Text Pages \ How To Think: A Crash Course On Critical Thinking

This book, by Juan Valdez, is designed to make you think about how you think.

Chapters include:

• INTRODUCTION: CRITICAL THINKING
• CHAPTER 1: THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH
• CHAPTER 2: CRITICAL THINKING PRINCIPLES
• CHAPTER 3: OBSTACLES TO CRITICAL THINKING
• CHAPTER 4: CRITICAL THINKING AND PHILOSOPHY
• CHAPTER 5: DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS: GENERAL
• CHAPTER 6: DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS: CATECORICAL SYLLOGISMS
• CHAPTER 7: INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
• CHAPTER 8: FORMAL LOGICAL FALLACIES
• CHAPTER 9: INFORMAL LOGICAL FALLICIES - Part 1
• CHAPTER 10: NFORMAL LOGICAL FALLACIES - Part 2

FOREWARD

by ALEX MCFARLAND

Seven centuries before the birth of Christ the prophet Isaiah - writing as directed by God's Holy Spirit- penned the invitation, "Come now, let us reason together" (1:18). The Biblical God enjoins the creatures made in His image (that's we humans, by the way) ... to think. We are to reason, and we are to do it well. God is glorified when people think well and behave reasonably. Christianity is unique among belief systems regarding the premium it places on rational thought. I realize that this statement would come as a surprise to many moderns whose image of Christianity is really but a caricature.

Because God is a rational, logical and orderly God, the universe is an intelligible, comprehensible place. It is possible to discover things that are really true. Actual truth may be discovered, reality can be understood, and real knowledge may be attained. Glory to God!

In addition to the Isaiah passage mentioned, other Scriptures (such as Proverbs 1-3) urge people to think correctly, seek truth, and look to God for wisdom. In programming the hearts of people to "seek truth" our Creator has extended to humans the holy calling (it is a mandate, really) to think logically. God has even given as a toolkit to help in this endeavor, a resource carried within each of us, the laws (or principles) of logic. In this fine book, penned by one of the most godly and wise men I have ever had the privilege to know, you will learn to identify and use the basic principles of logic.

Some say that logic is a human invention. False. Many well-known thinkers have pursued the rules of reason, written about them, and have categorized examples of right and wrong thinking (these would include Socrates, Solomon, Aquinas, C.S. Lewis, to name a few). Man has discovered reason, but he didn't invent rationality. This is a rational universe and we can think within the bounds of logic because God (the Creator and foundation of all reality) is a reasonable Being. It is altogether appropriate to offer our minds for the service of God, and to ask Him to make them the best they may be (see James 1:5).

Millions today have been raised / conditioned to think illogically if not reject the idea of truth outright. Most of these people- groping through life amidst a haze of relativism- are not even aware that "denial of truth has become their default perspective. In composing this "Christian tutorial on better thinking," my dear friend Juan Valdes is serving the needs of many people. Juan is himself a meticulous thinker and a brilliant Christian scholar. I commend his scholarship to readers everywhere. I believe that the Lord will use Juan's book to equip many for the exposure of that which is false, and toward the apprehension of that which is good, true, and beautiful.