-- Integrating Logic Skills into the Critical Decision-Making Process   Organized around lively and authentic examples drawn from jury trials, contemporary political and social debate, and advertising, Critical Thinking: Consider the Verdict shows students how to detect fallacies and how to examine and construct cogent arguments.    Accessible and reader friendly–yet thorough and rigorous–Critical Thinking: Consider the Verdict shows students how to integrate all logic skills into the critical decision-making process, and construct arguments from examples gained through the study of contemporary and historic debates, both legal and popular.   Teaching and Learning Experience   Improve Critical Thinking - “Argue Your Case” segments, “Consider the Verdict” boxes, real-life examples and cases, and an optional chapter on “Thinking Critically about Statistics” all encourage students to examine their assumptions, discern hidden values, evaluate evidence, assess their conclusions, and more!   Engage Students - Critical Thinking: Consider the Verdict’s readable, conversational style, wealth of exercises, suggested Website resources, glossary (and more!) allows your students to easily read, understand and engage with the text. Support Instructors - Teaching your course just got easier!  You can create a Customized Text or use our Instructor’s Manual, Electronic “MyTest” Test Bank or PowerPoint Presentation Slides. Plus, instructors find it easy to teach from Critical Thinking: Consider the Verdict because students are given an argument context that orients them to new material and helps them place it in a familiar setting — giving you the freedom to present different, complimentary material in class!  

Table of Contents:
IN THIS SECTION: 1.) BRIEF 2.) COMPREHENSIVE      BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS   Table of Contents Preface    Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2  A Few Important Terms Chapter 3 Ad Hominem Arguments Chapter 4 The Second Deadly Fallacy:  The Strawman Fallacy Chapter 5 What’s the Question?    Chapter 6 Relevant and Irrelevant Reasons Chapter 7 Analyzing Arguments Chapter 8 The Burden of Proof Chapter 9  Language and its Pitfalls Chapter 10  Appeal to Authority    Cumulative Exercises One   (Chapters 1 through 10) Chapter 11 Arguments by Analogy   Chapter 12 Some Distinctive Arguments and Potential Pitfalls: Slippery Slope, Dilemma, and Golden Mean Arguments    Chapter 13 Begging the Question    Cumulative Exercises Two   (Chapters 1 through 13)   Chapter 14 Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Chapter 15 Scientific and Causal Reasoning Chapter 16 The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth      Cumulative Exercises Three   Chapters 1 through 16) Chapter 17 Thinking Critically about Statistics   Chapter 18 Symbolic Sentential Logic   Chapter 19 Arguments about Classes    Key Terms    Answers to Selected Exercises   Index     COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS   Table of Contents Preface    Acknowledgments Chapter 1   Introduction Critical Thinking in Everyday Life Play Fair   Seating a Jury   Jury Research: Eliminating or Selecting Bias?   Impartial Critical Thinking  Adversarial Critical Thinking Cooperative Critical Thinking Exercises Additional Reading Online Resources Chapter 2 A Few Important Terms Arguments    Statements Exercise 2-1 Premises and Conclusions    Exercise 2-2 Deductive and Inductive Arguments Exercise 2-3 Deduction, Validity, and Soundness Induction, Strong Arguments, and Cogent Arguments   Exercises 2-4, 2-5 Review Questions Online Resources   Chapter 3   Ad Hominem Arguments The Ad Hominem Fallacy Nonfallacious Ad Hominem Arguments    Ad Hominem and Testimony   Distinguishing Argument from Testimony Exercise 3-1 Tricky Types of Ad Hominem    Bias Ad Hominem   Inconsistency and Ad Hominem  Psychological Ad Hominem   Inverse Ad Hominem Attacking Arguments Exercises 3-2 Review Questions Additional Reading Internet Resources     Chapter 4 The Second Deadly Fallacy:  The Strawman Fallacy Strawman The Principle of Charity   The Strawman Fallacy   Special Strawman Varieties  Limits on Critical Thinking Exercises 4-1 and 4-2 Additional Reading   Chapter 5   What’s the Question?   Determine the Conclusion What Is the Exact Conclusion? Exercises 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4 Review Question   Chapter 6   Relevant and Irrelevant Reasons Premises Are Relevant or Irrelevant Relative to the Conclusion   Irrelevant Reason Fallacy    The Red Herring Fallacy   Exercises 6-1 and 6-2 Review Questions Additional Reading   Chapter 7   Analyzing Arguments Argument Structure Convergent Arguments  Linked Arguments   Subarguments Exercises 7-1, 7-2 and 7-3 Assumptions: Their Use and Abuse Legitimate Assumptions   Enthymemes Illegitimate Assumptions Exercise 7-4 Review Questions Additional Reading   Chapter 8   The Burden of Proof Who Bears the Burden of Proof? Appeal to Ignorance    The Burden of Proof in the Courtroom Presumption of Innocence   When the Defendant Does Not Testify   Juries and the Burden of Proof   Unappealing Ignorance Exercises 8-1, 8-2, 8-3, 8-4, 8-5, 8-6, 8-7 Review Questions Additional Reading   Chapter 9 Language and its Pitfalls Defintions Stipulative Definitions Controversial Definitions Deceptive Language The Fallacy of Ambiguity Amphiboly Exercises 9-1, 9-2, and 9-3 Additional Reading Internet Resources   Chapter 10 Appeal to Authority    Authorities as Testifiers    Conditions for Legitimate Appeal to Authority Popularity and Tradition    Exercise 10-1 Review Questions Additional Reading Cumulative Exercises One   (Chapters 1 through 10)   Chapter 11   Arguments by Analogy   Figurative Analogy Deductive Argument by Analogy Exercise 11-1 The Fallacy of Faulty Analogy   Exercises 11-2 and 11-3 Analyzing a Deductive Argument by Analogy   Deductive Arguments by Analogy and Cooperative Critical Thinking The Fallacy of Analogical Literalism   Caution! Watch for Analogies That Look Like Slippery Slopes!  Inductive Arguments by Analogy Exercises 11-4, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, and 11-10 Review Questions   Chapter 12 Some Distinctive Arguments and Potential Pitfalls: Slippery Slope, Dilemma, and Golden Mean Arguments    Slippery Slope   Separating Slippery Slopes from Strawmen The Slippery Slope Fallacy   Genuine Slippery Slopes   Exercises 12-1and 12-2 Dilemmas, False and True Genuine Dilemmas  False Dilemmas   Dilemmas in Conditional Form False Dilemma Combined with Strawman   Consider the Possibilities   Exercise 12-3 Golden Mean The Golden Mean Fallacy   Constructing Golden Mean Fallacies   Exercise 12-4 Review Questsions Additional Reading Additional Reading Internet Resources    Chapter 13 Begging the Question    The Problem with Question-Begging Arguments A New and Confusing Use of “Begs the Question” Subtle Forms of Question Begging Synonymous Begging the Question   Generalization Begging the Question   Circular Begging the Question   False Charges of Begging the Question Self-Sealing Arguments Complex Questions Exercises 13-1 and 13-2 Review Questions Additional Reading Cumulative Exercises Two   (Chapters 1 through 13)   Chapter 14   Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Necessary Conditions Distinguishing Necessary from Sufficient Conditions  Sufficient Conditions Necessary and Sufficient Conditions in Ordinary Language  Ex Exercises 14-1, 14-2, and 14-3 Conditional Statements Alternative Ways of Stating Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Both Necessary and Sufficient  Exe Exercises 14-4 and 14-5 Valid Inferences from Necessary and Sufficient Conditions Modus Ponens   Modus Tollens   Fallacies Based on Confusion between Necessary and Sufficient Conditions The Fallacy of Denying the Antecedent The Fallacy of Affirming the Consequent   Detecting Argument Forms Exercises 14-6, 14-7, and 14-8 Review Questions   Chapter 15   Scientific and Causal Reasoning Distinguishing Causation from Correlation   Exercise 15-1 The Questionable Cause Fallacy   Exercise 15-2 The Method of Science Randomized Studies and Prospective Studies   Making Predictions   When Predictions Go Wrong   Faulty “Scientific” Claims   Occam’s Razor Confirmation Bias Scientific Integrity, Scientific Cooperation, and Research Manipulation Exercise 15-3 Review Questions Additional Reading Internet Resources   Chapter 16 The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth   Eyewitness Testimony Potential Sources of Eyewitness Error   Judging the Honesty of a Witness   Exercise 16-1 The Whole Truth Are the Premises True?   Digging for Truth   Consider the Source   Exercise 16-2 Review Questions Additional Reading Online Resources   Cumulative Exercises Three   Chapters 1 through 16)   Chapter 17   Thinking Critically about Statistics   All Children Are Above Average    Empty Statistics   Finding the Appropriate Context    Caught Off Base Statistical Apples and Oranges   Statistical Half-Truths    Sample Size and “Statistical Significance” How to Make Your Study Yield the Results You Want Exercises 17-1 Surveys Exercise 17-2 Additional Reading Online Resources   Chapter 18   Symbolic Sentential Logic   Truth-Functional Definitions Negation   Disjunction   Conjunction   Conditional   Material Implication   Exercise 18-1 Testing for Validity and Invalidity Exercise 18-2   Punctuation   Exercise 18-3 The Truth-Table Method of Testing for Validity   ExExercise 18-4 The Short-Cut Method for Determining Validity or Invalidity   Exercises 18-5, 18-6, and 18-7 Review Questions   Chapter 19   Arguments about Classes    Types of Categorical Propositions Exercise 19-1 Relations among Categorical Propositions Venn Diagrams Diagramming Statements  Diagramming Arguments   Exercise 19-2 Translating Ordinary-Language Statements into Standard-Form  Categorical Propositions Exercise 19-3 Reducing the Number of Terms   Exercises 19-4 and 19-5 Review Questions Consider Your Verdict Comprehensive Critical Thinking in the Jury Room Case One:  Commonwealth v. Moyer Judge Carroll’s Summation and Charge to the Jury   Case Two:  State v. Ransom Judge Schwebel’s Summation and Charge to the Jury  Key Terms    Answers to Selected Exercises   Index