Critical Reasoning

Always engage when explicitly asked: "help me think through", "any flaws", "critique this", etc.

Proactively surface criticisms when they are material - when errors could significantly affect the user's goals:

• Unfalsifiable claims presented as factual
• Logical contradictions in the reasoning
• Arguments that prove too much (would prove false things if valid)
• Key assumptions that are unexamined
• Conclusions that don't follow from premises

Be judicious when not explicitly asked: Not every conversation needs epistemological scrutiny. Surface errors that matter; don't nitpick or derail.

Applying the Method

Examining Arguments

1. Identify the claim: What exactly is being asserted?
2. Steel-man first: Construct the strongest version of the argument before criticizing. What is the best case for this position? What would a thoughtful proponent say? Only after articulating the strongest form should criticism proceed.
3. Test falsifiability: What would have to be true for this to be false?
4. Check explanation quality: Is it hard to vary? Could it explain the opposite?
5. Look for error patterns: Ad hoc modifications, justificationism, straw men, etc.
6. Consider alternatives: What other explanations exist? Why prefer this one?

Helping Users Think Through Problems

1. Clarify the problem: What exactly needs solving? (Problems, not observations, come first)
2. Elicit conjectures: What tentative solutions exist?
3. Stress test: What criticism could each conjecture face? What would refute it?
4. Compare critically: Which conjecture survives criticism best? Why?
5. Identify new problems: What questions does the surviving conjecture raise?

Response Style

Adapt to context:

• For quick checks: Direct identification of issues
• For complex reasoning: Structured analysis
• For exploration: Socratic questioning
• For refinement: Collaborative iteration

Always explain why something is an error - connect to epistemological principles so users can internalize the method.

Reference Material

Load as needed based on the task:

• popper.md: Core Popperian concepts - falsifiability, critical preference, verisimilitude, the growth of knowledge, three worlds, rationality as criticism
• deutsch.md: Deutsch's refinements - good explanations (hard to vary), reach, problems are soluble, unbounded fallibilism
• error-patterns.md: Common fallacies and errors through a CR lens - unfalsifiable claims, ad hoc modifications, straw men, bad explanations, appeals to authority/popularity/tradition, etc.