PHIL 105/105G Critical Thinking
Psychologists tell us that people routinely make systematic mistakes in their reasoning. This course uncovers some of the most common mistakes. It provides methods for avoiding using, and being persuaded by, bad reasoning. We examine examples of bad reasoning from many sources, including letters to the editor, advertisements and political debates. This course employs some basic philosophical tools and concepts from Logic but there is very little use of symbols and no Mathematical Logic. It is recommended that students who want to obtain a satisfactory passing grade for this course should have a mastery of both written and spoken English.
This course improves your ability to comprehend complex reasoning and identify common mistakes in arguments. It can help you to present your ideas more clearly and persuasively to your peers in academic work and in professional settings. It also introduces you to the way good reasoning is structured, and to logic and philosophy.
Students who successfully complete the course will:
- develop the ability to detect bad reasoning, and understand why it is bad;
- be able to construct good and persuasive arguments;
- be able to recognise common mistakes in reasoning; and
- become familiar with basic analytic philosophical terminology and methodology.
The first part of the course focuses on argument detection, analysis and evaluation. The rest of the course applies these tools to the diagnosis of common mistakes in reasoning, such as wishful thinking, mistaking cause for correlation, being swayed by irrelevant information and being misled by statistics.
Summer School: Up to eight hours per week (see timetable below for details): two or three two-hour lectures and one or two one-hour tutorials (depending on the week).
Semesters One and Two: Three hours per week - two one-hour lectures and a one-hour tutorial.
Summer School: two tests (worth 25% and 35% of the total grade, respectively) and an examination (worth 40% of the total grade).
Semesters One and Two: two tests (worth 25% and 35% of the total grade, respectively) and an assignment (worth 40% of the total grade).
A coursebook and workbook are provided free of charge. There is a highly recommended textbook:
Bruce N. Waller, Critical Thinking - Consider the Verdict, Fifth edition (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005)
Lecture slides and additional resources including practice tests and assignments/exams will be available on Cecil.
First Semester
Names: Jonathan McKeown-Green (Course Supervisor) and Imran Aijaz (lecturer).
E-mail for the course: phil105@auckland.ac.nz
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext
"When I think of the lectures which I had attended, it seems as though it would be better to phrase this as lectures we have shared together, because I felt personally encouraged and involved ... despite my being only one of a few hundred in the paper."
"It was amongst the first of my University papers and will certainly remain one of the most memorable. ... The team developed an extremely entertaining and creative course out of what some may have considered to be somewhat dry material."
"More like entertaining performances than lectures, the classes seamlessly weave together live music, jokes and even characters that evolve as the course progresses."
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