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Critical Thinking Skills For Dummies 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

by Martin Cohen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 757 ratings
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Turbocharge your reasoning with Critical Thinking

 Just what are the ingredients of a great argument? What is the secret to communicating your ideas clearly and persuasively? And how do you see through sloppy thinking and flim-flam?  If you’ve ever asked any of these questions, then this book is for you!

 These days, strong critical thinking skills provide a vital foundation for academic success, and Critical Thinking Skills For Dummies offers a clear and unintimidating introduction to what can otherwise be a pretty complex topic. Inside, you'll get hands-on, lively, and fun exercises that you can put to work today to improve your arguments and pin down key issues.

 With this accessible and friendly guide, you'll get plain-English instruction on how to identify other people's assumptions, methodology, and conclusions, evaluate evidence, and interpret texts effectively. You'll also find tips and guidance on reading between the lines, assessing validity – and even advice on when not to apply logic too rigidly!

Critical Thinking Skills for Dummies:

  • Provides tools and strategies from a range of disciplines great for developing your reflective thinking skills
  • Offers expert guidance on sound reasoning and textual analysis
  • Shows precisely how to use concept mapping and brainstorming to generate insights
  • Demonstrates how critical thinking skills is a proven path to success as a student

Whether you're undertaking reviews, planning research projects or just keen to give your brain a workout, Critical Thinking Skills For Dummies equips you with everything you need to succeed.

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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1118924723
  2. Edition
    1st
  3. Publisher
    For Dummies
  4. Publication date
    March 18, 2015
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    2.9 MB
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

My second 'for Dummies' book offers a no-holds-barred and amusing tour of thinking itself. (Where else will you find Frankenstein showing you how to construct good arguments?) and lots of interactive challenges and quizzes - but here's a new one NOT in the book: looking at the 'Test Your Critical Thinking Skills' section', who is smarter, the person who gets 10/10 or the person who gets 8/10? Of course, it's the dude on 8 because there were two errors in the answers! Sorry about that. Just reinforces the message - be a Critical Reader.

For anyone still scratching their heads, I better put this right: on p89, Q10: the correct number of miles per day 226, and as to the bonus question there were three people drinking tea originally, and Grandma makes the fourth). In question 10 too, the equation needed is actually (rounding up the cost of renting from £19.99 to £20) something like: 20 + (number-of-miles - 100)*1 = 100 + (number-of-miles*0.2).

From the Inside Flap

Learn to:

  • Identify other people's arguments and conclusions
  • Interpret and produce your argument more effectively
  • Read between the lines, see behind surfaces and identify false assumptions
  • Apply critical thinking to assignments

Analyse, evaluate and apply information to create cohesive arguments

Have you ever received feedback suggesting you need to be more critical in your assignments? Written specifically for students, this friendly guide takes the intimidation out of the topic and provides hands-on, active instruction and exercises to help you apply critical thinking in your academic work to achieve higher grades.

  • Have a think — grasp the science and sociology behind thinking and find out how to assess your thinking sills
  • Put the pieces together — find out how critical thinking is like solving puzzles
  • Your critical thinking toolbox — use mind maps, concept flow charts, dump lists, meta-thinking, virtues and vices and triangulation
  • Put it to practice — apply critical thinking to reading, writing, speaking and listening
  • Smoke and mirrors — separate fact from opinion, know a writer's (or speaker's) position and utilise sound source checking

Open the book and find:

  • The who, where and when of thinking
  • How to know your 'thinking habits'
  • Why you should beware of being too critical
  • The logic of real arguments
  • How to be a rational animal
  • Unsound argument tactics to avoid
  • Lots of exercises to help you master your skills

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00UYXHP0G
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ For Dummies; 1st edition (March 18, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 18, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.9 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 314 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 757 ratings

About the author

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Martin Cohen

Martin Cohen

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Martin Cohen is a journalist, editor and author specializing in popular books in philosophy, social science and politics. His books include the bestselling ‘101 Philosophy Problems’, ‘Critical Thinking Skills for Dummies' as well as more social scientific books such as ‘I Think Therefore I Eat’, on food science, and a look at how scientists work called 'Paradigm Shift’. This sounds rather technical but is actually a great deckchair read, taking a look at many perplexed and perplexing issues in life, from religion to science, from food fads to black holes in space..Another recent book, now issued in paperback, called 'The Leaders' Bookshelf', is all about ideas and inspirations - and how even quite ordinary books can be 'intuition pumps' sending their readers off to achieve extraordinary things.

Martin now writes full-time, but in the past has taught philosophy and social science at a number of universities in the UK and Australia, and was involved in a research project exploring ways to shift philosophy teaching away from the the mere study of philosophical facts and toward a view of philosophy as an activity.

An activist environmentalist, he wrote an influential series of articles in the Times Higher (London) about the politics of the climate change debate. He has written discussion papers on environmental concerns for the European Parliament and been invited by the Chinese government to discuss ecological rights and indigenous communities.

As an editor, his strategy is to allow as wide a range of ideas as possible a forum and he loves articles by non-specialists with unusual and original ideas. He is currently based in Aquitaine, France, but travels often to the US and UK.

---

Readers with questions - or just observations are invited to drop me a line via Twitter where I am @docmartincohen. Same place please for new book projects and rights inquiries, just get in touch and we'll take it from there!

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
757 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book helpful for developing critical thinking skills. They appreciate its simple explanations of complex concepts and basic principles. However, opinions differ on readability - some find it easy to understand and comprehend, while others consider it a waste of time and money.

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Critical thinkingReadability
32 customers mention "Critical thinking"23 positive9 negative

Customers find the book helpful for developing critical thinking skills. They find it provides an overview of the topic, with great basic principles anyone can use. The book is described as a good reference for those who need to increase their critical thinking abilities. It simplifies complex concepts and makes them easy to understand. Readers appreciate the useful information about fallacies and find the book interesting.

"This book was an easy read with lots of examples. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but the content was laid out nicely." Read more

"True to title, and an overview of all on the critical thinking topic. Charts and such could be used for speeches, classes." Read more

"...The book does have some interesting excerpts from Hitler's Mein Kampf to illustrate how great propaganda can be...." Read more

"Good intro book for critical thinking. You will learn how to develop your critical thinking skills. It's a little wordy though." Read more

6 customers mention "Readability"4 positive2 negative

Customers have different views on the book's readability. Some find it easy to understand with examples, while others consider it a waste of time and money.

"This book was an easy read with lots of examples. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but the content was laid out nicely." Read more

"...What a total waste of time and collection of pseudo-erudite muddled thinking with side-stops of wasted word-count!..." Read more

"...The material is excellent and absolutely easier to comprehend than a textbook, but I recommend having some prior knowledge of the subject. Thumbs up!" Read more

"Very helpful and easy to follow" Read more

We need these thinking skills
5 out of 5 stars
We need these thinking skills
This book is very clear and it helped me a lot to develop proper critical skills in both my work and everyday life!What do I like about the book? Well, number one is that the book is fun. The 'test yourself' sections are informative and give you a chacne to not only test yourself but to discover the key ideas. Number two, the book takes the broad view - it is not just a standard rehash of philosophical logic, but has psychology, politics and social science woven in too. There's bits from 'Design theory' and from all sorts of things I'd never even heard of before. But the best thing is the book is not a lecture but a real conversation, and you are really enocuraged to be your own judge on the issues and debates, which is surely what Critical Thinking is really all about.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • 13Starz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good Examples and Easy Read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book was an easy read with lots of examples. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for but the content was laid out nicely.
    One person found this helpful
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  • E.S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Read description
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2024
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    Take time to read the description and reviews. The book is as described and arrived when expected.

    The book was packaged with care and arrived in great condition!
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars I think he does a nice job of critical thinking
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    The book covers the standard material on logical fallacies, as well as a number of other subjects. I found it a little wordy, but that is just my preference. However, in general, I think he does a nice job of critical thinking.

    However, I think the book contains a little non critical thinking itself. Here are two examples.

    1. In Chapter 17, in Proving that In Practice God Doesn't exist, he states the argument
    "If an all-powerful, all-knowing God exists who wants the world to be the best possible place full of happy people and good things,...God wouldn't allow at least some of the nasty things that evidently go on all the time." He claims there is no flaw in this.

    There are multiple come-backs. One is that people cannot be happy unless they have the will to freely choose, and this makes it possible for them to choose badly, resulting in nasty things. So God must allow these things to happen as a logical consequence of what being happy entails.

    Another is that we do not know that God has not allowed some of the nasty things to happen that could have happened.

    2. I could not find the quote, but I recall that he states that at one time in England they hanged someone for being a homosexual. In fact it was for engaging in homosexual behavior, which is not necessarily the same thing. He sneaks in the idea that you ARE a homosexual if you engage in homosexual behavior.
    17 people found this helpful
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  • Rust Belt Rebel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Not For Dummies
    Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    In addition to this copy I purchased for a friend, I used my original copy as a companion to the textbook in a philosophy class. In my opinion, it is NOT for dummies. I expected a simplified, large-print-with-bullet-points, text. Maybe there is a version like that; this one is not. I didn't like the compact size because it was hard to keep open when highlighting or adding notes. However, if you don't plan to use it like that, the size shouldn't be an issue. Just know that I'm not at all knocking the book; for many people, size doesn't matter.

    The material is excellent and absolutely easier to comprehend than a textbook, but I recommend having some prior knowledge of the subject. Thumbs up!
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Scooter Bee Dot Rocks
    5.0 out of 5 stars Get and give this book.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    True to title, and an overview of all on the critical thinking topic. Charts and such could be used for speeches, classes.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • R3warnno
    5.0 out of 5 stars It takes energy to analyze, reason and make informed and logical conclusions.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Understanding your own thought processes and patterns (i.e., stereotypes) provides a means toward understanding how other people think (and act). Even normal and healthy people don't always operate in a rational manner; stereotypes are the shortcuts we use to quickly (and with reduced effort) size up a situation or new information to compartmentalize sensory inputs to allow action or reaction. It takes mental energy to analyze, reason and make informed and logical conclusions. The energy deficit is contrary to survival instincts and patterns.
    23 people found this helpful
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  • Aristotle
    3.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed by a philosopher
    Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    One concern that I would like to address is that the the author of this book inserts his opinion throughout the textbook, and this is especially the case about the issue of climate change.

    In particular, the author expresses concern about he believes is skepticism associated with scientific authority. His argument against believing climate scientists, for example, is actually a straw man where he asserts that journalists (specifically the BBC) who cover a story about global warming are appealing to authority. The authors further asserts that we should be skeptical about global warming only because anyone who believes it assumes that it is case only because it is based on the fallacy of appealing to authority.

    The author implies that to be a critical thinker, we ought to be skeptical about the causes of global warming. However, the precise reason this is a straw man is because it fails to consider the fact that many believe in global warming because they have actually examined the scientific journals or other empirical discussions about the topic. He also mocking asserts "the climate changes all the time." dismissing this issue. Cohen frames the issues of global warming as if people only listen to scientific experts about the concern.

    Cohen cites an example of a BBC report to demonstrate how the discussion about climate change is based on appealing to authority. He notes that he tried to find the sources, but they would not tell me as an argument to dismiss their reasoning. However, Cohen never makes a distinction when discussing the "appeal to authority fallacy" between legitimate authorities and illegitimate authorities. For instance, if you are doing to a doctor, would you rather take medical advice from someone who is untrained and lacking the relevant authority? Rhetorical question aside, I agree with Cohen that we ought to still be skeptical regardless of the authority; but when discussing a topic about climate change, trusting the judgment of a scientist about their field is necessary since they are collecting the data. Thus, Cohen's discussion should have been focused on asking what the scientists think about the data, not the BBC.

    Scientific research is a collective enterprise of an enormous amount of people working together. Cohen claims that "consensus is obtained at the expense of genuine debate. Critical thinkers don't do that kind of stuff."(Cohen, p.53) However, Cohen fails to bring up any of the studies involved in climate modeling, nor does he actually debate any of the climate scientists involved here, but instead discusses the BBC's climate report. I agree with Cohen's conclusion that consensus isn't scientific, but neither is a one-sided discussion about climate change.

    To be charitable to the author, it is not clear if he is explicitly thinks that climate change is not happening, but instead concluding that we ought to remain skeptical about the authors that inform us about climate change. However, this is a moot point and of course we should be skeptical. When Cohen emphasis in his book that to be an expert on critical thinking, one must reject scientific authority on climate change; the book detracts from it's central thesis on a book about critical thinking and becomes a book that attempts to lead the readers astray and mislead it's readers. After all, the book is to teach critical thinking skills, not teach the reader what to think about a particular issue.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Ronin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great fast delivery, product exactly as ordered.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    not the full 8 x 10 size book more like 6 x 7 ish just in case you're expecting a full size book this is one of the smaller versions, the exact same book as the full size only smaller. would be great for carry on for the airplane or bus or train.
    8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Sarah
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great for my degree
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Very good as a second book to have with my degree
    Report
  • elena santini
    3.0 out of 5 stars critical thinking
    Reviewed in Italy on August 24, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    mi aspettavo di meglio, l'ho trovato quasi banale. quindi se è per una introduzione forse va bene ma se si è già allenati a un rigore del pensiero... allora no.
    Report
  • Lynda
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great product.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 27, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Great product, exactly as described, packed well shipped lightening fast and arrived safely; Thank you!!!
    Report
  • Cliente de Amazon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro.
    Reviewed in Mexico on February 27, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Muy un buen libro. Justo lo que esperaba por un precio adecuado.
    La serie for dummies siempre explícita.
    Me gustaría la versión en español.
    Report
  • Rishabh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really amazing book and and tells why the people think in ...
    Reviewed in India on May 4, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Really amazing book and and tells why the people think in the same direction. How would you be able to think differently.
    Report

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