Critical Thinking

GEA 1011st Term 2013

Course Instructor

Office: HSH (Ho Sin Hang) 213

Office Hours

Friday 14:00-16:00

My Email

michael.dracula.johnson@gmail.com

Course Website

michaeljohnsonphilosophy.com

Course Meeting Times

Tuesday 15:00-16:30 LKK 103

Friday 9:30-11:00 LKK G05

ASSESSMENT

Reading

There is no required reading in this class.

There is lots of optional reading on the course website. I may give bonus marks to students who can answer questions in class about the optional reading!

Assessment

10 short homework assignments, each 6 marks, for a total of 60 marks.Attendance: 10 marksParticipation: 10 marks1 final exam, worth 20 marks

Short Homework Assignments

Every week we will have a homework assignment where you apply what we’ve learned that week.

Example…

Out of Context

In Context

HW1

Find an example, from your own life and experiences, where a piece of information was taken out of context in a misleading way.

Rubric

• Describe the information taken out of context: 1 mark

• Describe the claim the information was used to support, and who was making the claim: 2 marks

• Describe the broader context and why the information presented was misleading: 2 marks

• Students’ own experience: 1 mark

Late Assignments

I won’t accept late homework. Even 1 minute late is late. Sorry.

Participation

Participation is just like HW1.

You cannot get an ‘A’ in this course if you do not participate.

I will give you 1 mark for every (good) example up to 10 marks.

Attendance

Attendance is required and accounts for 10% of your final grade.

You cannot get an ‘A’ in this course if you do not attend classes.

Every day you don’t attend, you lose 0.5 marks off your final grade, up to a maximum of 10.

Late to Class

You will not be counted as present if you show up after I have called attendance. Please be in class on time.

Final Exam

The final exam will happen during the scheduled exam period. Exact time/ date TBA.

It will consist of short answer questions and involve application of critical thinking skills.

It is worth 20 marks.

Curve Based Grading

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

IMPORTANT NOTE

Students shall be aware of the University regulations about dishonest practice in course work and the possible consequences as stipulated in the Regulations Governing University Examinations.

5.2a Collusion

A student misrepresents a piece of unauthorised group work as his/her own work.

5.2b Falsification of Data

The presentation of data in reports, projects or research papers, which is purported to be based on experimental or research work conducted by the student, has actually been invented by the student, copied or obtained by unfair means.

5.2c Plagiarism

The presentation of another person's work without proper acknowledgement of the source, whether protected by copyright or not, as the student's own work.

5.2d Anything Else Dishonest

For example, submission of same or substantially same work for two assignments without prior approval.

Policy on Cheating

I have zero tolerance for cheating.

When in doubt, ask me!

Policy on Talking in Class (When You’re Not Contributing)

Zero tolerance.

WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” criticalthinking.org

What is Critical Thinking?

There are two basic decisions to make in life:

1. Decide what to believe: What do I believe?

2. Decide what to do: What do I do?

Deciding What to Believe

The things you believe (or disbelieve) are claims.

Examples of claims include:• Aliens exist.• 2 + 2 = 4.• Pocari Sweat is better than Aquarius.• You should kill children for fun.

Claims

Claims can be:

• General or specific• Clear or ambiguous• True or false• Plausible or implausible• Reasonable or unreasonable• Supported by evidence or not…

Example: Theories

Scientific theories are claims that are supported by lots of evidence, that integrate lots of our knowledge, and that explain and predict lots of phenomena.

Example: Guesses

Guesses are claims that the guesser only believes might be true, or are probably true.

Example: Lies

A lie is a claim that is known to be false and is made to deceive you into believing something false.

Claims

There are lots of other types of claims: hypotheses, deductions, considerations…

A claim is something that is presented as true.

Critical Thinking

Is there any evidence to support the claim?

Is the evidence reliable and trustworthy? How reliable is it? Should you accept it?

Does the evidence actually support the claim?

Is there other evidence you should consider?

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves asking these questions at the right times, knowing how to answer them, and knowing how to use those answers to accept or reject a claim.

This is a skills-oriented class. These are the skills we will learn.

You Already Do It

You are already a critical thinker. You use critical thinking skills all the time, even if you don’t know it.

Is there any evidence?

Claim: Keeping your devices on poses a danger.

But is there any evidence that this is true? Are there studies? What do scientists say?

Is there any evidence?

Flu season comes and it’s really bad. You should probably get a flu shot.

Or should you go to the traditional Chinese medicine shop? They say their medicine can prevent the flu too.

How reliable is the evidence?

Claim: Oh, you have a cold? You should get the doctor to prescribe antibiotics for you.

Evidence: I got a cold and after a couple days was feeling really bad. I got some antibiotics and two days later, I felt great!

How reliable is the evidence?

But this can’t be true. Colds are caused by viruses, and antibiotics only work on bacteria.

The story you heard is a case of regression to the mean.

Colds usually take care of themselves in 6 days.

Does the evidence support the claim?

Companies often pay celebrities and other public figures to endorse their products.

Claim: You should buy/ use this product.Evidence: Celebrity X buys/ uses this product.

But is it any reason to buy something that some other person is paid to say they like it?

Taishan Landmark in Guangdong

From SCMP

“A group of Hong Kong investors have called for laws to regulate celebrity advertising, claiming to have been misled into pouring money into a Guangdong shopping arcade project…They said they had been attracted to invest in the project because of endorsements by local celebrities, including a food critic and a fung shui master.”

Is there other evidence to consider?

Claim: Prayer heals the sick.Evidence: My mother had cancer, but then I prayed for her. Her cancer went into remission.

But how many people were prayed for and not cured? How many people were not prayed for, but still had their cancer go into remission? Does prayer work or was this just an accident?

Critical Thinking

Becoming a better critical thinker involves exercising these skills, asking these questions and finding out the answers, more often and more effectively and in a wider range of circumstances.

Deciding What to Do

But critical thinking does not end there. Notice that we still do not know what to do.

Should I turn off my cell phone on an airplane?Should I invest in this shopping arcade?Should I pray for my sick mother?What do I do?

Choices

A choice is a decision between two or more actions.

Sometimes choices lead to the outcomes we desire with certainty. Sometimes they only likely lead to the outcome we desire. Sometimes our choices are very unlikely to get us the outcome we desire.

Choices

Choices can be:

Important or unimportantEasy or difficultRational or irrationalSuccessful or unsuccessful…

Critical Thinking

What outcomes can my choice lead to?

Does the outcome of my decision depend on factors other than what I choose to do?

What is the likelihood that deciding to take a specific action will lead to a specific outcome?

Which outcomes do I most prefer?

What Outcomes Can My Choice Lead To?

People often only consider some outcomes of their actions.

For example, China wants to slow population growth, so it instituted a 1-child policy.

What do the outcomes depend on?

Sometimes, when we make a choice, the outcome depends not just on what we’ve chosen to do, but also on what others have chosen.

Suppose I have a scholarship that I can offer to exactly one student to come to my school. If they don’t accept it, I cannot offer it to anyone else…

What do the outcomes depend on?

If I offer it to the best student, she is most likely to decline it (she has other scholarships to other schools, she may decide to go somewhere else).

If I offer it to the worst student, she is most likely to accept it (she probably has no other scholarships and no other admittances). But I don’t want to give money to the worst student!

How Likely is This Choice to Effect This Outcome?

[Tell story about applying for China visa]

Which outcomes do I most prefer?

It’s not always obvious which outcomes to prefer. Obviously $50 is better than $10. But suppose it costs the same to keep someone in jail as to pay for a student to go to college. Do you let criminals out and educate more people?

Framing and the Flu

Suppose a new type of flu is spreading through China and experts predict it will move to Hong Kong soon. If nothing is done, it will kill 600.

The government is deciding which of two plans to implement. They come to the following rigorous, scientifically certain evaluations of the plans:

Version 1

• If Plan A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.• If Plan B is adopted, there is a 1-in-3 chance

that all 600 will be saved, and a 2-in-3 chance that no one will be saved.

Version 2

• If Plan A is adopted, 400 people will die.• If Plan B is adopted, there is a 1-in-3 chance

that no one will die, and a 2-in-3 chance that all 600 will die.

Which outcomes do I prefer?

Version 1 and Version 2 describe exactly the same plans.

Plan A in Version 1 = Plan A in Version 2.Plan B in Version 1 = Plan B in Version 2.

Yet 70% of people go with Plan A in Version 1, while only 41% choose Plan A in Version 2.

For Next Class

Go to the course website: michaeljohnsonphilosophy.com/critical-thinking-2012/

Read the reading for next time.