Critical Thinking and Information Technology

Soraj HongladaromDepartment of Philosophy

Faculty of ArtsChulalongkorn University

hsoraj@chula.ac.th

Outline

What is critical thinking? Why is critical thinking important? Basic elements of critical thinking How to recognize false arguments when you are

online.

Critical Thinking

Ability to distinguish between good and bad arguments.

Good arguments – those that follow the rules of logic

One should believe only the conclusions of good arguments.

There are several ways in which arguments can be bad.

Critical Thinking

In the situation where there are many attempts to persuade people to believe in many things, critical thinking ability is crucial.

It is very important for a citizen in a democracy to have critical thinking ability, because citizens have to deliberate on public issues. Without the ability they will become prey to irrational persuasions.

Arguments

Premise and conclusion If it rains, then the road is wet. It rains. Therefore, the road is wet. All arts students love reading. Samorn is an arts students. Therefore, Samorn loves reading.

Arguments

If it rains, then the road is wet. The road is wet. Therefore, it rains. All arts students love reading. Somsri loves reading. Therefore, Somsri is an arts students.

Arguments

Good arguments are those whose conclusions should be believed.

Deductive Inductive

Deductive: There are algorithmic rules to decide validity

Inductive: No such rules Validity: If the premises are all true, then the

conclusion must be true.

Fallacies

Bad arguments that people make in order to try to convince others.

Many forms of fallacies. Formal Psychological

One finds many kinds of fallacies in online discussions.

Common Fallacies

Statistical fallacies Ad hominem Ad vericundiam Two wrongs don’t make a right Red herring (changing the subject) Ad ignorantiam Ad populum

Filtering Knowledge

One of the most important skills in the online world is to know how to sift through the glut of information to search for really valuable pieces.

This is like sifting through a lot of sand to find gold.

Critical thinking skills become essential.

Filtering Knowledge

Contexts or situation of our search becomes relevant too.

Sources of the website Wikipedia Peer-reviewed journals Online articles Reputable newspapers