Phi210 all week discussions: Critical Thinking in the Workplace

Phi210 all week discussions: Critical Thinking in the Workplace

Subject: General Questions    / General General Questions
Question

Week 1 discussion

“Critical Thinking in the Workplace” Please respond to the following:

The video clip “Thinking on the Job” in the Webtext this week illustrates the importance of critical thinking, especially in work contexts. Define the concept of critical thinking in your own words. Discuss a time in either your work or personal life in which you needed to be able to use critical thinking to either solve a problem or acquire a skill.

Determine the manner in which you would show a potential employer that you possess solid critical thinking skills. Give your opinion on whether or not you believe that individuals can increase their critical thinking skills. If you believe that they can, explain certain steps that individuals can take to improve this skill.

Week 2 discussion

“Understanding Barriers to Our Own Thinking” Please respond to the following:

From the www.procon.org Website, select one (1) topic of your choice and read the Pro section and the Con section on the selected topic. Next, choose three (3) reasons listed under the Pro section and three (3) reasons listed under the Con section. Based on the biases discussed in Chapter 2 and the reasons presented at the Procon.org website:

State your position on the selected topic. Determine the biases you experienced as you examined the reasons for and against your position.

Describe your reaction to your experience of these biases.

Week 3 discussion

“Understanding and Analyzing Arguments” Please respond to the following:

Use the Internet to search an example of an enthymeme in the media (e.g., Internet, television, radio, newspapers, etc.). Next, explain the example you searched and identify the implied premise in the enthymeme example.

Week 4 discussion

“Fallacies and Errors in Sound Reasoning” Please respond to the following:

Use the Internet to locate at least two (2) advertisements that exhibit any of the following fallacies: equivocation, false authority, ad hominem, appeal to ignorance, or bandwagon. Post the videos in the discussion. Next, identify the fallacy used in the selected advertisements, discuss the primary reasons why you believe that the advertisers have used the fallacy in question, and examine whether or not their use of this type of fallacy is effective.

From part 1 of this discussion, consider alternate strategies that the advertisers could have used in order to develop a more sound and persuasive argument. Explain the main reasons why you believe consumers ignore these errors in reasoning.

Week 5 discussion

“Identifying Misleading Information in an Argument” Please respond to the following:

Consider the following argument: There are many arguments for the elimination or modification of current U. S. drug laws, but one of the most persuasive involves what negative effects drug laws are having on society in comparison with the effects of the drugs themselves. In the past ten years, most forms of drug use have dropped significantly, especially among teens. Despite this, non-violent drug offenders accounted for 21.1 percent of the federal prison population. First time drug offenders serve, on average, a sentence three months longer than kidnappers, nine months longer than burglars, and thirty-three months longer than sex abusers. In 1992, the average cost of keeping an inmate in either state or federal prison was about $20,000 per prisoner per year. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with 455 prisoners per 100,000 population. It is maintaining these prisoners at great expense in an environment where they are unlikely to develop a socially constructive attitude. Perhaps it is time that we reconsider our attitudes toward those who choose to use drugs; failure to do so may cost society even more than it already has.

Determine whether or not the argument uses any deceptive statistics. Give your opinion on whether or not the argument has persuaded you. Explain why or why not.

Determine the primary ways in which statistics or authority are used in your current position in developing persuasive arguments, and provide examples of such use.

Week 6 discussion

“Identifying Truth or Fiction” Please respond to the following:

The video clip ‘The Baloney Detection Kit’ in the Webtext this week discusses the many ways in which an effective critical thinker assesses the claims made by others. Explain what you believe is the real difference between ‘science’ and ‘pseudoscience’.

Examine the key reasons why so many people might seem to be attracted to more pseudoscience-type claims. Describe at least two (2) such claims that you have heard people make, and analyze the main reasons why such claims do or do not meet rigorous scientific methodology standards. Determine at least two (2) ways in which the material discussed this week has changed your own thinking.

Week 7 discussion

Problem Solving Interview Question” Please respond to the following:

Respond to this typical interview question: Explain a specific example in which you utilized problem solving strategies to resolve a problem in the real world.

Provide your feedback from the perspective of an interview coach to at least three (3) of your classmates.

Week 8 discussion

“The Relationship Between Language and Thinking” Please respond to the following:

Consider the following quote by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who believed that thought without language was impossible: “The limits of my language are the limits of my life.” For more information on Wittgenstein and his analysis on the primacy of language, watch the video “Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951) The Limits of Language”, located at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgW_PFl-Xs4. Next, examine whether or not it is possible to think without using language. If you believe it is possible, describe the primary ways in which a person might enact so-called “languageless” thinking. If you believe it is not possible, describe what you foresee as major problems with languageless thinking.

Week 9 discussion

“Ethics and Trust in Critical Thinking Decisions” Please respond to the following:

Imagine you are seeking information on a new car that you are thinking of buying. Determine the level of trust that you would place in information provided by the following: a salesman at the car lot, the dealer’s Website, social media (i.e. Facebook), an associate from work, and finally a close friend. Discuss the key factors involved in assessing the amount of trust that you put into each.

If you were in a position to persuade another person, explain whether or not you would slant information in such a way as to make your point seem more credible if you sincerely believed that your position was correct. Discuss the primary ethical dilemmas that this scenario could cause for both you and the person whom you are trying to persuade.

Week 10 discussion

“The Value of Critical Thinking” Please respond to the following:

Give your opinion on whether being an effective critical thinker makes decision making easier or more challenging. Justify your response.

Consider the following statement: “The major difference between a successful person and one that is not successful is that the successful person, over time, tends to make better decisions than the less successful person.” Discuss whether or not you believe this statement to be true. Explain the fundamental ways in which effectively applying critical thinking concepts has helped you to become more successful.

Week 11 discussion

“Reflection” Please respond to the following:

Reflect on what you have learned in this class. Describe the significant ways in which you would be able to utilize critical thinking in your personal and professional life.

Discuss at least two (2) key concepts that you felt were most impactful to you this term and the manner in which you might use these concepts in the future.