Critical Reasoning and Philosophy

M. Andrew Holowchak is assistant professor of philosophy at Rider University. His research interests are principally in ancient philosophy, philosophy and history of science, Freudian psychoanalysis, critical reasoning, and philosophy of sport. He is the author of multiple books, including Ancient Science and Dreams, Happiness and Greek Ethical Thought, The Stoics, and Critical Reasoning and Science.

This clearly written manual aims to teach students in introductory courses some fundamental critical reasoning techniques for reading and writing philosophic materials. Though written for budding philosophers, this book will also benefit those undergraduates who want to write concise, tightly argued papers. Recommended.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsPart I: Introductory ConcernsModule 1: What is Philosophy?Module 2: Philosophy & Critical ReasoningPart II: Reading PhilosophyModule 3: General Form of a Philosophical WorkModule 4: Four Helpful StepsPart III: Evaluating PhilosophySection A: Argument Recognition & ReconstructionModule 5: Elements of Argument RecognitionModule 6: Standard Argument FormSection B: Argument EvaluationModule 7: Setting the Logical BoundariesModule 8: Conditions of Acceptance & RejectionModule 9: Three Common Deductive ArgumentsModule 10: Common Inductive ArgumentsModule 11: Common FallaciesSection C: Reconstruction through DiagrammingModule 12: Fundamentals of DiagrammingModule 13: 10 Diagrammatical TipsPart IV: Writing Philosophy Section A: Preliminaries for Philosophical EssaysModule 14: 13 General Tips for WritingModule 15: Tips of AvoidanceModule 16: Common MistakesSection B: Writing Philosophical EssaysModule 17: Preparing an OutlineModule 18: Writing a Philosophical ThesisModule 19: Simple Critical EssayModule 20: Synthetic Critical EssaySection C: Revising & Rewriting Philosophical EssaysModule 21: Motivating a RewriteModule 22: Suggestions for Revising and Rewriting EssaysAppendicesAppendix A: Some Exercises for DiagrammingAppendix B: Teacher/Student Comment SheetAppendix C: Plan-for-Revision SheetList of Sources Cited