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CRITICAL THINKING

Critical thinking is the process of evaluating evidence and arguments. In other words, rather than accepting information at face value, critical thinking means questioning that information carefully before deciding what to believe. It's an incredibly important skill - especially in a world of misinformation.

What is an 'argument'?

• An argument is a set of statements.
• They can be split into 'premises' and a 'conclusion'.
• In reality, arguments do not follow a clear structure. So, the first step in analysing an argument means identifying and labelling the premises and conclusion.

Premises:   statements that provide reasons or evidence to support a conclusion

Conclusion:   the statement being argued for

Example:
John is probably at a higher risk for lung cancer. Smoking is one of the top risk factors for lung cancer and he's been smoking heavily for 20 years.

Premise 1:   Smoking increases the risk of lung cancer.
Premise 2:   John has smoked heavily for 20 years.
Conclusion:   Therefore, John is at a higher risk for lung cancer.