Critical Thinking

Phil. 4

Section 3, 4, 5  Fall 

Section 3:  Mondays, 3:00-4:15pm, MND 1003

Section 4: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:45am, MRP 1000

Section 5: Wednesdays, 1:30-2:45pm MRP 1000 



Catalog: PHIL 4. Critical Thinking. Study of the basic skills of good reasoning needed for the intelligent and responsible conduct of life. Topics include: argument structure and identification, validity and strength of arguments, common fallacies of reasoning, use and abuse of language in reasoning, principles of fair play in argumentation. Units: 3.0.

Text:  There is no required text for this course.  The readings for each week are listed and linked on the schedule for your section under the relevant weeks. 

McCormick Philosophy

Course Description: This course is designed to improve one of the fundamental intellectual abilities, the capacity to think critically. A well-trained critical thinker has a number of skills that we will develop and practice.

This is a hybrid course.  You must have a functioning, reliable computer and internet connection to be able to take this course.  You will need to access course materials here and in Canvas daily.    

No smart phone use, unless explicitly instructed by the professor, will be allowed in class.  

Students may use a laptop in class for notes, but to minimize distractions for the rest of the class, please only have course materials on your screen.  

Being late:  Important class information and often quizzes are given in the first 10 minutes of every class.  In addition, important, graded in-class points will be assessed in the first ten minutes of class.  Don't be late.  

The knowledge and skills to be studied in this course include:

Student Outcome Goals: At the end of the course the student should have the ability to:

Scientific Reasoning, Critical Thinking, and the Irrationality: We will be considering arguments from a variety of sources such as the television news media, newspapers, articles, TED talks, politicians, statistical studies, science, parapsychologists, pseudo-science and so on. We will see how scientific reasoning that addresses double blind controls, the placebo effect, confirmation bias, and other issues is the best method for finding truth and avoiding error.  We will also consider a wide range of common biases, mistakes in reasoning, and heuristics that are apparent in people's problem solving and thinking. 

Racism, Sexism, Gender, Politics, and Religion:  Clear critical thinking and intellectual discourse require open debate, free inquiry, and a willingness to subject all ideas, however cherished or sensitive, to scrutiny and critique.  Diverse opinions must be heard, acknowledged, considered, and thoughtfully critiqued for the healthy development of the mind.  Considering those diverse opinions requires maturity, objectivity, and circumspection.

Racism, sexism, gender, politics, and religion are some of the most sensitive and controversial topics in American culture, and they are also the topics that where thoughtful, respectful, and constructive discourse has become the most difficult.  In the public discourse, in particular in social media, these topics reveal many of our most serious failures to think critically.  Emotions and ideological commitments often derailed our ability to think clearly.  They are topics where we make many of our most serious mistakes and they are topics where the ability to think clearly, rationally, and constructively are most needed.  In the course of our considering a wide range of topics and arguments, examples of mistakes, biases, errors from these discussions will come up.  Talking, thinking, and writing about these topics in ways that are 1) sensitive to the harms caused to victims but also 2) oriented toward the goals of being reasonable and acquiring knowledge is a difficult balance.  We will talk about these topics and about controversial positions concerning them and we will strive to achieve that balance.  

Student Assessment: Students' abilities to meet these outcome goals will be evaluated with in-class quizzes, an argument analysis test, an argument reconstruction test, a midterm, and a final exam.

Grading: There will be 8 in-class quizzes worth 5 points each, an argument analysis test worth 10 points, an argument reconstruction test worth 10 points, a midterm worth 20 points, and a final exam worth 20 points.  

8 In-class quizzes worth 5 points each = 40% of total grade.  There will be at least two extra quizzes over the semester; we will take the top 8 scores.  

An argument analysis test worth 10 points = 10% of total grade.  

An argument reconstruction test worth 10 points = 10% of total grade.  

Midterm exam worth 20 points = 20% of total grade.  

Final exam worth 20 points: 20% of total grade.  

How the class is conducted:  See the course schedule for your section for details about what is assigned for each week, topics, test dates, and class information.  McCormick Philosophy