources are credible. Lack of bias and credibility go hand in
hand, not bias and credibility. Therefore, if you claim the argument is biased, you will
need to explain the disjuncture when you address the question concerning the author’s
credibility. You will need to describe precisely how your author distorts the credible
evidence that s/he uses.
6. The question that asks about the argument’s weaknesses is asking you to pinpoint
precisely which premise in your counterargument requires the additional support. It’s
asking about weaknesses in the argument’s logic, not about the frailties in people or other
such notions of weakness.
7. Assumptions are claims we take for granted and, hence, do not make explicit or explicitly
seek to prove. That means relying on strong assumptions is bad, not good. We want our
assumptions to be as innocuous as possible. Why? Because that way we get the biggest
possible audience to follow our argument. The more controversial the assumptions one
makes, the fewer the number of people who will share those assumptions.
8. Depending on the type of argument we are making, evidence in terms of “facts” may not
be relevant. For instance, normative arguments are based on reasons and appeals to value.
Since the facts describe what is the case and not what ought to be the case, they may very
well not be relevant in a normative (prescriptive) argument.
9. Emotive language is a bias-indicator. When you re-present an argument that contains
emotive language, you have a responsibility to extract the contentful information being
conveyed leaving the emotive language out.
