An incoming freshman in 2008 probably has memories of only one sitting presi- dent: George W. Bush. Bill Clinton is better known as Hillary's husband than as president The name Jimmy Carter rings a bell with some of our students, but thats about all. This phenomenon requires a lot of replacement to keep names familiar to students cropping up in the book from time to time. After sneaking Paris Hiltons name into the eighth edition three times we were delighted to see her still in the news--make that"news. "She gets a photo this time There are still some important names from the past--Ronald Reagan is now moving into mythology, but at least the name is familiar--and of course not all references require familiarity on the part of the reader. But we hope the effort to include familiar names will make it easier as we said last time. to teach critical thinking without having to provide history lessons as well Visuals In the previous edition, we went to full-color photographs and pointed out how such visual material could color our beliefs and attitudes just as it colors the image on the page. As previously indicated, we ve extended that process in this edition, with ample evidence of how photos and other images can mislead us as well as teach us. There are more than 100 color photographs included in this edition--many of them the subject of analysis either in the caption or the accompanying text. We also have five photos of bears. Moore likes bears There is also a separate section in Chapter 5 devoted to the manipulation of belief accomplished by the manipulation of in nages litical year as this edition emerges, and printed pages and televi ion screens abound with images designed to make one candidate look bet ter than another: Obama is presidential; no, Obama is wishy-washy. Hillary is experienced; no, Hillary is shrill. McCain is tough; no, McCain is corrupt Kucinich is short. And We try throughout the book to defeat the ten- dency of such packaging to influence what we think about its subjects But whether it's politics, advertising, or some other area in which visual images affect our judgment, we think you'll find material here that will help you make your point Presentation We are constantly trying to seek the correct balance between explication and example. We rely both on our own classroom experience and on feedback from nstructors who use the book in getting this balance right. In early editions, we sometimes overdid it with lecture-type explanations. Lately, weve relied more heavily on illustrations and, where possible, on real-life examples. This time weve gone back and cleared up the treatment of several important concepts, but illustrations and examples continue to have a very strong presence. According to our own experience and that of many reviewers, the latter contribute greatly to the books readability, especially when incorporated into real-life stories Critical thinking is neither the easiest subject to teach nor the easiest to learn. It incorporates so many different skills(see the list in Chapter 1]that even defining the subject is much more difficult than doing so for most others. But,in the long run, these skills are all aimed at making wise decisions about what to believe and what to do. Furthermore, we believe that the subject is best taught by integrating logic, both formal and informal, with a variety of other skills and topics that can help us make sound decisions about claims, actions, policies, and practices. As we have done from the beginning, we try here to present this material in realistic contexts that are familiar to and understandable by today s studentsRevised Pages xii PREFACE An incoming freshman in 2008 probably has memories of only one sitting presi￾dent: George W. Bush. Bill Clinton is better known as Hillary’s husband than as president. The name Jimmy Carter rings a bell with some of our students, but that’s about all. This phenomenon requires a lot of replacement to keep names familiar to students cropping up in the book from time to time. (After sneaking Paris Hilton’s name into the eighth edition three times, we were delighted to see her still in the news—make that “news.” She gets a photo this time.) There are still some important names from the past—Ronald Reagan is now moving into mythology, but at least the name is familiar—and of course not all references require familiarity on the part of the reader. But we hope the effort to include familiar names will make it easier, as we said last time, to teach critical thinking without having to provide history lessons as well. Visuals In the previous edition, we went to full-color photographs and pointed out how such visual material could color our beliefs and attitudes just as it colors the image on the page. As previously indicated, we’ve extended that process in this edition, with ample evidence of how photos and other images can mislead us as well as teach us. There are more than 100 color photographs included in this edition—many of them the subject of analysis either in the caption or the accompanying text. We also have five photos of bears. Moore likes bears. There is also a separate section in Chapter 5 devoted to the manipulation of belief accomplished by the manipulation of images. It’s a political year as this edition emerges, and printed pages and televi￾sion screens abound with images designed to make one candidate look bet￾ter than another: Obama is presidential; no, Obama is wishy-washy. Hillary is experienced; no, Hillary is shrill. McCain is tough; no, McCain is corrupt. Kucinich is short. And so on. We try throughout the book to defeat the ten￾dency of such packaging to influence what we think about its subjects. But whether it’s politics, advertising, or some other area in which visual images affect our judgment, we think you’ll find material here that will help you make your point. Presentation We are constantly trying to seek the correct balance between explication and example. We rely both on our own classroom experience and on feedback from instructors who use the book in getting this balance right. In early editions, we sometimes overdid it with lecture-type explanations. Lately, we’ve relied more heavily on illustrations and, where possible, on real-life examples. This time, we’ve gone back and cleared up the treatment of several important concepts, but illustrations and examples continue to have a very strong presence. According to our own experience and that of many reviewers, the latter contribute greatly to the book’s readability, especially when incorporated into real-life stories. Critical thinking is neither the easiest subject to teach nor the easiest to learn. It incorporates so many different skills (see the list in Chapter 1) that even defining the subject is much more difficult than doing so for most others. But, in the long run, these skills are all aimed at making wise decisions about what to believe and what to do. Furthermore, we believe that the subject is best taught by integrating logic, both formal and informal, with a variety of other skills and topics that can help us make sound decisions about claims, actions, policies, and practices. As we have done from the beginning, we try here to present this material in realistic contexts that are familiar to and understandable by today’s students. moo86677_fm_i-xxii.indd xii 6/23/08 3:45:16 PM