Course Title: Critical Thinking - 102
Instructor: James O'Heare, CABC, CDBC, PABC
Course Description:
Critical Thinking is a 2 month in-depth and advanced exploration of logic, critical thinking and reasoning skills. This course will help provide the student with the skills necessary to critically evaluate arguments and produce more solid arguments. The student will learn about how to systematically evaluate and critique the arguments presented by others as well as validly and soundly present effecting arguments one's self. Critical thinking skills involve logic and reasoning as well as creativity and provides a solid basis for scientific reasoning.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completing this course, the student will be able to:
- Identifying arguments (as opposed to other kinds of utterances)
- Diagramming arguments, identifying the premises and conclusions, and their relationship to one another
- Formulating and evaluating definitions
- Understanding, defining and distinguishing facts, inferences, opinions and assumptions.
- Characteristics of strong and weak arguments, valid and invalid arguments
- Acceptability of premises as well as relevance and sufficiency of the premises in supporting the conclusion
- Critiquing the arguments and writings of others
- Fallacies
- Argumentative writing skills
Texts:
- Thinking for yourself: Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading and Writing 7th edition by Marlys Mayfield
- http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/ (as a resource)
Course Evaluation:
The course will be evaluated by a single course project and by way of a final exam. The final grade will be the mean average grade for assignment and the exam. The assignment is worth 50% of the grade and the exam, the other 50%.
Prerequisites:
None