Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: How to Think Straight: An Introduction to Critical Reasoning by Antony Flew ISBN: 1-57392-239-0 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.88 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Title is Accurate
Comment: I read this book at a time when I was having difficulty thinking straight--or just thinking, period. I managed to force myself to concentrate. I realize it's not everyday, Readers Digest prose, so I don't expect it to be a mega-bestseller. But, for me, it turned out to be just what I needed: a self-help book that isn't even advertised as such. And unlike typical self-help books, this one actually works--for me, anyway.
Rating: 4
Summary: The book really isn't that difficult
Comment: I am surprised at many of the reviews of this book. If the reviewer isn't attacking Flew's political positions, then she's complaining that the book is too difficult. First, Flew's politics are a small part of the book. I feel that he uses well chosen examples to get the reader to engage in critical thinking, especially about positions one is tempted to dismiss out of hand because they don't pass the ideological litmus test.
The purpose of this book is to get the reader to develop a habit of critical thinking; the examples Flew uses serve that purpose well.
The book is not difficult to read for anyone with a moderately decent education. I am currently a sophomore at the University of Florida, and found little trouble with Flew's writing. A few times it did seem that Flew's point was unclear, but I rarely felt this way and the point in question was usually minor. Also, rereading the relevant passage always cleared it up.
His discussion of the relationship between a person's integrity and that person's desire for the truth is well written. His use of historical examples from various thinkers and disciplines helps to bring out the importance of applying critical thinking to all areas of discourse. Flew also discusses very basic but important logical points, both formal and informal.
The difficulty people seem to experience with this book may arise from the fact that Flew appears to take for granted that people know what he's talking about. He appears to move from point to point quickly, and often uses prior developed points in later areas of the book. If the reader finds following him difficult, then any basic introduction to informal logic will make this books easier and more enjoyable.
I was scared away from Flew's book by reading the reviews on this site claiming it was confusing and difficult. I finally decided to try it and found that it really is not as bad as the people here make it out to be.
Rating: 1
Summary: Cracked Mask for Petty Politics
Comment: As an introduction to critical thinking, this is not difficult reading. It is simply obfuscating, in the full parody of that word, itself obfuscating.
This is a cracked-mask political treatise. I don't have a problem with politics in the context of critical thinking. WE would love to have that! I do have a problem with the sneak attack in numerous examples from what seem to be from today's conservative Right, e.g. baiting with a gratuitous reference to Robert E. Lee. -- "If we ourselves are committed to an exterme position then we are apt to assume or to pretend - to borrow the phrase from General Robert E. Lee employed to refer to his opponents in the Union armies during the American Civil War - that "those people", our opponents, also are."
Now, do you seriously consider the quote "those people" as distinctly representative of Robert E. Lee.We may as well be happy to borrow that distinct use of the famous phrase "the country" in most of the President's addresses.
Flew also recurs to piecemeal science to support his interests. Here's an example: Flew's attempt to show the "possibility of corruptions resulting from the private interests of employees of public and semi-public organizations".
He follows with: "Employees of agencies established to combat perceived evils, for instance, cannot but have strong job-preservation interests in the continuation of at least sufficient of those evils to justify the preservation of the agency which employs them... it becomes necessary, just to maintain present levels of employment and funding"
This is the context for his criticism of The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission in the United States. Well, of course, he has identified a valid incentive and possibility for doing the unthinkable -- manufacturing cases -- but he does not make his case for critical thinking here. He seems to be saying that creating EEOC problems is THE necessary and sufficient condition for job security. This is an inordinately weak conjecture for a book with claims on critical thinking -- too many variables to consider. (See Thomas Sowell's Knowledge and Decisions for discussion on incentives and constraints). Yes, you can deal with the conjecture, technically, but it is more of a political generalization than a relevant example.
For a real treatment on critical thinking, go to one of the people he patronizes in appropriate but merely asymptotic references: Karl Popper. Further, go to Richard Feynman (The Pleasure of Finding Things Out). Or, for a rigorous but joyful critical thinking ride go to Imre Lakatos (The Logic of Mathematical Discovery). These would be a better intro.
 |
Title: A Rulebook for Arguments by Anthony Weston ISBN: 0872205525 Publisher: Hackett Publishing Co. Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
 |
Title: Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Moral Issues by Stephen Satris, Clemson University ISBN: 0072845112 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin Pub. Date: 19 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.60 |
 |
Title: The Art of Deception: An Introduction to Critical Thinking: How to: Win an Argument, Defend a Case, Recognize a Fallacy, See Through a Deception, by Nicholas Capaldi ISBN: 0879754249 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: December, 1987 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
 |
Title: Clear Thinking: A Practical Introduction by Hy Ruchlis, Hyman Ruchlis, Sandra Cddo ISBN: 0879755946 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: September, 1990 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
 |
Title: Critical Thinking by Alec Fisher ISBN: 0521009847 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
