PHIL A150: Critical Reasoning & Writing
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Curriculum Committee Approval Date | 03/23/2022 |
| Top Code | 150900 - Philosophy |
| Units | 3 Total Units |
| Hours | 54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54) |
| Total Outside of Class Hours | 0 |
| Course Credit Status | Credit: Degree Applicable (D) |
| Material Fee | No |
| Basic Skills | Not Basic Skills (N) |
| Repeatable | No |
| Grading Policy | Standard Letter (S),
|
| Associate Arts Local General Education (GE) |
|
| Associate Science Local General Education (GE) |
|
| California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC) |
|
| Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) |
|
| California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth) |
|
Course Description
An introduction to the critical analysis and rational evaluation of argument and other forms of expression. Covers the uses of language, distinctions between deductive and inductive reasoning, and practice in detecting formal and informal fallacies. Develop tools for distinguishing between and evaluating beliefs, opinions, claims, explanations, and arguments. A strong emphasis is instruction in writing which models the critical thinking knowledge and skills examined in the course. PREREQUISITE: ENGL C1000 or ESL A100. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.
Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)
- Critically evaluate, assess and present types and properties of arguments and use logical techniques to determine and justify their structural features and claims.
- Write an argumentative paper with good formatting, persuasive reasoning, good logic and argumentation and a sensitivity to objections to their arguments.
Course Objectives
- I Effectively read and critically analyze (primarily) argumentative prose, and:
- I. 1. Distinguish different uses of language, forms of discourse, verbal disagreement from substantive disagreements, assertions of fact from assertions of opinions.
- I. 2. Distinguish arguments from explanations, descriptions, and unsupported claims.
- I. 3. Recognize and articulate stated and implied assumptions.
- I. 4. Distinguish inductive from deductive reasoning.
- I. 5. Recognize biased, emotive, persuasive, and propagandistic language.
- II Evaluate arguments and statements and will develop the skills of:
- II. 1. Determining valid and invalid, sound and unsound deductive arguments.
- II. 2. Determining strong and weak inductive arguments.
- II. 3. Distinguishing more acceptable from less acceptable unsupported statements.
- II. 4. Recognizing and decisively criticizing formal and informal fallacies of reasoning, problems of vagueness and ambiguity, and problems of meaning and definition.
- III Write analytical and argumentative prose, specifically developing their abilities to:
- III. 1. Delimit a topic idea appropriate to the length of the essay.
- III. 2. Clearly state the central claim to be examined.
- III. 3. Select and clearly articulate facts, examples, data, or evidence in support of the central claim.
- III. 4. Develop an essay outline to clearly state the central claim and coherently structure the supporting evidence.
- III. 5. Choose tone and voice appropriate to the character and level of essay audience and purpose of the essay.
- III. 6. Execute the outline with grammatical, well connected sentences.
Lecture Content
Introduction Definition of terms and concepts logic argument proposition inference judgment deduction induction validity sound argument Exercises in reasoning Arguments Distinguishing deductive and inductive arguments: validity and soundness, invalidity and unsoundness (deduction) correctness and incorrectness (induction) truth and its role in argumentation logical types and assumptions distinction of proof from verification--certainty and probability Diagramming technique for representing general structure of an argument types of inference analysis of sorities Argument forms Writing critical essays for critical thinking Two refined critical essays assigned Can be applied to any of the material of the course Instruction in essay writing in critical thinking including a developmental process taking students through a series of steps to develop essential skills for writing the essay Language: meaning and definition Cognitive and emotive meaning Terms: intension and extension Functions of language: language games Definitions: types and purpose Techniques of defining Criteria for framing definitions Fallacies: mistakes in reasoning Classification of fallacies Fallacies of evidence Fallacies of weak induction Fallacies of ambiguity and grammatical analogy The detection of fallacies in ordinary language ambiguity distinguished from vagueness introduction of linguistic concepts of “semantics” and “syntax” introduction to types of mean ing change that can generate ambiguity Deductive arguments Forms of argument Validity and soundness Statements Inductive arguments Analogy Moral reasoning Legal reasoning Statistical reasoning Causality and scientific reasoning
Method(s) of Instruction
- Lecture (02)
- DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
- DE Online Lecture (02X)
Instructional Techniques
Lectures, question and answer, classroom discussion, oral and written exercises, students constructing proofs at chalkboards, written assignments for work outside the classroom, exercises in fallacy identification.
Reading Assignments
Students will spend 2 hours a week reading from textbook and arguments from "real-world" sources.
Writing Assignments
The student will demonstrate the development of writing skills for analytical and argumentative prose through written assignments comprising 5000 words.
Out-of-class Assignments
Students will spend 4 hours a week on homework exercises, essays, drafts and outlines.
Demonstration of Critical Thinking
Quizzes, exams, short-answer essay exams, problem solving at chalkboards, refined critical essays. Written work will total 5,000 words and will be evaluated for both content and form.
Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration
The student will demonstrate the development of writing skills for analytical and argumentative prose through two take-home critical thinking written assignments, as well as short-answer essays written during class.
Eligible Disciplines
Philosophy: Masters degree in philosophy OR bachelors degree in philosophy AND masters degree in humanities or religious studies, OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.
Textbooks Resources
1. Required Kahane, Howard and Nancy Cavender . Cavender Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life, 13th ed. New York: Wadsworth Publishing, 2017 2. Required Hurley, Patrick J. . A Concise Introduction to Logic. , 13th ed. New York: Wadsworth, 2018 3. Required Vaughn, L. . The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning about Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012 4. Required Moore, B. N. Parker, R.. Critical Thinking, ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014