Critical and Analytical Thinking Skills

• Priori is the knowledge that is known beforehand, not derived from experience.
• Posteriori is the knowledge that is gained only after an experience has already occurred.
• The truth lies at the heart of any inquiry. It is a fact that has been verified.
• Knowledge is simple data that comes from the outside and passes to our senses.
• Knowledge must be truthful to gain validity and acceptance.
• There are five theories of truth: Correspondence Theory, Coherence Theory, Pragmatic Theory, Constructivist Theory, and Consensus Theory.
• Correspondence Theory states that a statement is true if there is a correspondence of it to an object in reality.
• Coherence Theory states that a statement is true if it is coherent or complementary to other's beliefs
• Pragmatic Theory states that a statement is true if it benefits our perspective.
• Constructivist Theory suggests that a statement is true if it is a social norm.
• Consensus Theory states that a statement is true if there is an agreement that the statement is true.
• Philosophers consider truth as a kind of quality or value.
• Propositions are statements about the world or reality which may or may not carry the truth.
• Propositions that are observed to be real or truthful are considered facts.
• Knowledge is what we know, a proposition is what we say we know. And since propositions are unverified in nature, we can consider them as claims.
• Claims are propositions that are further examined if they are true or false.
• Opinions are comprised of statements which not only give facts but also provide conclusion or perspectives regarding certain situations.
• Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument.
• Ad Hominem is an argument that attacks the person instead of the argument.
• Ad Baculum is an argument that threatens or forces an undesirable event to advance an argument.
• Ad Misericordiam is an argument that uses emotion such as pity and sympathy to advance an argument.
• Ad Populum is an argument that presents an idea as acceptable because a lot of people accept it.
• Ad Antiquitatem is an argument that presents an idea as acceptable because it has been true for a long time.
• Ad Verecundiam misuses authority in an argument.
• Dicto Simpliciter is an argument based on an unqualified generalization.
• Fallacy of Composition is an argument that assumes that a part of the truth is true for the whole.
• Fallacy of Division is an argument that assumes the whole truth is true for its parts.
• Hasty Generalization is the tendency to generalize immediately where little evidence supports such a conclusion.
• Petitio Principii (Begging the Question) assumes that the thing or idea is proven true.
• Petitio Principii is also known as circular reasoning.
• Red Herring is a redirection of an argument from one topic to another to make the arguer respond better.
• Biases are tendencies to prefer one thing over the other.
• Biases also affect our way of thinking about a certain situation.
• Correspondence bias is the tendency to judge a person's personality on their actions without regard for external factors or situations.
• Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for and accept information that accepts one's beliefs and rejects others'.
• Conflict of Interest is where a person or group is connected to, or has a vested interest in the issue.
• Cultural bias analyzes an event based on one's cultural standards.
• Framing focuses on a certain aspect of a topic and ignores other aspects.
• Hindsight generalizes the certainty of an event after the event has happened