2016 by Pearson Education Inc Chapter 12 Comparative

© 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter 12 Comparative Reasoning THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Learning Outcomes • Explain comparative reasoning and how it impacts our understanding of novel situations • Apply correctly the five criteria for the evaluation of comparative reasoning • Describe the uses, benefits, and risks of comparative reasoning THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter Opening Video THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

This is Like That—Recognizing Comparative Reasoning • Our minds crave patterns • Comparative, ideological, and empirical inferences • Gardens of comparatives • Powerful comparisons connect intellect and emotion THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Our Minds Crave Patterns • Pattern recognition was inherited as the human species evolved • People crave patterns and impose them on natural phenomena • Pattern recognition is fundamental to human learning THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Our Minds Crave Patterns • Comparative reasoning – Projecting the familiar on to the unfamiliar as a way of seeking understanding – Involves potential risks and problems THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Comparative, Ideological, and Empirical Inferences • Comparative reasoning – Enables one to make interpretations, draw inferences, or offer explanations • Ideological reasoning – Top-down from core beliefs • Empirical reasoning – Bottom-up from observations to generalizations THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Breaking Down Comparative Reasoning THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Gardens of Comparatives • People cultivate a variety of ways to express comparative reasoning • Comparisons shape judgments of what to believe or do • Comparative reasoning relies on images, comparisons, parables, allegories, fables, models, metaphors, and similes THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Gardens of Comparatives • Comparative reasoning is used to: – Illustrate ideas – Offer interpretations – Make arguments – Give reasons – Explain our thinking – Simplify concepts THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Powerful Comparisons Connect Intellect and Emotion • Comparisons communicate at both emotional and intellectual level – Can dispose one’s opinion for or against people, and points of view even before one engages in System-2 reflective judgment THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Discussion Question • Provide a powerful example of comparative reasoning – The example should connect intellect and emotion, and complete the sentence “Being a college student is like …” THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Evaluating Comparative Inferences • Four tests of acceptability • Five criteria for evaluating comparative reasoning THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Four Tests of Acceptability • First test – Are the premises all true? • Second test – Are there counterexamples and how difficult is it to imagine them? THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Four Tests of Acceptability • Third test – Are the premises relevant to the truth of the conclusion? • Fourth test – Does the truth of any premise depend on the truth of the conclusion? THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Five Criteria for Evaluating Comparative Reasoning • Familiarity – Degree of knowledge the listener has about the object to which the unknown is being compared – Successful comparisons direct listener’s attention to a more familiar object THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Five Criteria for Evaluating Comparative Reasoning • Simplicity: Measure of the relative complexity of the comparison • Comprehensiveness – A comparison is more comprehensive than the other based on the number of central or essential features it captures THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Five Criteria for Evaluating Comparative Reasoning • Productivity – Capacity to suggest ideas beyond those mentioned in the initial comparison • Testability – Capacity to project consequences that have potential to be shown to be false, inapplicable, or unacceptable THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Models and Metaphors Shape Expectations • Creative suggestions vs. solid proofs • Uses of comparative inferences THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Creative Suggestions Vs. Solid Proofs • Comparative inferences are used to: – Explore assumptions – Shape expectations about new situations • Creative comparisons are suggestive of new ideas – Comparative inferences are inadequate to serve as proofs of ideas THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Uses of Comparative Inferences • Comparative reasoning is used in: – Legal argumentation – Discussions of ethics • Built into the language one speaks • Help suggest approaches to understand unfamiliar things THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Sketchnote Video THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS © 2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.