Quick Write

How have your beliefs and ideas been shaped from birth?

Critical Thinking



Critical thinking requires us to support our position and also see the other side. The heart of critical thinking is a willingness to face objections to one’s own beliefs, to adopt a skeptical attitude not only toward views opposed to our own but also toward our own common sense – that is, toward views that seem to us as obviously right (Barnet et al. 12)

Kim Davis at the county clerk’s office in Morehead, Ky., in 2015.

Issue: Gay Marriage Licenses

In a 2015 case from Kentucky, Kim Davis refused to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Who has a say in the matter? What is affected by this issue?

Let’s work on the three questions on page 10.

Why are we talking about this issue? How does this affect people who are not gay?

News Article

Gay man denied marriage license by Kim Davis challenging her for county clerk: I want to bring ‘people back together’

Obstacles to Critical Thinking

  1. The topic is too controversial.
  2. The topic hits “too close to home.” Personal experience with topic.
  3. The topic disgusts you.

Generating Ideas: Writing as a Way of Thinking

Writing helps writers to think. Prewriting, Brainstorming, clustering, lists,

Confronting Unfamiliar Issues

Since college can not prepare you for every possible issue you will face, it seeks to equip you with tools, methods, and habits of mind that enable you to confront arguments about any potential issue.

Identifying and Examining Assumptions

Assumptions may be explicit or implicit, stated or unstated.

Implicit Assumption: one that is not stated and often taken for granted.

Explicit Assumption: a clearly stated assumption.

What assumptions do you see in the issue?

David Ermold speaks with Clerk Kim Davis as he files to run for Rowan County Clerk Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017, in Morehead, Ky.

1st Amendment


The 1st Amendment