What is the meaning of the term "independent thinking?"
"Independent thinking" means figuring out what your professor wants you to say and then putting your professor's opinion into your own words.
"Independent thinking" means remembering what your parents, priests or other authority figures want you to think and thinking that thing.
"Independent thinking" means ignoring what other people say and just applying your best understanding of logic to all the available evidence.
"Independent thinking"means looking into your heart to work out what you personally feel is the truth.
When someone makes a claim with complete confidence that it is true, her confidence by itself gives you a good reason to think that the claim is true.
When you feel very strongly that something is true, and you believe it with all your heart, that gives you a good reason to think that it is true.
When you are asked to think about a particular question, you should always start by thinking about what you already believe about the issue.
If someone else has already logically analyzed an issue, you can give your own logical analysis simply by describing everything this other person said.
If something you previously stated to be true turns out to be contradicted by all the available evidence, you can logically still go on saying that it is true.
Smart people tend to be people who never change their minds about anything.
It is possible to think logically without thinking about arguments.
It is possible to think critically about the world without thinking about evidence.
If you already believe something is true then you can logically assume it's supported by evidence.
If someone can write an emotionally persuasive speech in support of a claim, then that claim is true.
The logical thinker ignores rhetoric and looks for the facts.
You can know that something is true without knowing of any reason to think that it is true.
People who try to pressure you into agreeing with them are not being logical.
Select the one and only true statement:
A "fact" is something you believe to be true.
A "fact" is something everyone believes to be true.
A "fact" is something that anyone can independently verify to be true.
A "fact" is something that may or may not be true.
Select the one and only statement that is a fact about comets:
Comets are omens of doom.
Comets sometimes have glowing tails.
Comets are an atmospheric phenomenon.
Comets are made by gasses burning in the upper air.
An "opinion" is something someone believes to be true.
An "opinion" is something someone else believes that is not a fact.
An "opinion" is something someone else believes that you don't believe.
An "opinion"is something that has been proved to be true.
A "judgement" is just someone's opinion.
A "judgement" is whatever you personally happen to think.
A "judgement" is an opinion formed by applying logic to the available facts.
A "judgement" is when you decide whether something is good or bad.
Critical thinking is when you think up reasons to support things you believe.
When you've looked everywhere, but can't find evidence to support your beliefs, if you're being logical, you should:
Keep looking, the evidence has to be out there somewhere.
Make up a plausible story that supports your beliefs.
Say that evidence exists, without saying what it is.
Change your mind and give up the belief you had before.
It's logically okay to ignore evidence that contradicts your beliefs.
Once you've chosen a point of view you can't ever change your thesis.
If you can't prove something, you shouldn't say it's true in a paper.
You fulfill a critical thinking assignment by:
Writing a paper that explains what you feel to be true about the subject.
Explaining what you think is logically implied by the available evidence.
Explaining what one or more other people think about the subject.
Writing a paper that gives all your personal beliefs about the topic.
"Evidence" is basically the same as "facts."
Vehemently expressed opinions count as evidence.
Scientific papers and other academic journal articles count as evidence.
The opinions of untrained people count as evidence.
A strong feeling that something must be true counts as evidence.
If you can't describe the evidence, you have no evidence.
When a professor asks "can you prove X," she wants you to:
Ignore the question.
Think about whether you can prove X, and change your mind if and only if you can't prove X.
Assume that X is not true, and go on from there.
Do your very, very best to prove that X is true.
If you believe X, that means that there is evidence for X.
You should look at all the available relevant evidence before you decide what the truth is.
"Empirical" reasoning is only used by scientists.
"Empirical" statements are statements about the meanings of words.
Things exist that are not supported by empirical reasoning.
"Empirical" statements are statements about the real world.
A statement is empirically true if it is passionately believed by someone.
A statement is empirically true if it is what everyone believes.
A statement is empirically true if it is completely supported by all the evidence.
A statement is empirically true if you strongly believe it is true.
Select the one and only true definition of logical support:
A fact supports a conclusion if it makes you feel that the conclusion is true.
A fact supports a conclusion if it cannot be easily explained without assuming the conclusion is true.
A fact supports a conclusion if you write it in the same paragraph as the conclusion.
A fact supports a conclusion if somebody says it does.
Some empirical claims can be supported absolutely
A claim is only proved if it is absolutely supported.
A claim is only proved if it is absolutely or virtually absolutely supported.
A claim is only proved if it is at least compellingly supported.
A claim is proved if it is at least well supported.
If a claim is unsupported, it's still logically okay to say that it's true.
When a claim is not proven, that means it's disproved.
When a claim is not disproved, that means it's proven.
When a claim is not proven, that doesn't mean it's disproved.
When a claim is proven to be not proven, that does mean it's disproved.
You can logically say a claim is true without compelling reason to believe it.
You can logically say a claim is false without compelling reason to disbelieve it.
You can logically say a claim is unproven even if you have compelling reason to believe it.
You can logically say a claim has not been disproved even if you have compelling reason to disbelieve that claim. (Read this carefully before answering)
You don't have a right to believe things that have been disproved.
You don't have a right to believe things that have not been proven.
You don't have a right to believe things other people don't believe.
You have a right to believe anythings you want to believe.
