Way of the Mind Forum

Per a few suggestions, I think I should do some more reading this summer on critical thinking, but I can only find textbooks, which are too expensive for me.

Does anybody have suggestion on objective books on logic and reasoning?

For me they need to be cheap and fairly light (I do a lot of traveling). Also, this is not an admission of being unable to think, I just don't know the proper vocabulary, which I would like to learn. I have done a lot of philosophy reading, but few explain how to think, just what to think. Please do not post atheist books, that is not what I am looking for (at least right now). They usually fall on the side of what, not how.

It would be helpful if you can link it Amazon or something.

Thank you.

Check out Wendy McElroy's The Reasonable Woman: A Guide to Intellectual Survival.

You can also check out http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/

While this does not explain critical thinking per se, it does list and explain many logical fallacies which can be a great practical benefit.

Also, since what we are speaking of is a form of informal logic, why not look into older text books? While they may be be used in college intro to logic classes anymore, the basic of sound reasoning has not changed. All of the changes are occuring on the leading edges of temproral logic, set theory, possible world semantics, and the like, none of which is covered by the intro texts.

http://logic.tamu.edu/Primer/
This is heavy on symbolic logic, but if you come to understand simply symbolic logic, you can easily see how the arguments offered work.

http://product.half.ebay.com/Good-Reason...1QQtgZinfo

I have not read this, but at .75 you can hardly go wrong..

http://product.half.ebay.com/Introductio...1QQtgZinfo

Same price, Copi is well respected.


BTW having read literally hundreds of philosophy books I would suggest that you misunderstood, else mislabeled the books you are saying are telling you what to think. Those which lean towards preaching are by definition not employing philosophical methodology.

A friend of mind suggested Everything's an Argument. He says a professor at the Cal Rhetorics Department suggested it to him, but it doesn't get very good reviews on Amazon. Have you (all) ever heard of it?

I am not familiar with it, but I will say that coming from a rhetoric "prof" causes me some concern. Rhetoric folks are debators, not philosophers. Their objective is to beat down opponents as opposed to reaching true conclusions. This allows in dishonesty, emotional bullying, and countless other distasteful tactics which are contrary to the goal of knowledge and truth.