UNIV1212: Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Section: 210
Assignment 2: Textbook Chapter Analysis
Chapter 4: Claims and Propositions
By:
Deema AlThukair
Nouf AlFuhaid
Riyam AlSalimi
Sara AlHarbi
Instructor: Lisa Marie Hibbard
Spring 2013\2014
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Assessment Criteria
CRITERIA
Assessment Rubric for Group Written Report
SCORES
Introduction
Thesis statement, why chapter topic is important, outline
body topics
3%
Critical thinking
and communication
Define what these terms mean, describe how they are
related
3%
Importance in
argumentation
Introduce your topic by defining the topic and justify its
importance in the field of argumentation
3%
Key concepts
Define 5 concepts with examples
5%
Case study
Discuss case study in chapter. Outline scenario, claims,
evidence, concepts relevant to chapter
5%
Conclusion
Thesis statement, summary of key points from the body
paragraphs, how key points justify importance of chapter
topic
3%
Mechanics
Punctuation and spelling and capitalization are correct,
words are well chosen, writer uses own words, use of
headings, topic sentences, third person, full sentences, no
bullet points, follows guidelines
3%
TOTAL
25%
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Introduction:
Why are proposition and claim important in critical thinking? Propositions and
claims mean that it could be true or false but not both. In putting these possibilities it
is going to let the person think and use his critical thinking skills by asking questions
who did that or what happened by thinking it could be false or true answer. Critical
thinking is thinking properly and solving problems by asking good questions. In this
paper we will be talking about the definition of critical thinking and how does it relate
with communication, the importance of proposition and claims in argumentation,
important key concepts, case study involving proposition and claim in argumentation,
and last but not least the conclusion.
Critical Thinking and Communication Definition:
Creating the affective solution to multitude of unfamiliar problems; critical
thinking reverse to a diverse range of skills and activates concerned with evaluating
information such as analyzing, conceptualizing, defining, examining, inferring,
listening, questioning, reasoning, synthesizing and evaluating. It evaluate our thought
in a disciplined way and that will help us to refine our thought processes to be able to
think and assess information more comprehensively. Critical thinking and
communication are related together in many important ways. All types of daily
communication require the ability to think critically and improve our cogent argument
and explanation. The capability to think about a subject and an issue from various
ways will help people to communicate better and their reaction of anger will be less.
(Kaisar, 2010).
The Importance of Claims and Proposition is Argumentation:
Claims are either true or false based on legal demand, payment, and
reimbursement for a loss. Claims and propositions are important in many fields such
as in the business field that processes of claims management will be added value to
the clients, will help maintain credibility and give the client comprehensive being able
to chart the process of the claim. Proposition are overarching or main claims that
serve as the principal claim of an extended argument. The importance of propositions
it sets the boundary of acceptable and reasonable issues relevant to claims. (Richard,
n.d)
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Key Concepts:
(1) “Issue” Usually the first thought after reading this word would be negative.
The majority of people think that issues are always negative and bad. “Issues are the
various points of potential disagreement related to a proposition.” (Inch, Warnick,
2011, p.98). In other words, issue is the focus of concern or interest that people have
different point of views about it. It normally leads to developing an argument between
people with different opinions on order to find a solution to this issue. There are
several types of issues; it can be social, economic, political, or environmental issue.
The most famous well-known issue in Saudi Arabia is “Should women in Saudi
Arabia be allowed to drive?” There are a lot of people who are with woman’s driving
but there are a lot of people who are against it. The argument is still going on and the
negotiations have increased about this issue in order to find a solution. (Aaron, 2012)
(2) Most people love challenging by challenging themselves or others.
Challenge begins when confrontation arrives. It’s when the arguer’s claim faces the
other party’s existing values, beliefs, or behaviors. Mostly the arguer tries his best to
change others’ attitudes or belief toward a curtain thing. There was an argument about
energy drinks and their negative effect on teenagers. David was against the idea that
energy drinks have a negative impact on the health and he considers it as any drink. In
the other hand, John is with the idea that it has a negative impact on health and
wanted to convince David to stop drinking it. John have brought statistics that shows
how many people were effected by the energy drinks, so his claims have confronted
David beliefs, which will influence him to change his mind. (Kaisar, 2010).
(3) Implications about conditions or relationships are called factual claims.
Factual claims are easy to be proven because usually the information needed is clear
and available. (Inch, Warnick, 2011, p.110). There are some factual claims that need
to be clarified by giving out the definition and supporting material because of the hard
and unclear terminologies in. An example of a clear factual claim is that the sunshine
is warm. Factual claims has three types: relational, predictive, and historical.
Relational claims generally create relations between one condition to another. Such as
a food high in sugar will cause diabetes. However, Predictive claims are based on the
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predictions that past conditions can be repeated in the future. For example “Every
home in the United States and Canada will have an Internet connection by 2015.”
(Inch, Warnick, 2011, p.98)
(4) Value claims generally states if something is good or bad and more or less
wanted. Values are essential good or bad attitudes a curtain condition. In addition, it
normally influences the choices and behaviors. Value claims can evaluate the value of
an idea, object, or practice depending on the criteria. A good example of value claim
is “ It is immoral to participate in the bank robbery.” (n.p, 2009)
(5) Policy claims demand for a specific call of action and focus on whether a
curtain policy or behavior should be changed or take place. They mostly deal with
complex social, political, and economic issues and are often procedural with
organized plans. “ The legal driving age should be raised from 18 to 20” This is an
example of a policy claim where there is a demand to change the policy which is the
driving age. (Richard, n.d)
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Case Study:
When it comes to critical thinking and communication, it's highly important to
consider the daily conversations and arguments people undergo. And because
communication is a broad topic that controls a big part of our daily lives, there has to
be critical thinking and analyzation about the words people say and how that can
affect others. Understanding and thinking about what a person can say and is accepted
is a difficult yet very necessary thing, that's because misunderstanding has become or
has been one of the major issues faced when it come down to arguments or
discussions, and the confusion mostly happens with difference in comprehending
propositions. For example, “two professors are discussing the graded credit options
for students at their university. They are both not aware that there are such options.
The first option is Credit/No credit which is offered on a class wide basis, and the
second option is Satisfactory/Non-satisfactory which can be elected by individual
students in courses where other students take the course for a grade.” . Both
professors started discussing the grading system used in their university, one
professor was talking about his disapproval on the pass/fail system and that it's an
easy way to accumulate credits, he meant that students just wanted to go for “pass”
and not necessarily show excitement in the subjects themselves or wanting to study,
the other professor who was teaching a class of credit/noncredit disagreed saying his
students work just as hard for a grade, however this professor did not clarify that he
was teaching a credit/noncredit class and defending it or otherwise the other professor
would have agreed with him. To begin with, both sides were not on the same
understanding because it started with the “pass/fail grading system”, but the other
professor was speaking in terms of the credit/noncredit system in which he was
teaching his class upon. The propositions on the grading system were not fairly
judged as the professors were not on the same page or understanding which made the
evidence of having motivated and hard working students irrelevant to the proposition
of the main issue (pass/fail grading system). This case study shows the importance
clearly understanding each side arguing or discussing a topic at hand because if they
is a misunderstanding amongst the arguers, each one of them would be discussing a
different topic which is not related to the main issue their talking about. This also
brings in critical thinking in communication and studying the various ways people
communicate with each other and the reasoning behind the arguments or
misunderstanding. (Inch, Warnick, 2011).
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Conclusion:
In conclusion, propositions and claims are important in critical thinking
because it makes the person improve his critical thinking skills by putting the true and
false possibilities and who, what, and where questions. Critical thinking improves
your communication with people and makes you look smarter. The importance of
proposition and claim is it gives you the ability to think about things more and to ask
the right question at the right time. The most important five key concepts in
proposition and claim are issue, policy claim, value claim, challenge and factual
claims. The case study that was provided showed the importance of proposition and
claim in critical thinking and it clarified what does claim and proposition mean and
how it could be used.
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References:
Kaiser, B., and J.S. Rasminsky. "What Is Challenging Behavior?."
Education.com. Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall, 07 July 2010. Web. 11
Mar. 2014. <http://www.education.com/reference/article/whatchallenging-behavior/>.
"A multidisciplinary approach to informal argumentation." Claims of Fact,
Value, and Policy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/nature/WW2claims.pdf
Nordquist, Richard . "claim." About.com Grammar & Composition. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/claimterm.htm
Warnick, Barbara, and Edward S. Inch. Critical thinking and
communication: the use of reason in argument. New York: Macmillan,
1989. Print.
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