Chapter 11 in Power of Critical Thinking Vaughn discusses morality. He quickly admits that this is a complex and often unexamined aspect of critical thinking. But he goes on to emphasize its importance when writing that we must confront morality everyday. Because of this, I believe this is the most relevant and relatable chapter we have read in PCT. Moral arguments, premises, theories, and statements all help us develop a coherent worldview.

Vaughn’s discussion of a coherent worldview is one of the most important themes of critical thinking. It is our set of beliefs and morals that help form opinions about the world. He writes that is is how we make sense of and understand all types of situations. But is is also important (and difficult) to develop a worldview without biases and contradictions. Vaughn admits that establishing a worldview “is the work of a lifetime, requiring reflection, critical thinking, and (often) personal anguish” (440). This is a lifelong task because it requires us to analyze every claim and point of view.

The Socrates quote Vaughn included made me think further about how realistic moral reasoning is. Socrates says, “A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true” (423). The idea of emotions and morality being different for everyone makes it practically impossible to agree upon. What appears moral in one culture or country can be completely immoral in another. The relative nature of this topic plays a significant role in why it is so complex.