go HOME

go STUDY

 

PHIL 103: Critical Thinking

Colombetti

 

Course Description:

Critical Thinking is the special area of philosophy that deals with the criteria for justified belief. It consists of techniques that anyone can learn to use for deciding what to believe. This course is an introduction to the techniques and methods of logic. It will include a detailed presentation of deductive and inductive patterns of reasoning, categorical logic, Venn diagrams, informal fallacies, and an introduction to scientific theories and methods. Students will learn how to identify, reconstruct, analyze, and evaluate arguments.   

Recommended: eligibility for ENGL 836.
Transfer Credit: UC; CSU (A3)


Bertrand Russell




Students can obtain an official syllabus in class.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR PHIL 103:

…what a student will know or be able to do at the completion of the course.
 

o       SLO 1.  When presented with an argument, the student is able to assess the soundness of the argument by assessing deductive validity using appropriate deductive techniques (and assessing the truth or epistemic value of the premises using reliable sources of information). 

o       SLO 2.  When presented with an argument, the student is able to assess the cogency of the argument by assessing inductive strength using appropriate inductive techniques (and assessing the truth or epistemic value of the premises using reliable sources of information). 

o       SLO 3.  When presented with a theoretical hypothesis or a pseudo-scientific claim, the student is able to evaluate it using appropriate explanatory criteria.

o       SLO 4.  At the end of the course, the student is able to construct a novel, interesting, and logically correct argument that avoids fallacies.  The student is also able to represent the logical structure of the argument (in standard logical form), as well as express and defend the argument as a short essay. 


 

SLOS 1, 2, and 3 will be assessed with chapter exams and the final exam.
SLO 4 will be assessed by a short essay assignment due near the end of the semester.
See the evaluation criteria for Critical Thinking SLOS:  CT Rubric
See also evaluation criteria for essays:  Standards for Essays

____________________________________________________________________


Required Text:

Lewis Vaughn,
The Power of Critical Thinking, 2nd edition,
 

 

 

 



Recommended but not required:

Schick and Vaughn,
How to Think About Weird Things
3rd or 4th edition,
(McGrawHill 2002 or 2005)