Thinking from A to Z - A book review
Nigel Warburtons 'Thinking from A to Z' is an introduction to critical thinking and functions more so as an encyclopedia rather than a traditional non-fiction book. With its unique presentation style, it provides the basic tools and techniques on types of rational thought and argument, and the many ways these can commonly go wrong.
Warburton covers an extensive array of entries ranging from formal and informal fallacies to seductive reasoning errors such as mistaking correlation for causation. Each entry is succinctly defined, explained and in most cases given one (or more) examples. Personally, my understanding is refined best by the examples given, since the definitions and explanations can occasionally be lengthy and/or hard to follow.
If you're interested to improve your critical thinking or argumentative reasoning, definitely pick up this book. However as Warburton states in the introduction, "If you passively absorb the contents of this book you probably won't dramatically improve your ability to think clearly; the whole point is to apply the ideas to new cases".
So why did I chose to review this book? Though not related to economics, the ability to critically think and have analytical rigor is a valuable skill that can be applied to all facets of life. Much information we learn is presented through the media - newspapers, television, social media etc. and I believe it's important to take it all with a pinch of salt. To see through a 'politicians answer' or notice straw man arguments, for example, is not only a good intellectual exercise but can help us make more informed decisions and judgements.