| Structured Critical Reasoning | top |
The algorithm we will use to analyze a proposition/thesis, etc. is sometimes called "Structured Critical Reasoning" and has been used to unravel even the most complex arguments.
The sequence of the analysis is to identify:
| Downed Powerlines | top |
Perform an SCR on the article and determine the validity of the following argument:
The issue of placing overhead power lines underground is raised after all major power outages. This issue when examined on a basis of the costs and benefits to customers and utilities of undergrounding power lines ends up that the costs outweigh the benefits.
Studies show that underground infrastructure tends to have slightly better reliability performance than overhead power lines. However, in a major storm, the entire utility is effected, not just the overhead lines, meaning underground lines would not prevent some outages.
The cost to burry aboveground power lines range from $80,000 a mile in rural areas to $2.1 million a mile in urban areas according to a 2009 study. This cost is simply unreasonable for the minimal added utility. Undergrounding power lines is simply not the answer to solve power outages.
Source: Darlington County Press
| Continents in Motion | top |
In 1911 Alfred Wegner postulated that all the landmass on Earth was once connected in a giant super continent he called Pangaea. He also believed Pangaea eventually broke up into smaller landmasses, which moved into their current formation, through a process called "Continental Drift". Wegner examined evidence of geological and fossil similarities of continents now separated by oceans, but lacked proof of a driving force for continental motion. This force was later discovered to be plate tectonics, and evidence swung fully in favor of Wegner's postulate. The following is an SCR supporting the existence of Pangaea, which was radical in 1911 but widely accepted today. We use the conclusion: "The supercontinent Pangaea existed". All three pieces of evidence are cited to reputable sources so we do not include quality of sources as assumptions.
Source: http://science.discovery.com/earth-sciences/pictures/earth-science-discoveries-pictures-06.html
| Socratic Questions: Critical Thinking Questions | top |
R.W. Paul's 9 Types of Socratic Questions
| Fires in Orange County | top |
In the following situation define the Mayor's perceived problem:
In Orange County, Calif., only 2% of firefighter emergency responses involve fires, the rest are car accidents, fender benders, bicycle accidents, and other small medical emergencies. This unnecessary deployment of firefighters wastes money by sending gas guzzling fire trucks and full fire crews to situations they are not needed. The Mayor responds to this data stating that because firefighters are out at the streets on non-fire emergencies, they don't receive the calls and therefore don't respond to many fires in the county. He adds that new fire stations and detection systems should be implemented throughout the region.
| A Real Toothache | top |
A large medical office building contains the practice of eight dentists.
This practice includes three regular dentists, two orthodontists, one dental surgeon, and two dentists who do only root canals.
They are complemented by a staff of 30, which includes nurses, bookkeepers, receptionists, and maintenance workers.
For the past year, the practice has been having a very serious problem with employee turnover.
In the previous year, 15 employees have either quit or been fired by Cindy, the office manager who was hired a year ago.
The instructions given to Cindy by the dentists were
"Determine what needs to be done to keep a stable work force."
A month and a half after Cindy had been working on the problem, five more employees had quit, including Penny, a nurse who had been with the practice for 17 years.
The dentists held another meeting with Cindy to review her progress on the turnover issue.
She proposed the following issues as the sources of the turnover problem:
1. The average age of the office staff was 45, and many of these individuals were not up to the task of learning the recently implemented computer system. For this reason, many of them had to be let go. New employees need to be more computer literate.
2. Personality conflicts exist between the new, younger employees and many of the well-established older workers, which prompted numerous employees to quit.
After presenting the doctors with this information, Cindy assured the dentists that she would solve the problem by hiring more competent and personable employees
Application of the Critical Thinking Algorithm
Questions That Clarify
Q. Why does Cindy believe these issues are the two causes of the problem?
A. Cindy said she went about determining the causes on a case-by-case basis.
She talked to several employees in the office on a regular basis about their working environment and based her report mainly on information gleaned from these conversations.
Q. Can the employees who gave Cindy the information be characterized in any way?
A. Cindy relies on two or three of the younger employees.
Questions That Probe Implications and Consequences
Q. What will happen if the problem cannot be solved?
A. The dentists held a meeting, and all agreed that the quality of their patient care would be affected if the problem was not solved.
Questions That Probe Reasons and Evidence
Q. What were the reasons that caused nurse Penny to quit recently?
A. One of the dentists called Penny to determine whether her reason for her quitting corresponded to Cindy's explanation.
Penny said that Cindy had been her motivation for quitting:
After Cindy was promoted to office manager, she began bullying the staff, rearranging shifts with little to no notice,
denying requests for vacation time with no justification, and giving unjustifiably harsh performance reviews.
Q. Was the recently implemented computer system too difficult to learn?
A. Penny said that little formal training was scheduled on how to use the new software,
forcing many of the employees to take manuals home just to learn the basics.
Questions That Explore Viewpoints and Perspectives
Q. Do other former employees feel the same way that Penny does?
A. A meeting was scheduled to discuss what had been learned.
The dentists asked if other employees shared Penny's sentiments about the turnover problem.
Questions about the Question
Q. Has the true cause of the turnover problem been found?
A. Over the next two weeks, the dentists spoke with many of the employees who had parted ways
with their practice and many of the employees who were still working for them.
The doctors soon discovered that Cindy - and her style of office management - was the true source of the turnover problem.
Consequently, Cindy was fired, solving the problem of high employee turnover.
| Critical Thinking Actions | top |
Another component of Critical Thinking is the actions one takes. Rubenfeld and Scheffer list seven types of Critical Thinking Actions (CTAs) shown in the following table.