Used in a variety of courses in various disciplines, Asking the Right Questions with Readings helps bridge the gap between simply memorizing or blindly accepting information, and the greater challenge of critical analysis and synthesis.  Specifically, this concise text teaches how to think critically by exploring the components of arguments--issues, conclusions, reasons, evidence, assumptions, language--and on how to spot fallacies and manipulations and obstacles to critical thinking. 

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface   Chapter  1:  The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions         Introduction         Critical Thinking to the Rescue         The Sponge and Panning for Gold: Alternative Thinking Styles         An Example of the Panning-for-Gold Approach         Panning for Gold: Asking Critical Questions         The Myth of the “Right Answer”         The Usefulness of Asking the Question, “Who Cares?”         Weak-Sense and Strong-Sense Critical Thinking         The Satisfaction of Using the Panning-for-Gold Approach         Effective Communication and Critical Thinking         The Importance of Practice         The Right Questions   Chapter 2:    Critical Thinking Is a Social Activity         Values and Other People         The Primary Values of a Critical Thinker         Thinking and Feelings         Keeping the Conversation Going         Avoiding the Dangers of Groupthink   Chapter 3:    What Are the Issue and the Conclusion?         Kinds of Issues         Searching for the Issue         Searching for the Author’s or Speaker’s Conclusion         Using This Critical Question         Clues to Discovery: How to Find the Conclusion         Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking         Practice Exercises         Fred von Lohmann, "Copyright Silliness on Campus"   Chapter 4:    What Are the Reasons?         Reasons + Conclusion = Argument         Initiating the Questioning Process         Words That Identify Reasons         Kinds of Reasons         Keeping the Reasons and Conclusions Straight         Critical Thinking and Your Own Writing and Speaking         Practice Exercises         David Horowitz, "College Professors Should Be Made to Teach, Not Preach"   Chapter  5:    What Words or Phrases Are Ambiguous?         The Confusing Flexibility of Words         Locating Key Terms and Phrases         Checking for Ambiguity         Using This Critical Question         Determining Ambiguity         Context and Ambiguity         Using This Critical Question         Ambiguity, Definitions, and the Dictionary         Ambiguity and Loaded Language         Limits of Your Responsibility to Clarify Ambiguity         Ambiguity and Your Own Writing and Speaking         Summary         Practice Exercises         New York Times editoriall, "Juvenile Injustice"   Chapter 6:    What Are the Value and Descriptive Assumptions?         General Guide for Identifying Assumptions         Value Conflicts and Assumptions         From Values to Value Assumptions         Typical Value Conflicts         The Communicator’s Background as a Clue to Value Assumptions         Consequences as Clues to Value Assumptions         More Hints for Finding Value Assumptions         Avoiding a Typical Difficulty When Identifying Value Assumptions         Finding Value Assumptions on Your Own         Using This Critical Question         Values and Relativism         Identifying and Evaluating Descriptive Assumptions         Illustrating Descriptive Assumptions         Using this Critical Question         Clues for Locating Assumptions         Avoiding Analysis of Trivial Assumptions         Assumptions and Your Own Writing and Speaking         Practice Exercises         Religion News Blog, "Should We Legalize Marijuana?"   Chapter 7:    Are There Any Fallacies in the Reasoning?         A Questioning Approach to Finding Reasoning Fallacies         Evaluating Assumptions as a Starting Point         Discovering Other Common Reasoning Fallacies         Looking for Diversions         Sleight of Hand: Begging the Question         Using This Critical Question         Summary of Reasoning Errors         Expanding Your Knowledge of Fallacies         Fallacies and Your Own Writing and Speaking         Practice Exercises          Jacob Sullum, "Gun Control Non Sequiturs"   Chapter 8:    How Good Is the Evidence: Intuition, Personal Experience, Testimonials, and Appeals to Authority?         The Need for Evidence         Locating Factual Claims         Sources of Evidence         Intuition as Evidence         Dangers of Appealing to Personal Experience as Evidence         Testimonials as Evidence         Appeals to Authority as Evidence             Problems with Citers Citing Other Citers         Using This Critical Question         Summary         Practice Exercises         Isabel Lyman, "Homeschooling Comes of Age"   Chapter 9:    How Good Is the Evidence: Personal Observation, Research Studies, Case Examples, and Analogies?         Personal Observation         Research Studies as Evidence         Generalizing from the Research Sample         Biased Surveys and Questionnaires         Critical Evaluation of a Research-Based Argument         Case Examples as Evidence         Analogies as Evidence             Identifying and Comprehending Analogies             Evaluation Analogies         Summary         Practice Exercises         Neela Banerjee, "Americans Change Faiths as Rising Rate, Report Finds"   Chapter 10    Are There Rival Causes?         When to Look for Rival Causes         The Pervasiveness of Rival Causes         Detecting Rival Causes         The Cause or A Cause         Rival Causes and Scientific Research         Rival Causes for Differences Between Groups         Confusing Causation with Association         Confusing “After this” with “Because of this”         Explaining Individual Events or Acts         Evaluating Rival Causes         Using This Critical Question         Evidence and Your Own Writing and Speaking         Summary         Practice Exercises         Cathy Arnst, "The World According to Disney"   Chapter 11:    Are the Statistics Deceptive?         Unknowable and Biased Statistics         Confusing Averages         Concluding One Thing, Proving Another         Deceiving by Omitting Information         Risk Statistics and Omitted Information         Summary         Practice Exercises         Buddy T, About.com Guide, "College Drinking, Drug Use Grows More Extreme"   Chapter 12:    What Significant Information Is Omitted?         The Benefits of Detecting Omitted Information         The Certainty of Incomplete Reasoning         Questions that Identify Omitted Information         The Importance of the Negative View         Omitted Information That Remains Missing         Using This Critical Question         Practice Exercises         Radley Balko, "Back to 18?"   Chapter 13:   What Reasonable Conclusions Are Possible?         Assumptions and Multiple Conclusions         Dichotomous Thinking: Impediment to Considering Multiple Conclusions         Two Sides or Many?         Searching for Multiple Conclusions         The Productivity of If-Clauses         Alternative Solutions as Conclusions         The Liberating Effect of Recognizing Alternative Conclusions         All Conclusions Are Not Created Equal         Summary         Practice Exercises         Maryann Bird, "Should We Stop Eating Meat to Help the Planet?"   Chapter 14:    Overcoming Obstacles to Critical thinkingOvercoming Obstacles to Critical Thinking         Reviewing Famnilair Obstacles         Mental Habits That Betray Us             The Seductive Quality of Personal Experience             Belief in a Just World             Stereotypes             The Urge to Simplify             Belief Perseverance             Availability Heuristic         Wishful Thinking   Chapter 15:  Should We Protect Children from Advertising?         Rebecca A. Clay, "Advertising to Children: Is It Ethical?"         Dale Kunkel and Brian Wilcox, "Television Advertising Leads to Unhealthy Habits in Children; Say APA Task Force"         Cam Beck, "Taking Responsibility for Our McActions"         Lisa Tiffin, "How to Inoculate Your Children Against Advertising"         Susan E. Linn, "Food Marketing to Children in the Context of a Marketing Maelstrom"         Essay Questions   Chapter 16: What Is the Proper Role of Government in Improving the Quality of Families in Our Culture?         Stephanie Coontz, "Taking Marriage Private"         "Swedish Top Lawyer Wants to Legalize Polygamy..."         Peg Tittle, "We License Plumbers and Pilots - Why Not Parents?"         Lizette Alvarez, "Jens and Vita, but Molli? Danes Favor Common Names"         Malcolm Potts, "China's One Child Policy: The Policy That Changed the World"         RIchard Posner, "The Regulation of the Market in Adoption"         Essay Questions                Chapter 17: What is the Secret to Happiness?         Arthur Max and Toby Sterling, "Researchers: Choices Spawn Happiness"         Matthew Herper, "Money Won't Buy You Happiness"         Steve Ross and Olivia Rosewood, "How to Find True Happiness"         Jonathon Clements, "Down the Tube: The Sad Stats on Happiness, Money and TV"         William R. Mattox, Jr., "Does Faith Promote Happiness?"         John Lanchester, "Pursuing Happiness: Two Scholars Explore the Fragility of Contentment"         Essay Questions   Chapter 17:  In What Ways Can the Media Influence Society and What Can We Do About It?         Carrie McLaren, "The Media Doesn't Influence Us...Except When It Does"         Geena Davis, "Children's Media Skew Gender"         Katie Strickland, "Media Isn't Feeding Social Ills"         Ross Gelbspan, "Snowed: Why Is the US News Media Silent on Global Warming?"         Dan Gainor and Amy Menefee, "CNN's Global Warming Special Typifies Liberal Bias of Climate Coverage"         Elmar Etzersdorfer and Gernot Sonneck, "Preventing Suicide by Influencing Mass-Media Reporting: The Viennese Experience 1980-1996"         Essay Questions   Chapter 18: What role does physical appearance play in our lives?         Keith Morrison, "Face Value Hidden Camera Investigation: Do Looks Really Matter?"         Daniel Schweimler, "Argentina: Ugly People Strike Back"         Maggie Stehr, "Study Credits Attractive People with Longer Life"         Susan Kane, "Preparing Children for Plastic Surgery"         Scott Reeves, "Good Looks, Good Pay?"        Henry Wijsbek, "The Pursuit of Beauty"         Essay Questions   Credits   Index