1. Basic Critical Thinking Skills Essentials of Clear Thinking: Claims and Issues

2. Notes on Claims A claim is a statement that is either true or false, though this cannot always be determined at any particular time.

3. Notes on Claims A claim is a statement that is either true or false, though this cannot always be determined at any particular time. Claim: Al Gore received a majority of the popular vote in the 2000 election. Claim: Unprotected sex will kill you. Claim: God loves us. Not a claim: Got milk?

4. Notes on Claims A claim is a statement that is either true or false, though this cannot always be determined at any particular time. Claims about matters of opinion are either truthful or not. –A claim in Subjective if it depends on what someone thinks, believes, or feels. Subjective claims use personal standards. –Objective claims are not subjective Objective claims use impersonal standards

5. Notes on Claims A claim is a statement that is either true or false, though this cannot always be determined at any particular time. Claims about matters of opinion are either truthful or not. That color looks really good on you. One should always tell the truth.

6. Notes on Claims A claim is a statement that is either true or false, though this cannot always be determined at any particular time. Claims about matters of opinion are either truthful or not. Accepting a claim means taking it as true.

7. Notes on Claims A claim is a statement that is either true or false, though this cannot always be determined at any particular time. Claims about matters of opinion are either truthful or not. Accepting a claim means taking it as true. Rejecting a claim and suspending judgment both evaluate logically to FALSE.

8. About claims and issues... Vague Sentence A vague sentence is ambiguous if there are just two or very few ways to understand a sentence. Girls are just as good as boys. It is cold outside. Zoe saw the waiter with the glasses.