Claims are constantly being made, many of which are confusing, ambiguous, too general to be of value, exaggerated, unfalsifiable, and suggest a dichotomy when no such dichotomy exists. Good critical thinking requires a thorough understanding of the claim before attempting to determine its veracity. Good communication requires the ability to make clear, precise, explicit claims, or “strong” claims. The rules of reason in this book provide the framework for obtaining this understanding and ability.
This book is about the the eleven rules of reason for making and evaluating claims. Each covered in detail in the book. These are:
1) Acknowledge the Limits of Your Knowledge Regarding the Claim.
2) Explore Your Biases Related to the Claim.
3) Isolate the Actual Claim.
4) Clearly and Precisely Define Each Relevant Term.
5) Use Terms That Reflect the Scope of the Claim Accurately.
6) Operationalize Terms When Possible.
7) Make the Claim Falsifiable When Possible.
8) Express an Accurate and Meaningful Level of Confidence.
9) Convert Causes to Contributing Factors When Appropriate.
10) Make Strong Analogies and Call Out Weak Ones.
11) Filter All Relevant Assumptions Through These Same Rules.
By the time you have finished this short book, no matter how good you were before at evaluating claims, you will be even better at it.
ISBN: 9781456634902 (ebook) / ISBN: 9781456634926 (paperback) / Published by: Archieboy Holdings, LLC. / Published Date: 2020-05-07
This book is available from various retailers in the following formats:
Paperback Audiobook Ebook (.pdf) Ebook (.mobi) Ebook (.epub) Online CourseBo's personal motto is "Expose an irrational belief, keep a person rational for a day. Expose irrational thinking, keep a person rational for a lifetime." Much of his charitable work is in the area of education—not teaching people what to think, but how to think. His projects include his book, The Concept: A Critical and Honest Look at God and Religion, and Logically Fallacious, the most comprehensive collection of logical fallacies.
Bo's interest in psychology began as an undergraduate studying marketing, specifically, consumer behavior. After many years immersed in the business world, Bo returned to school and received his master's degree in general psychology. He continued to the PhD program in social psychology, focusing on social, cognitive, and positive psychology.
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