Reasoning

=Critical Thinking stirs up thinking about current practices that are widely accepted and rarely questioned.= Source: Taylor (1999)


 * Deducing** is concerned with whether something follows necessarily from something else while **Inducing** is inductive inference which includes generalizing and inferring to hypothesis that are supposed to explain the facts.

The preceding two definitions are confusing and need clarification. **Deducing** means “making a specific prediction based on a general principle believed to be true”. **Inducing** means “forming a general theory of explanation based on specific observations that have been made previously”.(See Graphic 4)


 * Background knowledge**is absolutely essential for critical thinking. You cannot expect someone who is ignorant to make a best explanation inference.

In a **best explanation inference** the conclusion must explain the facts and must be consistent with any facts. There must be no plausible alternative explanations and the conclusion should be plausible.

Reasoning
Source: Taylor (1999) Most arguments make both an internal and external claim. In the internal claim, premises connect with the conclusion - “Given the premise, the conclusion must be true” or “If the premises are true, the conclusion cannot be false.” In the external claim, premises are consistent with fact -“Are all premises true? Have I overlooked any critical details?”

Arguments in which the internal claim is correct are said to be valid and incorrect internal claims are invalid. A sound argument is a valid argument (the internal assessment) with true premises (the external assessment). An unsound argument is a valid argument with one or more false premises. Unsound or invalid arguments could have true conclusions (but this would be luck!).).

Good Reasoning

 * Comes from fact (established truth)
 * Premises are independent of the conclusion (from reasons to conclusion)
 * Premises and arguments relevant (conclusion must depend on premises)
 * Premises adequately support their conclusion (conclusions exactly reflect strength of their premise)
 * Premises are more accessible than the conclusion (the premises unfold the unknown, unclear etc. So much of the argument amounts to explanation)
 * Goes somewhere (otherwise evasive, rambling)
 * Is open (greater probability of the truth emerging)

Establishing Causality
 * Associated pages**