Thinking Critically

Thinking Critically Claims Making & Fallacies

Thinking logically… • Historically, law has not been ‘evidence based’ • Good/Bad: • Supernatural • Codified morality Rested on claims about…. people actions consequences

Logic (Greek, logos) An assessment of claims that is accomplished according to principles of validity • Principles of validity : • Claims about biology – statements about living things • Claims about economics – statements about economic institutions • Claims about crime & punishment – statements about human action/behaviour & institutions of social control • Social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, history…) • Law

Informed Logic “...to separate strong from weak arguments, to develop your own opinions based on evidence and careful reasoning, and to sort through and make sense of a confusing mass of information.”

Claims Arguments: begin with one or more premises, which are facts that the argument takes for granted as the starting point (assumptions). Then a principle of logic is applied in order to come to a conclusion.

The Claim University professors feel their first-year students are less mature, rely too much on Wikipedia and "expect success without the requisite effort," says a province-wide survey to be released today.

Evidence: Evaluate... What evidence does the author present to support the argument(s)? Does the author offer enough evidence? More than 55 per cent of Ontario's faculty and librarians surveyed believe students are less prepared for university than even three years ago

Assessing Validity of Claims (Logic) In this case, many students agree with their profs. "I think it's a fair assessment," said first-year Ryerson journalism student Annie Webber. "I'm addicted to Wikipedia." In fact, many post-secondary institutions havehad to create catch-up courses to help those who are struggling. "It wasn't a shock for me – I'm aware of what's happening out there," said Brian Brown, a University of Windsor visual arts professor. He also heads the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, which oversaw the online survey of about 2,000 professors and university librarians out of the province's 15,000

Alternative Arguments Can you think of alternative arguments that the author has not considered?

Despite what the survey actually measured (“feels” or opinion) this article tells a story that claimsfirst year students are ill prepared (“lazy”)…..but for what? Assumptions • The article assumes: • Ill-prepared = using Wikipedia/lazy • Ontario is an ideal learning environment • 13% (2000/15,000) of the prof/library admins in Ontario is representative of the opinions of prof/library admins in Canada. (It is not) • professors and librarians are experts • can assess the difference • working conditions not taken into account • a few undergraduate students as ‘experts’ (quote) • programs are developed to “fix students” & not in response to things like disinterest caused by classroom overcrowding (for example)….

Is there a crisis is “lazy” undergrads? Evidence for THAT claim is insufficient. • However: some professors in Ontario DO indeed FEEL students are ill prepared (survey), but that does not mean that they are. • Misuse of quotations/experts • Issue of validity (article) • Fallacies (which we will talk about next…) While we have not disproved this claim (it MAY be true) , but we have used critical thinking (logic) to demonstrate this article has NOT provided a series of logically consistent statements backed up by valid evidence about undergrad preparedness….

Theories vs. Hypothesis Theories:a series of logically sound claims that have been supported through evidence meets the criteria of a particular audience. that Hypothesis: A claim about a social phenomena that has not been supported yet (might be a valid claim, but not supported sufficiently/empirically)

Types of Fallacies Flawed logical statements

Ecological Fallacy You make conclusions about individuals based only on analysis of group (aggragate) data. Italian School ofThought The parking disorder of those people who live downtown Ottawa…

Exceptional Fallacy You reach a group conclusion on the basis of exceptional cases… • All the ‘isms’ • Eugenics • Moral Hygiene • Movement

Attacking the person, instead of the argument. Ad Hominem

Argument from Authority Yes consensus of professional opinion is important, but speaking from authority does not make something true.

“Deborah Landry, a University of Ottawa criminology professor, is on the fore front of graffiti research in Ottawa. She suggests considering the Mural programs like Crime Prevention Ottawa’s Paint It Up programas a possibly more viable alternative.”

Teleological Fallacy Something is caused by the ultimate effect that it has, or the purpose that it serves. Intelligent Design Antiquity The Witch Burnings Protestant Work Ethic Social Contract Theory

Confusing correlation (or coincidence) with causation Variable may be related, but they not necessarily cause/effect. are Classical Period Contemporary Social Positivism

Tautology Circular reasoning: the conclusion is its own claim. Eugenics Moral Hygiene Biological Positivism

False Dichotomy “We are proposing measures to bring our laws into the 21st century and to provide the police with the lawful tools that they need,” Mr. Toews said to the MP for Lac-Saint-Louis, Quebec. “He can either stand with us or with the child pornographers.”

Appeal to Emotion (…fear) Red Herring Almost every hypothesis that is short on evidence…. Social phenomena that involves fears about the poor, vulnerable & racialized populations

Evaluate for Inconsistency Applying criteria or rules to one argument, opinion or claim, but not to others. ~Lombrosso Cognitive Dissonance: people react strongly when they find that their actions do not fit with the opinions they hold.

LogicPractice BAD SIGNS, KenGray Recession Uncovers an Ugly Canadian Truth: We Have Too Few Cops, Too Many Robbers 1. Take 10 minutes to read through the article. 2. Together, can you locate: ~main claim ~some of the assumptions ~evaluate the evidence ~identify fallacies ~offer an alternative explanation (claim)

Thinking Critically