A Workbook for Arguments: A Complete Course in Critical Thinking

by David R. Morrow, Anthony Weston

A Workbook for Arguments builds on Anthony Weston’s A Rulebook for Arguments to provide a complete textbook for a course in critical thinking or informal logic. The second edition and improved homework exercises—nearly one third are new—to ensure that the examples continue to resonate with students.Increased coverage of scientific reasoning, demonstrating how scientific reasoning dovetails with critical thinking more generallyTwo new activities in which students analyze arguments in their original form, as provided in brief selections from the original texts.This edition continues to includeThe entire text of Rulebook, supplemented with extensive explanations and exercises.Homework exercises adapted from a wide range of arguments in a wide variety of sources.Practical advice to help students succeed.Model answers to odd-numbered problems, including commentaries on the strengths and weaknesses of selected sample answers and further discussion of some of the substantive intellectual, philosophical, or ethical issues they raise.Detailed instructions for in-class activities and take-home assignments.An appendix on mapping arguments, giving students a solid introduction to this vital skill in constructing complex and multi-step arguments and evaluating them.

Genres: Philosophy, Logic, Writing, Nonfiction, Education, Textbooks, Reference

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2011

Reviews

[Reshad · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب کار استدلال
به قلم دیوید مورو

میشناسیدش؟ نه؟! منم زیاد نمی شناسمش. ولی شناختنش الان اهمیتی نداره. مهم این کتابشون هست که تصمیم گرفتم چند بار بخونم.
البته من نسخه ی فارسی ش رو از انتشارات اختران خوندم. ترجمه روان و فوق العاده عالی بود. مخصوصا یکی از نگرانی های من در مورد ترجمه کتب فلسفی و منطق، دقت در ترجمه و تبحر مترجم هست که به نظرم این کتاب رو بی نقص میکرد. خیلی از استدلال ها و مغالطه های مطرح شده در این کتاب ظریف هستند. مترجم میبایست علاوه بر تسلط بر زبان انگلیسی، اشراف کامل بر زبان فارسی و دایره ی لغات وسیع، و در عین حال آگاه از مطالب مطرح شده در کتاب یعنی استدلال و منطق باشه. خلاصه بگم‌هم کتاب و هم ترجمه عالی هستند.

شنیدن و تعریف کردن رو کنار میذارم. به مثال زیر لطفا توجه کنید.
شما بر سر میز شام نشستید و با خواهرتان صحبت میکنید. شما از خواهرتان در رابطه با علت اینکه پدرتان که هنوز خانه نیامده، سوال میکنید. خواهرتان در جواب میگه؛ "پدر هر موقع ماشینش رو میبره کارواش دیر میکنه، و چون امشب دیر کرده ؛ پس ماشینش رو برده کارواش"
به نظرتون این جمله درسته؟
اگر این نقد رو می خونید لطفا بازخوردتون رو بگذارید تا نظرتون رو بدونم.

به نظرم فیلسوف مشهور آگوست کنت بیراه نمی گفت که هنر و ادبیات و فلسفه از علوم برتر محسوب میشوند. اگر استدلال رو هم جزو ابزار فلسفه در نظر بگیرید استدلال از علوم برتر محسوب میشه.
استدلال پایه و اساس انسان بودن ماست. ما داده ها رو دریافت میکنیم و با کمک استدلال از خانه ی اول به خانه ی بعدی یعنی یک گام به جلو پیشروی میکنیم. کاربرد استدلال از "اینکه بهتر است ابتدا به فروشگاه بروید تا اقلام آشپزخانه بگیرید یا اول به میوه فروشی بروید ؟"را در نظر بگیرید. شاید یک نفر استدلال کند برای تازه نگه داشتن میوه ها بهتر است در آخر خریداری شوند. دیگری ممکن است استدلال کند، که میوه های خوب در ابتدای روز خریداری میشوند و مابقی کیفیت خوبی نخواهند داشت پس بهتر است اول میوه فروشی برویم.

کاربرد استدلال در مجاب کردن مشتری
در قانع کردن مخاطب
در همدردی کردن با همسر
در هدایت فرزندان
در دریافت تسهیلات از سرمایه گذار
در انتخابات ریاست جمهوری
در ارتقای شغلی از طریق مجاب کردن رئیس
در ازدواج (مشهور به مخ زنی:))
....
تا جهان بینی شما
و نگرشتان به هستی
وجود یا عدم وجود خالق
فلسفه ی مرگ
فلسفه ی زندگی
دو راهی های اخلاقی
در همه مشهود هست.

هیچ کدام از مطالب فوق در کتاب ذکر نشده. مطالب فوق نظر شخصی بنده هست. قطعا انتقاداتی وارد خواهد بود که البته مشتاقانه پذیرای انتقادات نظرات و تعامل با شما دوستان فرهیخته ام میباشم.

با تشکر
رشاد حسن نژاد
خوانش اول: ۱۴۰۰/۵/۱۴

[Zy Marquiez · Rating 5 out of 5]

BreakawayIndividual.com
Zy Marquiez
February 14, 2020

Having read A Rulebook For Arguments by Anthony Weston and finding it quite useful, the prospect of reading a book along very similar lines but offering more expanded thought seemed quite intriguing. Thankfully, the following book delivered in spades.

A Workbook For Arguments – A Complete Course In Critical Thinking by David R. Morrow & Anthony Weston is a very comprehensive and incisive foray into what it takes to create a critical thinking mind, and how to employ it effectively as well.

Not only does A Workbook For Arguments contain the text from A Rulebook For Arguments with further extensions which help the reader become more robust with the content further broken down, but it also features simple and yet acute advice for the individual to become more apt in argumentation.

In conjunction with that, the authors break down about half the exercises in the book with model responses in the back of the book. Most of these exercise detail real world dilemmas one is likely to hear quite often, detailing the pros and cons of whatever answers were employed, and how each of those may affect an individual or society as a whole.

Also included in the book is a rundown of some of the most common fallacies, which is also useful since fallacies are employed far more often than most realize, and aren’t really taught in school, when in all actuality they should be. Knowing these fallacies is vital to understand not only someone else’s argument and their inherent flaws, but also in constructing and fine-tuning one’s own.

Arguably, the most important part of this book is that from the beginning it guides the reader through the steps in constructing a critical argument in a very logical fashion. What’s more, throughout the book, new topics continually build on the prior ones continuing to add layers to the strong foundation the book helps cement from the get go.

Personally, this is the kind of book whose contents should be mandatory to learn in school and should definitely not be overlooked for homeschooling, autodidacts and self-teachers.

Simply stated, anyone who is seeking to employ critical thinking, use logic in argumentation and become more robust in most key aspects of argumentation should get this book, if not file it under careful consideration. If you think about it, even if it was priced at double or triple the price, it would STILL be worth it, because college courses covering the same subject are often more costly, and offer barely a fraction of what’s here, IF they offer anything of such high quality.

Bottom line: get this book. You will not regret it.

______________________________
Author’s Note:

I recently found out, there is in fact a 3rd Edition of the book. I haven’t reviewed it, but I do plan on reading it in the future. I say that just in case anyone is interested in knowing. Whenever I do read it, I will note how much content has been added and/or changed. Until though, I cannot vouch for it, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was worth the money, considering the quality of work of the authors.
______________________________
Socratic Logic V3.1 by Peter Kreeft Ph.D.
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[J. R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

All who teach critical thinking at university should seriously consider using this excellent guide to careful thought. Morrow and Weston have done an excellent job of introducing the investigation of arguments and reasoning to university students in a compelling and accessible way. Their exercises are particularly valuable, since students often struggle in the gap between the teaching of principles and the application of such principles to active issues that confront us.

[Sanaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب يتضمن 50 قاعدة يجب اتباعها لتكوين حجة جيدة في أي موضوع تهتم به، بعيدًا عن المغالطات المنطقية والانحيازات المعرفية. هذا الكتاب مهم جدًا للمبتدئين، حيث يقدم الخطوات بشكل تدريجي ويشمل تمرينًا لكل قاعدة.

[The One and Only Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda mid, liked how all the examples were real, didn't need student examples just the model ones! Obv padding for pages, ig more affordable on the textbook scale. The fallacies section was prob the most useful.

[Anh Phan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a perfect workbook for beginners in argumentation

[Alejandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitively, I loved it. Concepts were easy to understand and explanations were very straightforward. I deeply share the authors views on argumentation as a cooperative effort towards knowledge. It's full of relevant and appealing examples for young students. A downside for me, though, is that many topics target US college students. I think this limitation might be overcome with more examples from philosophical or universal literature. Nevertheless, there are so many examples, that even non-US students might also find it useful.

I encourage everybody to go through all the exercise sets. Solving at least half of the excersie is already a great initial training.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book takes too many obvious writing skills and makes them confusing with silly exercises. This book is not really worth the time it takes to read it.

[Ashutosh Upadhyay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with given set of excercise.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book that I intend to read again.