Thinking Well: Uncovering Our Hidden Assumptions

Transcription

1 Thinking Well: Uncovering Our Hidden Assumptions A (Very Little) Bit About Dr. Dona Warren Department of Philosophy The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Thought: I ll never get this done on time. Emotion: Anxiety Thought: I ll work a bit each day and get it done. Emotion: Enthusiasm Behavior: Procrastination Behavior: Getting to work Thought Emotion Behavior By thinking better we can feel better and act better. Psychological Problems may result from commonplace processes such as faulty learning, making incorrect inferences on the basis of inadequate or incorrect information, and not distinguishing adequately between imagination and reality. Moreover, thinking can be unrealistic because it is derived from erroneous premises (Beck,, pp ) The formula for treatment may be stated in simple terms: The therapist helps the patient to identify his warped thinking and to learn more realistic ways to formulate his s. (Beck,, pp )

2 feeling? thinking? Should you think that way? This is psychology, not philosophy, but philosophy (critical thinking) can help out here. If not feeling thoughts What are some better ways to think? A (Very Little) Bit About Critical Thinking Reasons for Belief Reasons for Belief I believe that we have moral obligations toward animals because my parents were animal rights activists. Causal Reason Doesn ttry to provide reason to think that the belief is true I believe that we have moral obligations toward animals because animals can Justifying Reason Doestry to provide reason to think that the belief is true An argument is a unit of reasoning that attempts to establish that one idea is true by citing other ideas as evidence. An Argument We have moral obligations toward animals because animals can I know this because animals exhibit to behaviors that I think it s clear that we re minimize Besides, our ecosystem is essential to our survival and we have a moral obligation to ensure our own survival so we have moral obligations toward things that constitute an Animals constitute an An Argument Diagrammed minimize Our ecosystem is essential to our We have moral obligations toward things that constitute an We have a moral obligation to ensure our own Animals constitute an

3 Argument Parts Argument Parts Premise Inference Subconclusion Inference Ultimate Conclusion minimize Dependent Reasons Argument Parts Independent Reasons / Lines of Reasoning An Argument Diagrammed Our ecosystem is essential to our We have a moral obligation to ensure our own minimize We have moral obligations toward things that constitute an Animals constitute an minimize We have moral obligations toward things that constitute an Animals constitute an A good argument = An argument that gives us good reason to think that the ultimate conclusion is true. An argument is good if and only if it has at least one good line of reasoning. A line of reasoning is good if and only if all of its premises are good and all of its inferences are good. A premise is good only if it s true. An inference is good only if should the ideas on top of the inference be true then the idea on the bottom of the inference will be true as well. If either line of reasoning is good then the argument is good and we have good reason to believe the conclusion. The left hand line of reasoning is bad because it has a false premise. The right hand line of reasoning is bad because it has a weak inference. Animals are nothing but little machines. t sue us. We don t have moral obligations toward animals. So the argument is bad as a whole.

4 Evaluating Inferences: Implicit Premise Technique 1. Find the implicit premise needed to perfect the inference. Often this involves Evaluating Inferences: Implicit Premise Technique 1. Identify the common concepts. 2. Identify the left-over concepts. 3. Construct an implicit premise of the form If [left-over concept from top idea] then [left-over concept from bottom idea]. a. Identifying the common concepts between the top idea and the bottom idea, b. Identifying the left-over concepts from the top idea and the bottom idea, and c. Constructing a missing premise of the form If [left-over concept from top idea] then [left-over concept from bottom idea] (or equivalent). Animals are nothing but little machines. t sue us. If something can t sue us then we don t have moral obligations toward it. 2. Evaluate this implicit premise. We don t have moral obligations toward animals. An argument is good if and only if it has at least one good line of reasoning. A line of reasoning is good if and only if all of its explicit and implicit premises are good and all of its inferences are good. A premise is good only if it s true. An argument is good if and only if it has at least one good line of reasoning. A line of reasoning is good if and only if all of its explicit and implicit premises are good. A premise is good only if it s true. An inference is good only if should the ideas on top of the inference be true then the idea on the bottom of the inference will be true as well. & Critical Thinking and Critical Thinking feeling? thinking? feeling thoughts Should you think that way? If not What are some better ways to think?

5 thinking? Uncovering Arguments & Hidden Beliefs I m going to fail this test. Visible Belief Hidden Beliefs are Reasons for the Visible Belief Subconclusions between the Visible Belief and the emotion Implicit Premises presupposed by the various inferences thinking? Uncovering Arguments & Hidden Beliefs The Obvious Truth I can t think of the answer right now. I don t know the answer to the first question on this test. I m going to fail this test. ( ) What s so bad about that? If this were true, then what? 1 Everyone will think I m stupid. Only smart people are likeable. Nobody will like me. If I know something, I should be able to think of it right away. 2 If I don t know one answer then I won t know any answers. Smart people never fail tests. ( ) What s so bad about that? If this were true, then what? The Obvious Awful Anxiety Anxiety 1. Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, p ; Burns, The Feeling Good Handbook, p This technique uncovers missing subconclusions. 2. Burns calls implicit premises silent assumptions. A silent assumption represents your value system, your personal philosophy. (Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, p. 234) Should you Think this Way? What are Some Ways to Think? There are lots of things I know that I can t think of right away. I might know lots of other answers even if I don t know this one. Smart people can and do fail tests sometimes. Being smart isn t what makes someone likeable. If I know something I should be able to think of it right away. If I don t know one answer then I won t know any answers. Smart people never fail tests. Only smart people are likeable. Common Types of Bad Reasoning 3 1. All-or-Nothing Thinking The exam that I wrote contained an error, so the exam I wrote was terrible. 2. Overgeneralization This exam had a problem, so none of my exams are any good. 3. Mental Filter Susan fell asleep in class, so I m a boring teacher. 4. Disqualifying the Positive Laura s a naturally good student, so her interest doesn t count. 5. Jumping to Conclusions Mind Reading Sam is reading the paper, so he thinks that I m a bad teacher. Fortune Telling I wasn t on today, so I ll get low evaluations. 6. Magnification / Minimization Brenda s just a nice person, so her complement doesn t matter. 7. Emotional Reasoning I feel incompetent, so I must really be incompetent. 8. Should Statements Writing papers is a good way to learn, so I should assign more papers. 9. Labeling and Mislabeling I didn t win the teaching award, so I m a failure. 10. Personalization Some students failed, so I must be doing something wrong. 3. From Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, pp ; The Feeling Good Handbook, pp Also discussed by Irwin and Bassham in Depression, Informal Fallacies, and : The Critical Thinking Cure? Inferences The exam that I wrote contained an error, so the exam I wrote was terrible. This exam had a problem, so none of my exams are any good. Susan fell asleep in class, so I m a boring teacher. Laura s a naturally good student, so her interest doesn t count. Sam is reading the paper, so he thinks that I m a bad teacher. I wasn t on today, so I ll get low evaluations. Brenda s just a nice person, so her complement doesn t matter. I feel incompetent, so I must really be incompetent. Writing papers is a good way to learn, so I should assign more papers. I didn t win the teaching award, so I m a failure. Some students failed, so I must be doing something wrong. Implicit Premises Fact f is of definitive importance. If a few x are P then almost all x are P. Fact f is of definitive importance. Fact f is of almost no importance. I know what people are thinking. I know the future. Fact f is of almost no importance. My feelings are accurate. If x is a good thing then I should do it. Fact f is of definitive importance. If something bad happens, it s my fault. Implicit Premises to Watch Out For My feelings are accurate. I know what people are thinking. I know the future. Fact f is of definitive / almost no importance. If a few x are P then almost all x are P. If something bad happens then it s my fault. If x is a good thing then I should do it. But it s important to take the arguments on a case-by-case basis.

6 In General. Is it true? : Visible Belief ( ) What s so bad about that? If this were true, then what? Is it true? : ( ) What s so bad about that? If this were true, then what? Is it true? Is it true? Is it true? Is it true? Messy reasoning Lots of false assumptions Organized reasoning More true assumptions Emotion Bibliography Beck, Aaron T. (1979). and the Emotional Disorders. New York: Meridian. Burns, David D. (1980). Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. New York: Penguin Books. Burns, David D. (1990). The Feeling Good Handbook. New York: Penguin Books. Cohen, Elliot D. (1991). Caution: Faulty Thinking can be Harmful to Your Happiness. Fort Pierce, FL: Trace-WilCo Publishers. Irwin, William and Gregory Bassham, Depression, Informal Fallacies, and : The Critical Thinking Cure?, Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, Spring 2003, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp Kelley, David (1998). The Art of Reasoning. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.