Solution Manual For Art of Thinking, The: A Guide to critical and Creative Thought, 11th Edition

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’SMANUALto accompanyTHE ART OF THINKINGA Guide to Critical and Creative ThoughtEleventh EditionVincent Ryan RuggieroSUNY Delhi College (Emeritus)

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iiiCONTENTSIntroduction1I. Be Aware1Developing Your Thinking: An Overview42Establish a Foundation83Broaden Your Perspective114Be a Critical Reader, Listener, and Viewer15II. Be Creative5The Creative Process176Search for Challenges187Express the Problem or Issue208Investigate the Problem or Issue249Produce Ideas26III. Be Critical10The Role of Criticism2711Refine Your Solution to the Problem2812Evaluate Your Argument on the Issue2913Refine Your Resolution of the Issue35IV. Communicate Your Ideas14Persuading Others3615Writing and Speaking Effectively37

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1INTRODUCTIONThe purpose ofThe Art of Thinkingis to introduce students to the thinking process and have them developconfidence and skill in using it to solve problems and resolve issues. That purpose dictates the form of this teacher’smanual. Few “official answers” are included here. Instead, suggestions for leading class discussion of the exercisesand applications are given, along with tips about the kinds of confusion students may experience and strategies forovercoming that confusion.Although many instructors usingThe Art of Thinkinghave had considerable experience teaching creative and criticalthinking, others have had little or no experience. The guidelines that follow will assist the latter group in makingappropriate adjustments in teaching and testing approaches.GET STUDENTS MORE INVOLVED IN CLASSMost instructors talk a great deal more than they realize. Because they were taught by the lecture method, they teachby that method. Even when not making a formal presentation, they dominate discussions by clarifying ideas, sharinganecdotes, providing information, and explaining complex matters. Meanwhile, students sit passively, much in thesame manner that they sit in front of the television set, and with a similar degree of inattention.In order to teach thinking skills well, you must change the student’s role from passive to active. The best way to dothis is for you to talk less. Ask students to do little tasks you usually do, such as reading the applications aloudbefore discussing them and summarizing the previous day’s discussion. If possible, when a student asks you aquestion, redirect it to another student and then ask a third student to comment on the accuracy of the answer. Whengoing over the exercises and applications in class, have a student present his or her response and then have anotherevaluate that response. If the evaluation is superficial, resist the urge to add your own evaluation and instead ask aprovocative question. When disputes arise and everyone appeals to you to resolve them, ask someone who hasn’t yetspoken on the matter to suggest how he or she would resolve the issue. Occasionally, let an unresolved problem orissue lie, offering to give class time a day or two later to anyone who works out a solution.If this approach seems uncomfortable at first, remind yourself that a good intellectual coach, like a good athleticcoach, does not push players aside and enter the competition—he or she gets the players to raise their level of playby encouraging, guiding, and occasionally cajoling them.WHEN YOU ASK QUESTIONS, EXTEND YOUR “WAIT TIME”Studies show that the average instructor waits only about one second for students to answer questions. If an answeris not forthcoming by then, the instructor either asks someone else, rephrases the question, or answers himself orherself. One second is not very much time even for a simple matter of fact; for a matter involving interpretation orjudgment, it is woefully inadequate. The same studies reveal that when an instructor extends the wait time to threeseconds and beyond, poor students as well as good students tend to produce more ideas and better ideas and engagein lengthier and livelier discussions. As a reminder to extend your wait time, try glancing at the second hand of theclock when you ask questions and timing yourself.

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2DELAY YOUR REACTIONS TO STUDENT IDEASMany instructors give immediate affirmative or negative signals when a student answers a question or presents anidea. When such signals are given, the entire class naturally regards the matter as closed and stops thinking. And ifthe quickest thinkers in the class answer most of the questions and volunteer most of the ideas, that means the otherstudents are seldom provided an opportunity to think a question through or ponder a new idea before having theirthought process interrupted. Little wonder slower thinkers become discouraged.To increase the time your students spend thinking about questions and ideas, mask your reactions while students areanswering questions or volunteering comments and then look around the room mirroring the same quizzical gazestudents are showing you. After counting slowly to three (or higher), ask the person who spoke to elaborate orsomeone else to comment on the statement. And be sure to use this approach not only when students make incorrectassertions but also when they are correct. Both kinds are worth having your class ponder.This guideline does not mean students should be allowed to remain mired in confusion. It means only that youshould give them sufficient time to extricate themselves and thus experience the satisfaction and confidence thataccompany success in doing so.CREATE A CLASSROOM ATMOSPHERE CONDUCIVE TO THINKINGThe classroom atmosphere most conducive to thinking is one in which process is valued above product. In this way,mistakes are tolerated and students are encouraged to face them honestly and learn from them, an atmosphere inwhich students can be adventurous in their thinking because imagination and originality are prized and in whichcriticism can be given and received without embarrassment or hurt feelings. Many students have never experiencedsuch a classroom atmosphere and so may at first feel uncomfortable in it (or suspicious of you for providing it), butin time they will appreciate and thrive in it.MAKE YOUR EXAMINATIONS EXERCISES IN THINKINGBecause most of us were educated in a system that emphasizedpossessingknowledge, but not using it in anycognitive enterprise, we tend to favor objective testing. Unfortunately, the objective test is an inadequate measure ofthinking proficiency: it denies students an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity, penalizes students whoperceive subtleties and note relationships among ideas, denies students practice in disciplined expression, andprevents instructors from observing the process by which students reach their conclusions.The essay test, though free from most of the defects of the objective test, presents other drawbacks. It allowsstudents to hide paucity or complete absence of thought by multiplying words, and it takes significantly more time tograde than does an objective test (a fact of no small importance to instructors with large classes).One way to avoid the limitations of both the objective and the essay test is to use the combination test. This testconsists of these kinds of questions:•The Modified True/False Question.Rather than the standard two choices, this question offers three choices:“Completely true,” “Partly true but needing qualification,” and “Completely false.” In addition, it requires studentsto add, in a space provided beneath each question, an explanation of every “Partly true” answer. Instructors can thusbuild into their tests an element of difficulty that challenges the students’ higher-order thinking skills.•The Modified Multiple-Choice Question.Similar to the modified true/false question, this question offers the usuala–d or a–e choices; however, it also requires students to explain the thinking that underlies their choices. (Eachquestion is followed by a space for this explanation.)•The Brief Essay Question.This question gives students practice in composition responses in their own words, withthe qualifications and even the brief examples or analogies they believe are the most relevant; yet it does not create alengthy reading assignment for the instructor because it specifies a word limit and states that responses that exceed

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3the limit will be penalized. A 25-word limit is recommended for relatively simple matters and a 50- or 75-word limitfor complex ones. Holding students to a word limit not only makes grading easier, but it also teaches students thevalue of brevity and precision and prepares those who will go on to the professions for the exacting requirements ofprofessional publication.The combination test is useful in almost any course with a thinking skills component. But an even better test ofstudents’ mastery of creative and critical thinking strategies is the kinds of problems and issues presented inThe Artof Thinking. Chances are you will not be able to assign all the applications at the end of each chapter, so when thetime comes to prepare midterm and final examinations, consider using some of them as test questions. (Be sure toallow enough time for students to give adequate attention to each of the stages of the thinking process.)

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4I. Be Aware1Developing Your Thinking: An OverviewThe way you conduct the class discussion of Chapter 1 will establish the pattern for later class discussions. It ishelpful to explain to students that you intend to offer guidance in applying the lessons of the chapters, andoccasionally to play devil’s advocate to provoke thought, but not to provide “right” answers or to resolve everydispute.Some students will have difficulty doing the exercises at the end of Chapter 1 because they have failed to heed theadvice given in the chapter for choosing the best time, place, and working conditions or the strategies for copingwith frustration. You may wish to reinforce this advice in class discussion.WARM-UP EXERCISESMost students will have no difficulty recognizing the essential answers in these cases: in 1.1, that proper postage isrequired at the time the letter is mailed; in 1.2, that past events do not guarantee future events; in 1.3, that one hour isone hour no matter when it passes. The real challenge will be toexplainthose answers to other people. Havingstudents read their responses aloud will permit them to compare their explanations with those of other students andhelp them appreciate the importance of clear, vivid communication of ideas.APPLICATIONS1.1.An effective approach to this application is to have students express their views on the statements and listento others’ objections to their views. This exercise will help to prepare them for the considerations expressed in thenext three chapters.1.2.Sally believes, incorrectly, that using facts in a composition makes the composition unoriginal.1.3.Homer reasons that trying hard guarantees success. It does not. Homer leaps to the conclusion that the testis unfair (apossibility, certainly) and ignores other possible conclusions; for example, that he read withoutunderstanding the material or that sleeplessness affected his performance.1.4.This dialogue illustrates a common difficulty in argument. Each individual’s view hassomemerit. Thechallenge is to decide whether a third view can be constructed, one that combines these merits.1.5.Guy is misinformed about transsexualism. Yet in his final response, he unwittingly hints at an interestingphilosophical question: Is it possible that some transsexuals choose to change, not so much because of hormonal orpsychosexual imperatives but out of a desire to shock others or to punish themselves or their parents?1.6.The passage implies that a course has value only if it hasdirectapplication to one’s career. This idea, ofcourse,ismistaken.Somestudentswillmisstheimplication;otherswillnoteandapproveofit.Withencouragement, those students who recognize the error and understand why it is an error should be able to explaintheir thinking effectively to their classmates.

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51.7.Consider this approach: have one student present his answer; ask whether anyone disagrees and, if so, havethat person present her answer; then invite comments and questions from others. (If there is no disagreement, askwhether anyone who agrees arrived at his or her conclusion by a different approach.) Careful thinkers will begin byconsidering whether a teenager could run away from a good wholesome environment as well as from a bad one andproceed to imagine relevant situations (e.g., peer influence, rebellion against parental rules). Enterprising studentsmay search the Internet to find psychologists who disagree with the stated view and examine the grounds for theirdisagreement. (Note: this same approach can be used for 1.8 and 1.9.)Note:The 10th edition ofThe Art of Thinkinghad a feature called ISSUES FOR EXTENDED ANALYSIS at theend of each chapter. The rationale for this feature was explained as follows:This exercise, in this and subsequent chapters, is designed to have students apply their developing thinkingskills in a context that mirrors the full challenge of analyzing issues. The exercise requires evaluation of not onebut two opposing essays, each of which has some merit; in a number of cases, in fact, the merit of the opposingarguments is very nearly equal. To be reasonable in such situations, students cannot merely choose the side thatmatches their opinion—they must accept the insights and reject the mistakes of each side, a process that entailsrecognizing and overcoming their own biases. They must also consider the possibility that neither essayaddresses all the facts about the issue; where that seems to be the case, students must conduct additionalresearch. The exercise also requires evaluation of a dialogue about the essays in which the participants bringdiffering perspectives to bear; as in actual classroom discussion, the quality of the contributions is uneven—some statements are perceptive, others shallow, still others fallacious. Finally, the exercise requires sorting allthese considerations out and then constructing a formal response that will anticipate and withstand thechallenges posed by classmates. (By using issues that are being widely discussed, I aimed to make theseexercises not only challenging but enjoyable.)The reviews from professors used to guide me in creating this (11th) edition revealed that many did not use theextended analysis materials. I therefore decided to make the issues simple analysis exercises and to move most ofthe accompanying essays and class discussions to this’s Resource Manual. (In cases where the issuesthemselves were significantly changed or deleted, I have not included the original essays and discussions in thismanual.) Instructors who find these materials useful can make them available to students or just raise the points theymake into class discussions to stimulate and deepen thought.1.9.Here are the essays and the discussion related to this exercise:ESSAYSPeople Are Inherently GoodBy Asanti JonesRousseau was insightful in noting that people are born good and, left to follow their natural inclinations andintuitions, will develop their potential and benefit themselves and those around them. A number of conclusionsfollow logically from this insight.First, parents should not impose their beliefs and values on children but instead leave them free to developtheir own. This is particularly so in such matters as religion, politics, and morality. No one has a right to say whatothers should regard as right and proper. Each individual must choose for him/herself. And what each chooses,others should respect.

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6Secondly, schools should have as few regulations and formalities as possible. Courses should be suggested byteachers, but the final determination of what to study and how to do so should be the student’s. If students find alecture or other class exercise boring or irrelevant to their needs at the moment, they should be free to chooseanother activity. Moreover, any assessment of students’ achievement should be made by the students themselves—just as they alone know what goals they should set, they alone know how well they have progressed toward reachingthose goals.If all people received such an upbringing, they would be healthy, happy, and successful. Unfortunately, fewdo, and the result is crime, drug and alcohol addiction, child and spouse abuse, and a host of other social problems.But it is a mistake to meet such problems with more laws and stricter punishment for infractions. The fault lies insociety’s failure to recognize the inherent goodness of people and to ensure their freedom to be themselves.Nothing More Than PotentialBy Inga NowakIf people are inherently good, it makes sense not to burden them with regimens, rules, and regulations thathinder the natural expressions of their impulses. And the lifting of such burdens should begin at the earliest time oflife—in childhood. On the other hand, if people are not inherently good—if goodness like wisdom is not inborn butacquired—then regimens, rules, and regulations are beneficial.Only a foolish generation would answer such a vital question on the basis of wishful thinking. But that is justwhat the past couple of generations did. They installed permissivism in both home and school. They let childrendecide what to think about truth and falsity, right and wrong, beauty and ugliness. They discarded the idea ofdiscipline and let students decide what they would learn and how they would learn it. They put self-esteem aboveself-control and eliminated instruction in civics and civility.Exactly what has been the result of almost half a century of permissivism and self-indulgence? Social chaos.Parents have lost control of their children and have no idea of how to regain it. Teachers are frustrated in theirattempts to impart knowledge and often fearful for their personal safety. Young people, intent on following theirurges, are making life difficult for themselves and everyone around them, and are filled with resentment withoutknowing why.It’s about time America saw the notion that people are inherently good for the dangerous nonsense it is.People are not born good or evil but have the potential to be either. And which they become depends partly on thequality of the training they receive and partly on the choices they make.CLASS DISCUSSIONEDNA:Jones is right. The old saying “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree” supports his view. People, liketwigs, start out straight. The bending is supplied by others.WALLY:Jones’s argument is a big cop-out. Efforts to escape personal responsibility are as old as history. They goall the way back to Adam, who blamed Eve, who in turn said the devil made her do it. Today’s rapists,child molesters, thieves, and terrorists continue the tradition by blaming their victims. What is differenttoday is that some prominent thinkers tend to side with the perpetrators.EDNA:Do you deny that bad environments—slums, for example— are more crime-ridden and produce morelawbreakers than the suburbs?WALLY:Not at all. But I also recognize that two children in the same family, exposed to identical influences, oftenturn out very differently. One will become a criminal, and the other, a law-abiding citizen; one anarcissist, the other an altruist; one a sinner, the other a saint.EDNA:There are always exceptions. I’m talking about what happens as a general rule.

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7WALLY:If Jones were right, then more permissive ages would have fewer social problems than more restrictiveages. Yet over the last few decades, our society has become very permissive, and our social problemshaveincreased.EDNA:Don’t kid yourself. The influences of parents, teachers, and other authority figures are every bit as strongtoday. They’re just more subtle.WALLY:I’m not saying kids aren’t influenced by adults. I’m saying that they show the tendency to bad behaviorway before such influence takes place. Children who are barely able to crawl display meanness andselfishness. Most parental guidance aims to correct already-existing bad tendencies.

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82Establish a FoundationWARM-UP EXERCISESAn effective answer to 2.1 focuses on the fact that “remember” refers exclusively topastevents. The best answer to2.2 is yes and no:yesin the sense that the same words are being uttered each time;noin the sense that the specificmeaning of “tomorrow” is different each time. (One day it will mean “Tuesday,” and the next, “Wednesday.”) Theproblem in 2.3 is the ambiguity of the wordgoing. If it is taken to meanintended destination, then the man is“going” upstairs. However, if it is taken to refer toactual destination, then he is “going” downstairs.APPLICATIONS2.1.Clem implies, incorrectly, that people never err in their assessments of truths. (The only way to decide if aparticular assessment is in error is to use a standard beyond subjectivity.) Clem also confuses “Allhumanbeingsarecreated equal” with “Allideasare created equal.”2.2.The fact that millions of people believed Tipton was a man doesn’t change the truth of the matter. TheTipton case illustrates the error of the popular notion that people create their own truth.2.3.One effective way to handle this application in class is to have several students detail their analyses andinvite other students to comment.2.4.Themainideasthisquestionchallengesarethemoralprinciplesthatpeoplehaverightsexistingindependently of any government or culture and the ideal of fairness.2.5.Be sure that in discussing the issues in this exercise, students demonstrate awareness that one can evenprecede another without causing it, that not all causation involves force or necessity, and that free will is a “wildcard” in human affairs.2.6.The most helpful role for you to take in leading class discussion of the moral issues in this application isthat of monitor, assuring that students address all significant moral questions, recognize where considerationsconflict, and consider all possible views before choosing. Although it is helpful for students to hear your analysisand judgment of an issue on occasion, if it is given too often, many students will be tempted to guess what answerswill please you rather than search for the most reasonable answers.2.7, 2.8. Because these applications specifically call for research, you might begin class discussion by havingstudents state the pro and con arguments they found and to have someone list them on the board. You could thenhave students evaluate each of the listed arguments and then, on the basis of that evaluation, decide which view ofsport hunting is more reasonable. An interesting possibility: Some students may agree with the evaluations of thevarious arguments and still reject the majority conclusion. You can then ask them to explain their rejection.As I explained in my comments about Chapter 1, Application 9, the special exercises and discussion found at theend of each chapter in the 10th edition have been removed from this edition. However, I have put them in thismanual so that instructors who find these materials useful can make them available to students or just raise thepoints they make into class discussions to stimulate and deepen thought. Following are the essays and the classdiscussion for Application 2.8. (This pattern is followed in subsequent chapters in this manual.)

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9ESSAYSBig Government Is NecessaryBy Curt WeberPeople are understandably concerned about the economic problems that we are facing these days. But manyare using these matters to argue against the size of government and the scope of governmental initiatives. Thatargument makes no sense. Big government is not the problem but the solution. To appreciate this, we need onlyconsider how government handled recent problems.In 2008 major financial institutions were on the verge of collapse. They were saved only by the timelyinstitution of the TARP program. In early 2009 the economy was still shaken from the potential financial disaster, sothe government created the “stimulus” initiatives and ensured its recovery. Similarly, General Motors was on theverge of bankruptcy until the government took over the company and made it financially sound. The General Motorscase proves that the government is not the enemy of the private sector but an invaluable partner.It is fashionable to point to the limits on the federal government written into the Constitution. People who takethat view, however, fail to acknowledge that modern America is very different from America in the late 18thcentury. The Founding Fathers could not have imagined the challenges that would arise over the next couple ofcenturies.We should be thankful for Big Government. It has provided Social Security for the elderly, welfare for theindigent, and most recently, health care coverage for the thirty-odd million people who lacked it. It also solved the2010 Gulf oil spill and prevented its recurrence by banning further drilling. And it continues to protect us fromtyranny.America is bigger and more complex than ever before and it needs a big government to match that size andcomplexity.Too Big for Our Own GoodBy Jessica TorresThomas Jefferson warned that “the natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gainground.” That is exactly what has been happening with government in our time. And it is no coincidence that thelarger government grows, the worse our difficulties become.Some people credit Big Government with solving the crisis in the housing market. In reality, it created thecrisis. Some loony congressmen decided that owning a home is a fundamental right so they forced banks to makeloans to people who couldn’t repay them. Then when the housing market crashed, they howled at the greed ofbankers.Big Government is also largely responsible for the energy crisis. They outlawed offshore drilling and thedevelopment of the Anwar, Alaska, oil fields and then denounced our dependence on foreign oil. They also forcedoil companies to drill in much deeper water than they had traditionally, and then blamed British Petroleum for thedeepwater Gulf oil spill. As if that weren’t enough, President Obama then banned further drilling in the eastern Gulfat the same time that Brazil, China, and other countries are drilling elsewhere in the Gulf.Big Government may have good intentions but its results seldom measure up. The Great Society programaggravated the problem of poverty and robbed many people of their self-reliance. Social Security was a good ideabut government turned it into an unsustainable Ponzi scheme. The only jobs that the stimulus program “stimulated”were in government. The average salaries of government employees are reportedly double the salaries of privatesector employees. And government employees add nothing to the national wealth—they merely draw from thepublic treasury.Thomas Paine once observed, “That government is best that governs least.” He was right.

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