Contents
Part I: Understanding the Basic Theory of Analysis
This section provides the foundational theory essential to analysis. It delineates the eight basic structures present in all thinking
Why a Guide on Analytic Thinking? 5
Why the Analysis of Thinking is Important 6
All Thinking is Defined by the Eight Elements That Make It Up 6
All Humans Use Their Thinking To Make Sense of the World 7
To Analyze Thinking We Must Learn to Identify and Question Its Elemental Structures 8
To Evaluate Thinking, We Must Understand and Apply Intellectual Standards 9-10
Thirty-five Dimensions of Critical Thought 11-12
On the Basis of the Above We Can Develop A Checklist for Evaluating Reasoning 13-14
Part 2: Getting Started: Some First Steps
This section enumerates the most important foundational moves in analysis
Think About Purpose 15
State the Question 16
Gather Information 17
Watch Your Inferences 18
Check Your Assumptions 19
Clarify Your Concepts 20
Understand Your Point of View 21
Think Through the Implications 22
Part 3: Using Analysis to Figure Out the Logic of Anything
This section provides a range of sample analyses (as well as templates
for analysis)
The Figuring Mind 23
Analyzing the Logic of Human Emotions 24-26
Analyzing Problems 27-28
Analyzing the Logic of an Article, Essay, or Chapter 29-32
Analyzing the Logic of a Textbook 33
Evaluating an Author's Reasoning 34
Analyzing the Logic of a Subject: 35
Science 36
History 37
Sociology 38
Economics 39-40
Ecology 41-42
Substantive Writing 43
Part 4: Taking Your Understanding to a Deeper Level
This section explains the elements more comprehensively, differentiating skilled from unskilled reasoners
Analyzing and Assessing:
Goals, Purposes, or Objectives 44 Questions, Problems, and Issues 45
Data, Evidence, Experience, Research 46
Inferences, Interpretations, and Conclusions 47
Assumptions and Beliefs 48
Concepts, Ideas, and Theories 49
Points of View and Perspectives 50 Implications and Consequences 51
Distinguishing Between Inferences and Assumptions 52-53
Conclusion 54