Lakewood the Thinking City
The thought process that lies behind a judgment or decision is made up of distinct thoughts, with definite relationships among them.
A statement or judgment has implications. (“What-if:” counterexamples; hypotheticals)
A statement or judgment is adopted for a reason (“Why?”)
And following from these last two ideas, the notion of an argument (premises
plus conclusion).
In deciding between statements or judgments in conflict, there are points (issues) that must be decided along the way.
Distinctions/definitions – making yourself clear.
The distinction between the truth of a statement or judgment, and the validity of an argument (relation between premises and conclusion).
Teaching the reasoning process can, and perhaps should, begin by introducing these ideas into the students’ ways of thinking, before the more formal or specific topics are introduced.
Reasoning well consists largely or wholly in making certain logical moves in line with those aspects of the reasoning process outlined. Doing this is not merely a matter of understanding the concepts or being able to go through a process (e.g. asking a question). It is primarily a matter of sensitivity – of “seeing as” – i.e. seeing a controversy as a set of arguments, of statements with implications, of issues to be defined, etc., as well as the disposition to make the appropriate logical moves.
-- G.B.