Title |
Critical Thinking
|
Prefix
and Number |
PHI 2103 |
Section |
RVC |
Semester/Year |
Spring 2023 |
Location |
Online |
Day/Time |
N/A |
Instructor |
Kenton Harris |
Instructor
Office |
DM343 B MMC |
Instructor
Telephone Number |
(305) 348-3516 |
Instructor
E-mail |
|
Text(s) |
None (Some notes will be provided.) |
Quizzes |
Ten quizzes (objective- short answer) |
Exams |
Two |
Short
Writing Assignments |
Ten (varied) |
Paper |
One (3 parts: original, peer review and redraft) |
Final
Exam |
Yes during Final Exam Week |
Important
Dates:
Graded Assignment |
Date Due |
Percentage of Final Grade |
Quiz 1 |
1/20 |
2% |
Quiz 2 |
1/27 |
2% |
Quiz 3 |
2/3 |
2% |
Quiz 4 |
2/17 |
2% |
Quiz 5 |
2/24 |
2% |
Quiz 6 |
3/10 |
2% |
Quiz 7 |
3/17 |
2% |
Quiz 8 |
3/31 |
2% |
Quiz 9 |
4/7 |
2% |
Quiz 10 |
4/14 |
2% |
Lowest Three Quizzes Dropped – No Make Up
Quizzes Given |
||
Exam 1 |
2/10 |
15% |
Exam 2 |
3/24 |
15% |
Short Writing Assignment 1 |
1/23 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 2 |
1/30 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 3 |
2/6 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 4 |
2/13 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 5 |
2/20 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 6 |
3/6 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 7 |
3/13 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 8 |
3/20 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 9 |
3/27 |
2% |
Short Writing Assignment 10 |
4/21 |
2% |
Paper 1a |
4/3 |
15% |
Peer Review 1 |
4/10 |
|
Paper 1b |
4/17 |
|
Final Exam |
During Final Exam Week |
20% |
End of the Drop/Add Period Last Day to Drop Without
incurring financial liability |
||
Last Day to Apply for Fall
Graduation |
||
Last Date to Drop and
Receive a “DR” |
Course
Description:
Course description:
Enhancement and development of reasoning and argument analysis
skills. Topics include:
claims verses non-claims, the elements of arguments, the concepts of truth,
verification, and propositional knowledge; inductive and deductive reasoning;
formal and informal arguments and common errors in reasoning, basic moral,
aesthetic and legal reasoning.
Purpose and
Objectives:
Purpose:
While many persons can intuitively identify obviously
good or faulty reasoning, many cannot explain the underlying principles of
proper reasoning nor explain (much less name) examples of fallacious
reasoning. On an even more elementary
level, we sometimes find ourselves in the middle of "disputes" which
are not legitimate arguments at all, but rather a clash of subjective attitudes
of emotional content for which a logical resolution is neither possible nor
needed. In such instances, despite the
fact that all parties agree on all the facts, each continues to regard their
opponent as "mistaken," never clearly seeing that there is nothing to
this “dispute.” Still other times we are
moved to action or judgement (political, economic, aesthetic, etc.) despite the
fact that we've been given no reason to be so moved. These, among other topics will be
explored. We shall endeavor to develop
the skills necessary not only to reason well, but also to distinguish between
those times when reason is called for and those times when it is irrelevant.
Objectives:
The First Focus of this Course:
To
understand the various uses to which language can be put. To identify the
difference between claims and non-claims and the need for and structure of
rational justification of claims.
The Second Focus of this Course:
The
different areas and characteristics of good deductive reasoning (Aristotelian
Syllogistics) applying the rules of validity, and elementary propositional
logic.
The Third Focus of this Course:
Identifying
fallacious forms of reasoning and being able to apply countermeasures to
them.
The Forth Focus of this Course:
An
examination of the standards of strong inductive inference, explanatory
reasoning and statistical reasoning.
The Fifth Focus of this Course:
Understanding
the fundamental reasons for judging behavior moral or immoral and to recognize
these reasons when used to build a persuasive ethical argument (as they appear
in editorials, public policies, codes of professional ethics, legal judgements,
foreign policy statements). This will also require the student to recognize the
absence of good
moral reasoning when it is lacking and to apply these moral theories to current
moral issues.
How does this course advance/fit the College mission?
Because
this is a course in philosophy, it necessarily requires that students become
acquainted with the history of western ideas and the advance of western
culture. Beyond that, students will learn to sharpen their observational
skills, analytic as well as synthetic thinking, and writing abilities and
communication skills. It is precisely this kind of breadth of knowledge and
intellectual maturity which is expected of college graduates.
During
this course the student will build these and other skills. Such skills, the
organization and evaluation of arguments in the arts, sciences, mathematics,
ethics, politics, advertising, etc. are indicative of higher education.
Further, without such, the capacity for critical judgement would be far beneath
what is necessary for the political health of a self-governed democracy such as
ours.
Course Mechanics:
Video
recorded lectures and accompanying notes are provided discussing the topic
material designated for that day by the lesson plan.
Learning Methods:
This
course will be primarily lecture in format. There will be several mandatory
outside assignments. Students will be tested on comprehension of lecture and
text material with exams as well as be required to write a paper involving some
research and original thought.
Skills
Component:
As with any philosophy class, there will be heavy
emphasis on clear articulation skills, the ability to reason and justify one's
own assertions, and to see the implications and ramifications of theoretical
positions. Developing these skills will be a major focus of the course and,
indeed, will be necessary for passing this course.
1. To understand the different areas in
which deductive and inductive reasoning occurs (e.g. science, opinion polls,
philosophy, advertising, editorials, etc.) and how requirements shift according
to areas.
2. Verification/ justification
principles in different areas where induction occurs.
3. Know and use the different standard
and non-standard forms of deductive reasoning.
4. To identify fallacies of a formal
and informal type.
5. To understand and identify moral
reasoning and distinguish morals reasons and non-moral reasons.
6. To understand and identify aesthetic
reasoning and distinguish aesthetic reasons and non-aesthetic reasons.
Basic Policies
Below are listed various procedural policies. By remaining a registered student in this
course you indicate you acceptance of the policies listed in this syllabus.
Make-up
policies:
·
There will be no make-ups for missed work or
tests.
·
A documented emergency will be dealt with on
an individual basis.
Drops:
Students unable or unwilling to continue in the course
should notify the instructor. It is their responsibility to officially
withdrawal through PantherSoft and/or the Registrar's Office. If they do
not officially withdraw, they will receive an F for the course.
Special
Learning Needs:
Students with documented special learning needs are asked
to have Student Services inform the instructor so that accommodations can be
made when necessary for testing, note taking or, paper writing.
Class Conduct
This is a fully online course.
Requirements
and Grading:
Quizzes:
There will be a total of ten quizzes. All are largely objective and multiple choice questions.
No make-up quizzes will be given.
Exams:
There will be two exams given during
the semester. The material will be drawn
from BOTH lecture materials and the assigned text readings. The exam will have both multiple choice/
short answer questions and essay questions.
Short Writing Assignments:
There will be a series of short writing
assignments. They are largely laddered
and targeted at drilling a specific writing or critical thinking skill.
Papers:
The second set of exercises is a longer paper
assignment which has three elements: You will:
1.
Write a first draft
2.
Submit two peer reviews
3.
Write a final draft.
This larger writing assignment that will take
the form of a brief critique of articles and/or editorials, ad's, policy
statements, etc. The details of this
assignment will be made clearer as the course proceeds.
Note about the peer reviews:
Because of the way Canvas is configured, you must submit these
peer reviews in two different ways.
1.
First you must submit the comments to your peers using
the comments box provided by Canvas next to your peer’s paper.
2.
However, you must also copy and paste the same comments
into a document and upload that document to the assignment in your assignments
list entitled “Peer Review.”
If you only submit your peer comments via the assignments box,
your classmates will not have access to them. If you only submit your peer
review comments into the comments box on your classmates’ papers, I will not
receive a copy nor will I know when you have completed this assignment.
Therefore, it is important that you do both. You must submit the peer
review comments into the comments box on your peers’ papers, but you must also
submit those same comments in a separate document to me using the assignments
box.
I understand that this is a little confusing, but it's the best I
can do given the way Canvas has configured this assignment.
Final Exam:
A final examination will be given during the
final exam week as scheduled by the University.
(Student can find their final exam schedule on the PantherSoft Student
Center Page and selecting it from the Drop-down menu there.) It will be NOT be
cumulative, but will only include material covered after the midterm exam. It will be structured as the previous exam
was.
Grades will be based on the
Quizzes (15%)
Short Writing Assignments (20%)
Paper (15% total- see “Writing Component” above for more
details)
Exams (30% total)
Final Exam (20%)
Grading
Scale:
|
A = (100-94) |
A- = (93-92) |
B+ = (91-88) |
B = (87-84) |
B- = (83-81) |
C+ = (80-77) |
C = (76-70) |
|
D = (69-60) |
||
F = (59-0) |
|
ATTENTION STUDENTS: NOTE both the grading scale and the exam and
paper dates now. No exceptions will be
made so you must decide NOW whether these terms are acceptable to you or not or
whether they interfere will travel plans or personal commitments. It is your decision to remain in this course
under the specified conditions and I encourage each of you to thoughtfully
consider.