Skilful Thinking An Introduction to Philosophical Skills Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Skilful Thinking An Introduction to Philosophical Skills GJ Rossouw (Ed.) HPP Lötter P Serfontein J Snyman PJJ van Veuren Translation by Craig MacKenzie HSRC Publishers Pretoria 1994 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za © The Authors, 1994 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 0-7969-1592-X First edition 1994 Electronic data capture: Mari Nel Cover design: Ronell Lareman Published by: HSRC Publishers 134 Pretorius Street PRETORIA 0002 Printed by: HSRC Printers Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Contents Page Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Attitude and virtues for skilful thinking 4 GJ Rossouw 1. Basic attitude towards thinking 4 2. Virtues for skilful thinking 6 2.1 Intellectual tolerance 6 2.2 Intellectual fairness 7 2.3 Honesty about your prejudices 7 2.4 Willingness to analyse 8 2.5 Willingness to systematise 9 2.6 Willingness to experiment 10 2.7 Intellectual perseverance 10 3. Summary 11 Chapter 2 Concepts, meaning and definition 12 GJ Rossouw 1. Problems caused by concepts 12 1.1 Ambiguity 13 1.2 Vagueness 13 1.3 Unfamiliarity 14 1.4 Emotive words 15 2. Guidelines for dealing with problems of meaning 16 2.1 Ambiguity and vagueness 16 2.2 Unfamiliarity 21 2.3 Emotive words 23 3. Conclusion 24 Chapter 3 Reading, understanding and judging philosophical texts 25 HPP Lötter 1. Where does one begin? 26 2. Historical circumstances 26 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za 3. Sentences and paragraphs 27 4. Central problem or question 28 5. Conclusions 29 6. Analysis of arguments 31 7. Reasons (premisses) 32 8. Tracing of assumptions 33 9. With whom is the debate? 35 10. Critical reading of a text 36 11. The text in relation to other texts 37 12. Creative reading 38 Chapter 4 Reading reconstructively 41 PJJ van Veuren 1. Philosophical texts 41 2. How does one read philosophical texts? 41 3. Philosophical genres 43 4. Guidelines for the reading of philosophical texts 46 4.1 Indications in the text itself 46 5. Reconstructive reading demonstrated by an example 49 5.1 What are the subject and the main thesis? 51 5.2 How does the argument unfold? 52 5.3 The argumentative cohesion of Russell’s essay 57 5.4 Is the argumentation in the essay acceptable? 58 6. Concluding remarks 61 Chapter 5 Fallacious arguments 63 PJJ van Veuren 1. Fallacies of irrelevance 64 1.1 Appeal to authority 65 1.2 The straw man fallacy 66 1.3 The genetic fallacy 67 1.4 The fallacy of ambiguity 69 2. Fallacies of insufficient evidence 70 2.1 The fallacy of hasty generalisation 70 3. Analogical arguments and the fallacy of weak analogy 72 4. Conclusion 76 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Chapter 6 The research process 77 HPP Lötter 1. Research 77 2. Steps in the research process 78 2.1 Find out what you must do 78 2.2 Designing a research project 80 3. Style? 80 4. Bibliography and sources 81 5. Scheme of presentation 82 5.1 Gathering of data 82 5.2 Interpret, organise, structure and write 84 6. Conclusion 85 Chapter 7 The bibliographic search 86 P Serfontein 1. The search 87 2. How to use the Philosopher’s Index 89 Chapter 8 Bibliography and source references 90 P Serfontein 1. The alphabetical source list 90 2. Source references within the text 93 3. The use of foot- and endnotes 95 Chapter 9 The writing of a philosophy essay 96 JJ Snyman 1. Preparatory work 96 1.1 Questions about the assignment 97 1.2 A first sketch of the end-product 97 1.3 The big question 99 1.4 The provisional scheme 100 1.5 The first draft 100 2. The making of the end-product 100 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za 2.1 Introduction 101 2.2 Body 102 2.3 Conclusion 102 3. The end-product 103 Chapter 10 Types of essays in philosophy 106 JJ Snyman 1. Paraphrasing and summarising 106 2. Reconstruction of an argument/problem 107 3. Argue/reason 108 4. Interpretative representation 110 5. Two general problems 111 5.1 The issue of a personal opinion 111 5.2 The subjective judgement of the lecturer 112 Chapter 11 Study management 114 HPP Lötter 1. Introduction 114 2. Gathering of information 115 3. Planning 116 4. Carrying out a programme 117 5. Conclusion 119 Chapter 12 Time management 120 GJ Rossouw 1. Five big consumers of time 120 1.1 Postponing 120 1.2 Tolerating too many interruptions 121 1.3 Doing petty tasks while the big task is left undone 121 1.4 Working without a plan 122 1.5 Saying “yes” too easily 122 2. Good utilisation of time 123 2.1 On which things am I wasting my time? 123 2.2 In what should I invest my time? 124 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za 2.3 How can I utilise my time better? 125 3. Conclusion 128 Chapter 13 Writing a test and taking exams in Philosophy 12 Snyman 1. Preparation for the test and the examination 129 2. The “class test” 129 3. The real philosophy test and examination 130 4. Answering a philosophy question paper 133 Recommended reading 138 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za [...]... sound thinking is important Thus we end where we began Before a basic conviction exists that sophisticated thinking is important, there will be little motivation to nurture the seven thinking virtues that are described above These virtues of thinking in turn form the basis for the mastery of those thinking techniques and strategies that are necessary for the development of critical and creative thinking. .. acquisition of thinking skills can only begin when someone can answer the following question positively and in a motivated fashion: “Are thinking skills important?” When this first stumbling-block in the way of the mastery of thinking skills is overcome, further attention should be given to those virtues or character traits that are indispensable for any sophisticated thinker 2 VIRTUES FOR SKILFUL THINKING. .. at your disposal 3 1 Attitude and virtues for skilful thinking GJ Rossouw Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za The misconception exists that the mastering of certain thinking techniques and thinking strategies is all that one needs in order to think critically and creatively It is unfortunately not so simple To begin with, a certain attitude towards thinking is necessary and, secondly, one must also... and, secondly, one must also possess certain virtues or traits of mind This basic attitude towards thinking, as well as the virtues required to allow critical and creative thinking to develop, will be described in this chapter 1 BASIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS THINKING The starting point for the development of thinking skills is surely the conviction that it is important to be able to think well and in a sophisticated... and creative thinking Indeed, this kind of thinking demands the opposite It requires that you work through texts and arguments systematically – and sometimes slowly and tiresomely Most of all it requires that you go back in your tracks and test your understanding and assessment of an argument for a second or third time Sound thinking requires self-discipline and perseverance Sophisticated thinking and... calculated thinking strategy Sophisticated thinking, therefore, helps one get a grip on the present-day mass of information and in so doing, makes it manageable and useful The above reasons (and certainly also a number of other reasons that you can add) should be enough to bring one to an awareness of the importance of sophisticated thinking, as well as to a readiness to learn relevant thinking skills... better decisions and will therefore experience more security and progress when our decisions are based on sound thinking This commitment to sound, rational thinking is indeed also the cornerstone upon which the entire edifice of modern science is built The abundance of information demands sound thinking A characteristic of the present era is that we are confronted with more information than we can handle... greatest demands on the person of the nineties Skilful Thinking has been specifically designed to guide people who have to deal with philosophical texts, or texts in which arguments are employed, to access, manage and present information and arguments For this reason, attention is given chiefly to three skills * Firstly, the emphasis falls on certain thinking skills that the reader or writer of such... is a useful introduction to thinking and writing skills for those who in their studying or working deal with argumentative texts The skills that will be mastered, therefore, are skills which are highly prized in most professions A publication of the American Philosophical Association shows that the mastering of the kinds of skills which are dealt with in a book like Skilful Thinking puts one in a position... prepared to take the trouble to acquire the virtues, techniques and strategies that are necessary to allow critical and creative thinking to develop There are various good reasons to support the conviction that thinking skills are important Consider, for example, the following: Sound thinking can reduce errors When you reflect carefully and thoroughly on an issue, you reduce the chance of making errors both . 1 Attitude and virtues for skilful thinking 4 GJ Rossouw 1. Basic attitude towards thinking 4 2. Virtues for skilful thinking 6 2.1 Intellectual. and virtues for skilful thinking GJ Rossouw The misconception exists that the mastering of certain thinking techniques and thinking strategies