| dc.description.abstract | This is a textbook on critical and creative thinking. It can be used as a course
text or a self-contained study guide. Since there are many similar textbooks in the
market, let me describe some special features of this book:
• Unlike most textbooks, I discuss both critical and creative thinking because
they are equally important for problem solving and they are not indepen-
dent of each other. We need creativity in critical thinking to come up with
arguments, counterexamples, and alternative explanations. And creativity
needs critical thinking in evaluating and improving new ideas. They are
both part of the essential thinking toolkit.
• Good thinking requires not just knowledge of the principles of good reason-
ing. We discuss them of course, but personality and other psychological fac-
tors matter as well. This book emphasizes the importance of attitudes and
practice for good thinking. We also discuss findings in cognitive science and
psychology, such as cognitive biases in reasoning and decision making.
• Our thinking directly affects our life through the choices we make. These
choices depend in part on our values and moral outlook. It is of utmost
importance that we can think about these issues critically and impartially.
I therefore include a chapter on decision making and another one on the
foundation of moral reasoning.
IX
X PREFACE
• This book has a companion website: Critical Thinking Web. It is located at
http: / /philosophy.hku.hk/think, and hosted by the Philosophy Department
of the University of Hong Kong. The website includes many online tuto-
rials that are used in schools and universities around the world. A special
section is devoted to this book, which includes errata, additional notes and
exercises, and further readings.
• This book is not an encyclopedia on thinking skills. It aims to be a short and
readable text, providing the reader with a practical and sound foundation. I
deliberately leave out a complete treatment of Venn diagrams and standard
formal logic. Interested readers and teachers can consult the companion
website for online tutorials on these topics.
• Useful facts and rules are often presented in bullet points to make them
clearer. I also include many examples from finance and business to show
how critical thinking is relevant to a variety of careers.
A note of warning: To make the text more readable and the sentences shorter,
sometimes I simplify and leave out minor qualifications. I am also less strict with
the use of quotations marks than I would otherwise be as an academic philoso-
pher. Finally, many of the ideas in the book are not original. They come from
other philosophers, psychologists, and experts in other areas.
Thanks to Tim van Gelder for his comments on my earlier book proposal. I also
want to thank Lee Tien Ming and Jonathan Chan. I have learned a lot about critical
thinking from all of them. I would also like to thank Executive Editor Stephen
Quigley at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and Assistant Editor Jacqueline Palmieri. They
have been most patient even though I kept missing one deadline after another. On
a more technical matter, this book was typeset with ETÈX- It has made the whole
project so much more efficient and enjoyable. Thanks to Donald Knuth, Leslie
Lamport, and other contributors to the system. Finally, this book is the result of
over ten years of teaching in critical thinking. My heartfelt thanks to the many
generations of students who endured my classes and smiled politely at my jokes. | vi |
