Chapter 2. “I Already Think For Myself”: Being A Critical Thinker

Summary

This chapter…

• Identifies the psychological and philosophical obstacles that prevent objective thought.

• Distinguishes between Categories of Hindrances, specifically psychological factors (how we think) versus philosophical worldviews (what we think).

• Discusses the impact of self-interest and group-centered thinking on our ability to evaluate evidence fairly.

• Explores philosophical worldviews such as subjective and social relativism and assesses their logical pitfalls.

• Introduces technical fundamentals regarding the distinction between objective and subjective statements.

• Analyzes value judgments, distinguishing between moral and non-moral evaluations.

• Addresses implicit bias and stereotype threat, providing empirical context for unconscious errors in reasoning.

• Ends with a review of the “Clifford Standard” and recommendations for further reading on the ethics of belief.

Key Terms

• Availability Error = relying on evidence because it is memorable or striking rather than because it is trustworthy.

• Confirmation Bias = the tendency to seek out and use only evidence that confirms our pre-existing views.

• Dunning-Kruger Effect = the phenomenon of being ignorant of how ignorant we are; overestimating expertise due to a lack of skill in that area.

• Evidentialism = the view that we must proportion the strength of our belief to the strength of our reasons.

• Face-Saving = accepting or defending a claim solely to protect one’s image or to avoid admitting a mistake.

• Homophily = the tendency to give more credence to an argument simply because it comes from someone like us or someone we know.

• Implicit Bias = unconscious stereotypes or prejudices that influence our judgment without our awareness.

• Infallibility = the (often erroneous) belief that a person or group is incapable of being wrong.

• Motivated Reasoning = reasoning for the purpose of supporting a predetermined conclusion rather than uncovering the truth.

• Objective Statement = a statement whose truth depends on impartial facts independent of what any individual thinks.

• Philosophical Skepticism = the view that we know much less than we think, often requiring absolute certainty for knowledge.

• Reasonable Doubt = a standard of evidence where a belief is accepted as knowledge because no robust reasons exist to undermine it.

• Self-Interested Thinking = accepting a claim solely because it advances or coincides with your personal interests.

• Social Relativism = the view that truth is relative to societies or cultures.

• Stereotype Threat = underperforming on tasks due to an awareness of negative stereotypes about one’s group.

• Subjective Relativism = the view that truth depends solely on what an individual believes.

• Subjective Statement = a statement whose truth depends entirely on what an individual thinks or feels.

• Worldview = a philosophy of life; a set of fundamental ideas that act as a filter for how we process information.