One cannot stress enough the importance of critical thinking. Without it, we would be defenseless against the manipulative tactics of other people, governments, religions, the media, corporations, politicians, swindlers, etc. Without it, we would not be able to make progress in our knowledge of the world, society and ourselves; we would not be able to make wise decisions; we would not know how to become better citizens of the world; and we would not be able to have a hope of engaging with, and maybe even discovering the answers to, some of the deepest philosophical and scientific questions the human mind has ever pondered.
Hopefully I've been able to give you a comprehensive and
fun introduction to logical fallacies in the past, but it's never a bad idea to sometimes go back to the basics, as the following animated clips on argumentation, fallacies and cognitive biases demonstrate:
Part 2: Broken Logic
Part 3: The Straw Man fallacy
Part 4: Ad hominem attacks
Part 5: The Gambler's Fallacy
Part 6: A Cautionary Tale
