(Ep. 9) The Analysis of Reasoning: Going Deeper – Inferences

In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich discuss inferences as an Element of Thought. An inference is a step of the mind - an act of the intellect - by which one concludes that something is so in light of something else being (or seeming) so. It suggests arriving at a decision or opinion by reasoning from known facts or evidence.

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For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies. 

To see and register for upcoming events, courses, study groups, and so on, visit us at: https://www.criticalthinking.org 

We hope you will also become a member of The Center for Critical Thinking Community Online, which features the world’s largest digital library of critical thinking articles, guides, books, videos, and interactive exercises, along with exclusive webinars, guided study groups, a social media component, and more. Join our Community Online at: www.criticalthinkingcommunity.org 

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(Ep. 8) The Analysis of Reasoning: Going Deeper - Information, Part 2: Inert Information, Activated Ignorance, and Activated Knowledge

Inert information is information that, though memorized, is not understood (despite whether the memorizer believes he or she understands it). Activated ignorance is false information mistaken as true and actively used by the mind. Activated knowledge is information that is 1) true, 2) actively used by the mind, and 3) leads the mind by implication to more knowledge.

In this episode, Drs. Gerald Nosich and Linda Elder discuss these important categories of information.

About Us

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies. 

To see and register for upcoming events, courses, study groups, and so on, visit us at: https://www.criticalthinking.org 

We hope you will also become a member of The Center for Critical Thinking Community Online, which features the world’s largest digital library of critical thinking articles, guides, books, videos, and interactive exercises, along with exclusive webinars, guided study groups, a social media component, and more. Join our Community Online at: www.criticalthinkingcommunity.org 

We invite you to donate to our mission at: https://www.criticalthinking.org/donate.php 

Join us on social media: 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/CriticalThinkingFoundation/ 

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One Element of Thought is information, which consists of facts, figures, or data from which conclusions can be inferred, or upon which interpretations or theories can be based. In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich discuss the ways in which information interfaces with the other Elements of Thought as well as with Universal Intellectual Standards like clarity, accuracy, precision, and so on.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies. 

To see and register for upcoming events, courses, study groups, and so on, visit us at: https://www.criticalthinking.org 

We hope you will also become a member of The Center for Critical Thinking Community Online, which features the world’s largest digital library of critical thinking articles, guides, books, videos, and interactive exercises, along with exclusive webinars, guided study groups, a social media component, and more. Join our Community Online at: www.criticalthinkingcommunity.org 

We invite you to donate to our mission at:

https://www.criticalthinking.org/donate.php 

Join us on social media: 

Facebook

⁠https://www.facebook.com/CriticalThinkingFoundation/⁠ 

Linkedin

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/foundation-for-critical-thinking-a99b1455/⁠

YouTube

⁠https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg⁠

A prior question is a question whose answer is presupposed by another question – e.g., the question “What is the boiling point of water on earth at sea level?” presupposes we have answered other questions, such as “Can water boil?” and “Does altitude affect the boiling point of water?”

Complex interdisciplinary questions are questions with prior questions from multiple domains of thought – e.g., the question “How do we best restore the health of earth’s ecosystems?” entails prior questions in diverse domains such as chemistry, psychology, ethics, climatology, etc.

In this episode, Drs. Gerald Nosich and Linda Elder discuss prior questions and complex interdisciplinary questions, as well as effective approaches to answering them.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies. 

To see and register for upcoming events, courses, study groups, and so on, visit us at: https://www.criticalthinking.org 

We hope you will also become a member of The Center for Critical Thinking Community Online, which features the world’s largest digital library of critical thinking articles, guides, books, videos, and interactive exercises, along with exclusive webinars, guided study groups, a social media component, and more. Join our Community Online at: www.criticalthinkingcommunity.org 

We invite you to donate to our mission at: https://www.criticalthinking.org/donate.php 

Join us on social media: 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/CriticalThinkingFoundation/ 

Linkedin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/foundation-for-critical-thinking-a99b1455/

YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg

Concepts are ideas we use in thinking. They are connected with definitions, principles, theories, and models, and they help us make sense of the world. In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich discuss conceptual questions and how best to address them.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies.

https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg

In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich discuss the differences between questions of fact (or procedure), questions of preference, and questions requiring reasoned judgement.

Question clusters, which are groupings of questions that share relevance to the same thing (e.g., to the same purpose, the same question, the same concept, etc.) are also explored.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies.

https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg

One element of reasoning is questions. Questions emerge from the problems or issues that must or should be addressed in pursuit of a given purpose. In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich begin to explore questions that inherently emerge from three core sets of concepts in critical thinking: the Elements of Thought, Intellectual Standards, and Intellectual Virtues.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies.

https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg

In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich discuss purpose as an Element of Thought. Purpose is the goal, objective, or function of our thinking that we are reasoning toward whenever we reason.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies.

https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg

In this episode, Drs. Linda Elder and Gerald Nosich provide a broad overview of the Elements of Thought as tools for analyzing thinking. Internalizing this set of concepts enables you to deconstruct a line of reasoning into its most fundamental parts, allowing you to then examine these parts for quality using universal Intellectual Standards such as clarity, accuracy, precision, depth, breadth, relevance, significance, fairmindedness, etc.

For over 40 years, the Foundation for Critical Thinking – along with its sister organization, the Center for Critical Thinking – have worked toward the advancement of critical societies.

https://www.youtube.com/@criticalthinkingorg