What is critical thinking

1. CRITICAL THINKING
• ANALYZING LONGER, MORE COMPLEX ARGUMENTS, PART 2

2. WELCOME!
•In this unit we will cover:
•Arguments with multiple conclusions
•Chain arguments

3. ARGUMENTS WITH MULTIPLE CONCLUSIONS
• So far we’ve been talking ONLY about arguments with ONE conclusion
• BUT … some arguments will have MORE than one conclusion
• In other words, the premises, or supporting reasons, will lead to MULTIPLE conclusions
• We call this an “argument with multiple conclusions”
• The same rules would apply, however.
• To analyze that kind of thing, first try to identify all the main conclusions
• Then try to analyze the premises.
• Let’s do some examples:

4. Sheila has more responsibilities at work.
Therefore, she deserves a raise, and she
should also be given a promotion.
(Jackson and Newberry, 2015, p. 53)
Conclusion 1: “She deserves a raise.”
Conclusion 2: “She should also be given
a promotion.”
Premise 1: Sheila has more
responsibilities at work
Find the conclusion(s) and premises!
So you can see, ONE premise here
has TWO conclusions coming from it.

5. Let’s try another one.
“Never before in history has the
ecosystem been in such danger of
collapse. And never before has global
climate change been such a threat to life
on the planet. We need to do all we can
to stop polluting, and we need to find
ways to reverse the effects that humans
have had on the environment.”
Conclusion 1: “We need to do all we can
to stop polluting”
Conclusion 2: “We need to find ways to
reverse the effects that humans have had
on the environment.”
Premise 1: Never before in history has
the ecosystem been in such danger of
collapse.
Find the conclusion(s) and premises!
This one is tougher, because there are
NO premise or conclusion indicators.
Premise 2: Never before has global
climate change been such a threat to life
on the planet.

6. Let’s try another one.
“It is urgent that we spread the word
about the danger of a robot revolution.
Every day, machines are becoming
smarter. There are even machines able
to mimic human emotion and thought
processes. And that means we also
need to think seriously about how to
prevent a robot revolution. ”
Conclusion 1: “It is urgent that we spread
the word about the danger of a robot
revolution.”
Conclusion 2: “And that means we also
need to think seriously about how to
prevent a robot revolution.”
Premise 1: Every day, machines are
becoming smarter.
Find the conclusion(s) and premises!
This one is tougher, because there are
NO premise or conclusion indicators.
Premise 2: There are even machines
able to mimic human emotion and
thought processes.

7. OK, LET’S TALK ABOUT “CHAIN ARGUMENTS” NOW!
• A chain argument “consists of a chain of reasoning, with some conclusions
serving as premises for other conclusions.” (Jackson and Newberry, 2016, p. 54)
• In a “chain argument,” there is a premise or premises, and a conclusion, as usual.
But THAT conclusion becomes a PREMISE in ANOTHER argument!

8. “CHAIN ARGUMENTS”
• Here’s an example:
• “This year is predicted to be warmer and drier than normal throughout most of
the country, so the drought in the Southeast will most likely continue. And that
means Georgia’s farmers face another poor season.” (adapted from Jackson and
Newberry, 2015).
• So there are actually TWO interlocking arguments here!
• Let’s analyze them

9. “This year is predicted to be warmer and
drier than normal throughout most of the
country, so the drought in the Southeast
will most likely continue. And that means
Georgia’s farmers face another poor
season.” (adapted from Jackson and
Newberry, 2015).
Conclusion: “The drought in the
Southeast will most likely continue.”
Premise 1: This year is predicted to be
warmer and drier than normal throughout
most of the country.
Conclusion: “Georgia’s farmers face
another poor season.”
And the PREMISE is actually the
FIRST argument’s CONCLUSION!
Find the conclusion(s) and premises!
Premise 1: “The drought in the Southeast
will most likely continue.”
OK—that’s a FIRST argument. It’s got
a conclusion and a premise. But it’s
ALSO part of ANOTHER argument!

10. “CHAIN ARGUMENTS”
• So these are called “chain” arguments, because they are two (or more) arguments
“locked” together.
• You want to them “number” the different arguments: “argument 1, argument 2,
etc.”
• Let’s do another example:

11. No one living in Pompeii could have
survived the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
The reason is simple: the lava was
flowing too fast and there was nowhere
to go to escape it in time. Therefore, this
“eye-witness” account of the eruption,
which claims to have been written by
someone living in Pompeii, was not
actually written by an eyewitness
Conclusion: “No one living in Pompeii
could have survived the eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius.”
Premise 1: “The lava was flowing too fast
and there was nowhere to go to escape it
in time.:
Conclusion: “This “eye-witness” account
of the eruption, which claims to have
been written by someone living in
Pompeii, was not actually written by an
eyewitness.”
Find the conclusion(s) and premises!
Premise 1: The PREMISE here is the FIRST
argument’s conclusion! “No one living in
Pompeii could hav survived the eruption
OK—that’s a FIRST argument. It’s got
a conclusion and a premise. But it’s
ALSO part of ANOTHER argument/

12. “CHAIN ARGUMENTS”
• Let’s try another one …

13. The Fermi Paradox is this: there are
countless galaxies, stars, and planets.
One would think there must be an
abundance of intelligent life in the
universe. However, we detect none.
That must mean that all intelligent life
wipes itself out at some point. And if
that’s true, then human life, too, will
probably wipe itself out, maybe soon!
Conclusion: “All intelligent life wipes
itself out at some point.”
Premise: The Fermi Paradox is this:
there are countless galaxies, stars, and
planets.
Premise: One would think there must be
an abundance of intelligent life.
Premise: However, we detect none.
Conclusion: Human life, too, will
probably wipe itself out, maybe soon!
Find the conclusion(s) and premises! Premise (concl. from argument 1): All
intelligent life wipes itself out at some point.
Argument 1
Argument 2

14. “CHAIN ARGUMENTS”
• Come up with your own
• Argument with multiple conclusions
• Chain argument

15. OK, SO LET’S SUM UP …
• We just went over how to analyze more complex arguments—arguments with MULTIPLE
conclusions and CHAIN arguments
• But the rules are always the same.
• Always find the CONCLUSION or CONCLUSIONS first. Then, find the premises.
• DON’T FORGET: You can sometimes use “indicator words” to help find the conclusions and
premises.
• For example: sometimes, the words “because” and “since” are used to signal that you’re getting
a premise.
• … And sometimes the words “therefore” or “as a result” are used to signal you’re getting a
conclusion