Chapter 2: Obstacles to Critical Thinking Flashcards
What signals that our self-interested biases have gone to far?
When we accept claims for no good reason other than the fact it advances or coincides with our interests.
What effect can our urge to save face have on our thinking?
It can have a negative effect, as we can choose to accept or defend claims only to cover up our self image.
Peer pressure
When the pressure to conform to your peers
Appeal to popularity
When the pressure comes from the mere popularity of a belief
Appeal to common practice
When the pressure comes from what groups of people do or how they behave.
prejudice
a negative or adverse belief about others without sufficient reasons.
Evidence
Something that makes a statement more likely to be true
Confirmation bias
When we seek out and only use conforming evidence
Motivated reasoning
reasoning for the purpose of supporting a predetermined conclusion, not to uncover the truth.
What is the difference between confirmation bias and motivated reasoning
Confirmation bias is tending to notice new info that supports a belief and ignores that which doesn’t. Motivated reasoning is more extreme, and it is readily accepting supporting info, while critically analyzing that which does’t
Availability error
When we rely on evidence not because it’s trustworthy, but because it’s memorable or striking.
Mere exposure effect
The idea that being exposed repeatedly to words or information can induce a favorable or comfortable feeling towards them.
Worldview
A philosophy of life, a set of fundamental ideas that help us make sense of a wide range of important issues in life.
Subjective relativism
The idea that truth depends of what someone believes in
Subjectivist fallacy
Accepting the notion of subjective relativism or use it to try and support a claim.
