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*   for WEDNESDAY: READ Chapter 2 - Recognizing Arguments
*******************

*   projected quote from Isaac Asimov:
    "Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way
    through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion
    that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your
    knowledge."

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ARCH-VILLAINS!
Some of the most common barriers to critical thinking:
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*   lack of relevant background information
*   poor reading/writing skills
*   bias
*   prejudice
*   superstition 
*   egocentrism (self-centered thinking)
*   sociocentrism (group-centered thinking)
*   peer pressure
*   conformism
*   provincialism
*   narrow-mindedness
*   closed-mindedness
*   distrust in reason
*   relativistic thinking
*   stereotyping
*   unwarranted assumptions
*   scapegoating
*   rationalization
*   denial
*   wishful thinking
*   short-term thinking
*   selective perception
*   selective memory
*   overpowering emotions
*   self-deception
*   face-saving 
*   fear of change/desire to maintain the status quo

*   the text goes into detail about just a few groupings of the above,
    calling them ESPECIALLY powerful in HINDERING critical thinking:

    *   egocentrism - "the tendency to see reality as centered on oneself"
        *   two common ways in which this shows up:
            *   self-centered thinking - accepting and defending beliefs
                based on one's own interests

            *   superiority bias - the tendency to overrate oneself,
	        to see oneself as better in some respect than one
                actually is

    *   sociocentrism - "group-centered thinking"
        *   appeals to the interest of one's "group"
        *   two of many ways that this can distort critical thinking:
            *   group bias - the tendency to see one's own group
	        as inherently better than others

            *   conformism - refers to our tendency to follow the "crowd" --
                to conform (often unthinkingly) to authority or
		group standards of some sort
                *   consider the Asch experiment (described in Ch. 1)

                *   also consider the (more problematic) Milgram
		    experiment (also described in Chapter 1)
                    *   NOTE that this experiment IS now widely
		        considered to be flawed;

                    *   because Dr. Milgram did not follow standard
		        protocols, and results may have been skewed
			by personal bias

                    *   and, such studies are no longer conducted
		        due to rules over using human subjects
                        (some of the Milgram subjects were greatly
			traumatized by the original experiment)

    *   unwarranted assumptions and stereotypes -
        *   assumption - something we take for granted, something
	    we believe to be true without any proof or conclusive
	    evidence
            *   BUT not all assumptions are created equal;
                *   warranted - we have a good reason to hold them
                *   unwarranted - we don't have a good reason

        *   stereotype - forming an opinion on an individual based
            not on their individual qualities but by their membership in
	    some group
 
...on Wednesday:
   *   little bit more on "arch-villains" to critical thinking, 
   *   then I hope we'll start our discussion of 
       Chapter 2 - Recognizing Arguments