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PRE-THINKING FOR CRITICAL REASONING- part 2
In my previous note, I had mentioned how pre-thinking helps you to structure your thoughts and ideas in a better form.
Some of the things that you need to do while pre-thinking or paraphrasing is to identify the assumptions, premises and conclusions. And that’s exactly what this exercise focuses on. We take up a few statements and try and paraphrase it and then break it up into its three parts.
So first of all, identify the conclusion, then the premises and finally the assumptions. The trick to identify the conclusion is to “ask why?” with each statement you think is the conclusion. And if the rest of the statements add up to provide the answer..voila…you have a conclusion. The rest of the statements or the answer t your question are the premise(s). Now you come to the assumption and that is the bridge between the premises and the conclusion. Lets now try a few questions .
Directions: In the given arguments, identify the Conclusions and mark with a C. Identify the premises and mark with a P. Also write the assumptions in each set.
1. Every Law is evil f or every law is an infraction of liberty.
2. Drinking milk is good for health. Milk contains calcium which makes our bones strong.
3. Cigarette smoking is injurious to health. It affects not just the smoker but also others around him. The government has therefore decided to ban smoking in public places.
4. There are 8 planets in our solar system now. Pluto has been downgraded to a dwarf planet recently.
5. French cuisine is highly regarded all over the world. Yet in Paris there are more American restaurants selling burgers and fries (which many people now class as ‘junk food’) than there are in any other European capital city. Obviously the French are very fond of ‘junk food’, and are not too proud to eat it.
6. Recent studies have highlighted the harmful effects of additives in food (colors, preservatives, flavor enhancers etc.). There are no synthetic substances in the foods we produce at Munchon Foods – we use only natural ingredients. Hence you can be sure you are safeguarding your family’s health when you buy our products.
7. It has been suggested that long-term prisoners, on release from jail, be given a reasonable state pension to reduce the likelihood of their resorting to crime. Most people instinctively reject the suggestion as they feel it would be like rewarding criminal activity.
8. Josh has twenty years of typing experience behind him; therefore, if you are looking for an efficient typist to enter your data into the new system, you need look no further.
9. Jon.com is India’s largest e-commerce site. It has more than 3 lakh vendors on it.The government is planning to shut it down.
I will put forward the whats and whys in the next edition of this article.
Adios, Amigos!
Abhilasha
CP Mentor
