Critical Thinking:

Basic Concepts: statements “claims”, issues, premises, conclusion.

Week 3.1
Shara Kamil Nizamaddin
HDip, MSc, PhD
Molecular Genetics and Diagnostics
[email protected] 1
To be a good thinker you have
to understand arguments

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 Argument!
Where is that in critical thinking?

• The fundamental tool of the critical thinker is the Argument

• In critical reasoning, we are usually asked a question which is

answered by arguments, which are both in the form of yes and no

followed by an explanation.

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The Learning Objectives of this lecture:

• To introduce to basic concepts in critical thinking and arguments:

(statements “claims”, issues, premises, conclusion)

• To learn about the necessary components of an argument

• Ability to identify arguments and non arguments

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 What is an argument?
It’s a reasoned attempt to convince the audience to accept a particular point of
view about a debatable topic

Convince you that something is true

Trying to make you believe by giving

facts or opinion 5
 What is an argument?
• The facts, opinion, belief, etc., which they were trying to convince you

is true, are all examples of a claim.

• Critical Thinking is:

“The careful application of reason in the

determination of whether a claim is true”

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 What is an argument?

• Good judgments and decision

• Carl Jung (Psychiatrist)

Judgments/decision

Feeling Function Thinking Function

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Personality Typology: the way looking at human personality
 What is an argument?
Critical thinking Basics
Basic Concepts:
Claims, Issues, Arguments

• Claims:
Any statement of fact, belief, opinion,…

ØYou should wear warm cloths today

ØYou should improve your critical thinking skills
Ø You should become a doctor

All claims are saying something about the world

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 What is an argument?
Critical thinking Basics
Basic Concepts:
Claims, Issues, Arguments

• Issue:
A question that meant to be answered. A question regarding the validity of a claim

ØClaim: You should wear warm cloths today issue: do you need to wear warm cloth today?
ØYou should improve your critical thinking skills
Ø You should become a doctor

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Q/ Determine whether the following
sentences are claim? If yes, state the issues

• Erbil is a bigger city than Sulaimani

• The weather in Piramagron mountain is cooler than Goizha
• Do you like watching movies?
• How did you spend your weekend?
• You will be very happy if you own a fancy car.

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 What is an argument?
Critical thinking Basics
Basic Concepts:
Claims, Issues, Arguments

• What is an argument

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 Does an argument mean arguing?

X
• Arguments fight pic
Not a conflict

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 What is an argument?
Basic Concepts:
Claims, Issues, Arguments

• Argument:
A set of statements/claims providing reasons for believing that a claim is
true
e.g. The weather in Piramagron mountain is cooler than in Goizha
What is the proof? Snow stay on top of Piramagron until late spring

All arguments have two components:

- Premise: the reason for believing a claim is true. (support the main claim)
- Conclusion: the answer to the issue. (main claim we try to prove)
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 Be aware!

Conclusion is NOT summary

Its not like what do you do in examination when professor ask that your
answer should include conclusion paragraph

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Pause the video and answer these questions
Q/ Is there an argument? If yes, what is the conclusion?
1. Ary would like to help out, but he wont be in Sulaimani. We need to find
someone else who owns a car.
ØIt is an argument
ØConclusion: We need to find someone else who owns a car.

1. During digestion, your pancreas makes pancreatic juices called enzymes.

These enzymes break down sugars, fats, and starches. Your pancreas also
helps your digestive system by making hormones.
ØNo, it is not an arguments. It explain how pancrease work during digetstion

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 Why it is important to determine if there is an
argument?
1. To better evaluate the reasoning behind a belief- Should I believe it?
2. Avoid persuasion through rhetoric

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 Do you still having difficulty with identifying
arguments?
• Especially in a casual talk with a friend

Where to go to eat?

• There might be more than one way to identify an argument!

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Argument in critical thinking

1. Identifying Arguments
1.1 Standard Form
1.2 Indicator Words
1.3 Non-Arguments

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 1. Identifying Arguments
• A set of statements (claims), one of which is the conclusion and the others are the

premises.

• There are three important things to remember here:

1. Arguments contain more than one statement.
2. They have a conclusion. (What is the main point of the passage? >>> conclusion
3. They have at least one premise (Are there any reasons giving to support this
conclusion? >>> premise )
• If there is no reason stating to support a conclusion, then no argument being made

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Statements?

• Are declarative sentences, claims.

ØThe weather in Piramagron mountain is cooler than Goizha

ØDo you like watching movies?

• Are, unlike questions or commands, have a truth value.

• When the world is the way that the statement says that it is, we say
that the statement is true. If the statement is not true, it is false.

• Are assert that the world is a particular way; questions do not.

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1.1 Standard Form
• To make the argument easier to evaluate, we will put it into what is called
“standard form.”

• How to put an argument in standard form?

Øwrite each premise on a separate, numbered line.
ØDraw a line underneath the last premise
Ø then write the conclusion underneath the line.
E.g Biology II will be no harder than Biology I. Susan did well in Biology I, so
Susan should do well in Biology II.
• Biology II will be no harder than Biology I.
• Susan did well in Biology I.
• Susan should do well in Biology II.

• Now that we have the argument in standard form, we can talk about premise 1,
premise 2, and all clearly be referring to the same thing.
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1.2 Indicator Words

• Unfortunately, when people present arguments, they rarely put

them in standard form.
• So, we have to decide which statement is intended to be the
conclusion, and which are the premises.
• Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the conclusion comes at
the end. The conclusion is often at the beginning of the passage,
but could even be in the middle.
• A better way to identify premises and conclusions is to look for
indicator words.

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• Indicator words are like guidelines, they are words that signal that
statement, following the indicator is a premise or conclusion.

lists the indicator words you might encounter.

Conclusion Premise
Therefore Since
So Because
Thus For
Hence Is implied by
Consequently For the reason that
Implies that
It follows that

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• Each argument will likely use only one indicator word or phrase. When the
conclusion is at the end, it will generally be preceded by a conclusion indicator.
Everything else, then, is a premise.

• When the conclusion comes at the beginning, the next sentence will usually be
introduced by a premise indicator. All of the following sentences will also be
premises.

• For example, here’s our previous argument rewritten to use a premise indicator:
Susan should do well in Biology II, because Biology II will be no harder than
Biology I, and Susan did well in Biology I.

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An argument may contain no indicator words at all!! Bad form

-unstated premises: Sometimes the person making the argument assumes

you know certain fact
• Sometimes, an argument will contain no indicator words at all. In that case, the
best thing to do is to determine which of the premises would logically follow from
the others. If there is one, then it is the conclusion. Here is an example:

e.g. Spot is a mammal. All dogs are mammals, and Spot is a dog.

• The first sentence logically follows from the others, so it is the conclusion.

• When using this method, we are forced to assume that the person giving the
argument is rational and logical, which might not be true.
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Q/Identify the conclusion.
ØExample 1: The FDA should stop all cigarette sales immediately. After all, cigarette
smoking is the leading preventable cause of death.
Solution: The FDA should stop all cigarette sales immediately. In this example the
conclusion is a recommendation given by the author. (Indicator word)

ØExample 2: If it is raining, then the sidewalks are wet. Its raining.

Solution: Its raining. It is clear from the given facts that this is the conclusion. (which
of the premises would logically follow from the others. If there is one, then it is the
conclusion)
ØExample 3: Now human law is framed for a multitude of human beings. The majority
of human beings are not perfect in virtue. Therefore human laws do not forbid all
vices.
Solution: Human laws do not forbid all vices. (Indicator word: therefore)

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1.3 Non-Arguments
• One thing that complicates our task of identifying arguments is that
there are many passages that, although they look like arguments, are
not arguments. The most common types are:

I. Explanations (Qazy Mohammed, died because he was executed)

II. Mere assertions (Teacher: you are not getting 90% in this course)
III. Conditional statements (If you have the winning lottery ticket, then you
will win ten million dollars)
IV. Loosely connected statements (Description) (I woke up this morning, then
I had breakfast, I worked on the critical thinking lecture)

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 Summary
1. An argument is a set of statements; one is the conclusion, the rest are
premises.
2. The conclusion is the statement that the argument is trying to prove.
3. The premises are the reasons offered for believing the conclusion to be
true.
4. Explanations, conditional sentences, and mere assertions are not
arguments.

Thank You
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