Tài liệu Skilful Thinking ppt

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

1

Introduction

GJ Rossouw

Almost from the start the decade of the nineties became

known as the “information decade”, indicating that the

greatest challenge facing humanity is the manipulation and

management of information. There is the growing awareness

that the mass of information known to humanity at this stage

only has value once it has been selected in an accessible way

and is then well managed. Furthermore, it has also been

realised that the information that you yourself want to

disseminate must not only be sound in content, but must also

be neatly packaged, clear and user-friendly. If this is not so,

your information has only a limited chance to make an

impression on the already saturated information-market. The

management of information has thus become one of the

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 texts should develop. These

include skills like formulating arguments clearly and

unambiguously, thinking analytically and being able to

judge arguments and identify fallacies.

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za

2

* Secondly, a series of strategies are proposed for the

reading and writing of texts, for example, how to ensure

that a text is read in context, how to analyse and evaluate

a text, and also how to build and write an argumentative

text yourself.

* Skills alone are not enough. They must also be correctly

applied. Thirdly, therefore, the management skills that

must be available to a reader or writer of such texts are

looked at. In this respect attention is given to tracing and

accessing information, the demands of the research

process, the management of time and the preparation for

tests and examinations.

What makes Skilful Thinking a unique book is the

combination of the above-mentioned skills. It is particularly

user-friendly for the South African reader because it takes

the unique nature of our schools and universities into

account. It has been written on a level that is easily

accessible to a person who, after his or her schooling,

continues with a career or studies in which texts of a

philosophical or argumentative nature occur. More than

merely a theoretical introduction, this book can also be used

as a workbook in the teaching situation. This indeed is how

Skilful Thinking originated. It developed from an earlier

publication, namely, “Learn to Philosophise”. Incorporating

the needs and commentary of students and lecturers in

Philosophy, the book was revised and changed until it

reached its present form.

There are three categories of readers who will benefit from

this book. Firstly, it is a guide and workbook for students of

Philosophy in the mastery of those skills which are assumed

in that discipline. Secondly, it is an aid for lecturers in this

subject area to train students systematically in the mastery

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za

3

of the abovementioned skills. Thirdly, it 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 to do,

among other things, the following:

• It enables you to do research and gather and organize

information in a wide range of subject areas.

• It helps you to write clearly and effectively.

• It promotes both written and verbal communication.

• It leads to the generating of creative ideas.

• It helps with the formulation and solution of problems.

• It helps with the identification of hidden assumptions

and with the articulation of alternative perspectives on

an issue.

• It helps you to convince other people of the validity of

new or unknown ideas.

• It puts you in a position to sum up complex ideas

without oversimplification.

• It helps you to integrate and explain diverse data with

the assistance of useful analogies.

• It facilitates adjustment to unknown circumstances.

• Moreover, it also puts you in a position to convey to

others effectively and economically the knowledge at

your disposal.

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za

4

1 Attitude and virtues for

skilful thinking

GJ Rossouw

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 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 fashion. Only when you have this

conviction will you be 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 in your

argumentation and also in your actions. Errors that are

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za