Second Thoughts: Critical Thinking for a Diverse Society

Rating:
Summary: Logic or drivel?--drivel
Review: This textbook suffers from several salient defects: (1) it lacks any treatment of truth tables (even though they are mentioned in the index on a non-existent page, oops to the editor!), (2) it confuses two definition types, associative and connotative, (3) the examples, though infused with pop culture, fail to engage students or to draw out any relevant features of logical reasoning or critical thinking, and (4) although the writer teaches at a Catholic college her examples go too far in the direction of condoning homosexual relations and drug abuse. A warning to the wise, including any logic or critical thinking instructors considering this book as the primary text for their course: avoid this book, use another and be glad that you did.

Rating:
Summary: Apt title for an unstatisfactory textbook
Review: While I usually reserve judgment of text books until I have employed them as teaching tools, I must here depart from my usual practice, for this case surely warrants it. The only redeeming quality that I have discovered after hours of perusing this book is its title, very apt and a caveat to both students and instructors alike: You should have "second thoughts" before learning or teaching with it. Less than a year after its release and the examples are sadly dated. The chapters begin with uncritical reflections on obscure literary sources. The portions of the book dedicated to analogical arguments, the deductive-inductive distinction and the difference between logic and critical thinking are at the least imprecise and at worst clearly wrong. Some explanations of reasoning techniques border on descriptions of folk psychological methods. The list could easily go on, but my time is more valuably spent otherwise; instead I will only say that the audience for this text will, soon after cracking it, beg for an edition with more critical thinking substance and less California glitz.