Download the pdf here.

Course Description

Everyone is trying to convince us of something: companies try to convince us to buy their products; politicians try to convince us to support them; or, our friends try to convince us to go out instead of studying. The primary means by which these attempts at persuasion are carried out is through arguments—a series of premises used to convince you to accept a conclusion. This course is designed to improve your ability to spot, assess, and respond to arguments, and to create strong arguments of your own. You will learn the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning, and the unique methods of dealing with them. You will learn how to recognize logical fallacies and will be able to avoid them in your own writing. Finally, you will learn about cognitive biases and how they are used to exploit our reasoning.

Course Texts

1. Hughes, William and Lavery, Jonathan. Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills (7th Canadian Edition).  Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2016. (Required)
2. Readings on electronic reserve. (Required)

Course Requirements

Requirement	Description	Weight	Date
Unit Tests	Two tests on the material from Units One and Two.	2×12.5%	Weeks 06 & 12
Short Project	One project to test competency with material from Unit Three.	15%	Week 18
Long Project	A cumulative project designed to test your competency with the course material, especially Units Three and Four.	25%	Week 24
Weekly Assignments	Worth three points each, with an extra point for participation. See description for more details.	10%	Weekly
Final Examination	One sit-down cumulative examination.	25%	See Registrar

Tentative Schedule

Term One 

Week	Topic	Readings
01	Welcome!	Syllabus, E1

Clarifying Ideas

02	Statements, definitions, and assertions	CT: 2.3 to 2.11, 2.12
03	Clarifying statements	CT: 3.1 to 3.6, 3.7
04	Necessary & sufficient conditions	CT: 3.8, 3.9
05	Standard form	CT: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.8
06	[Review & Unit Test 1]	N/A

Assessing Arguments

07	Good Arguments: Introduction	CT: 5.1 to 5.3
08	Testing for acceptability	CT: 6.3 to 6.7, 6.8
09	Testing for relevance	CT: 7.1 to 7.4, 7.5
10	Testing for adequacy	CT: 8.1 to 8.6, 8.7
11	Never read the comments [flex]	E2
12	[Review & Unit Test 2]	N/A

Term Two 

Week	Topic	Readings
13	Welcome back! [review]	Your notes from T1.

 Thinking it Through

14	Deductive reasoning	CT: 9.1 to 9.5, 9.6
15	Inductive & abductive reasoning	CT: 10.1 to 10.5, 10.6
16	Scientific reasoning	CT: 11.1 to 11.2, 11.3, 11.4
17	Moral reasoning	CT: 12.1 to 12.3, 12.4, 12.9
18	Information literacy [flex]	CT: 16.1 to 16.4, E3
19

How to Win the Internet

20	Starving the trolls [counterarguments]	CT: 14.1 to 14.4, 14.5
21	Fighting dirty [rhetoric]	CT: 15.1 to 15.10, 15.11, E4
22
23	Know thine enemy [cognitive biases]	E5
24	Knowing when to quit	E6

Legend

CT	Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills (7th Canadian Edition)
E1	Clifford, W. K. “The Ethics of Belief” (selections)
E2	[News articles from competing sources with different biases on current events]
E3	[Opinion pieces for hot political topic]
E4	Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal”
E5	Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow (selections)
E6	James, W. Pragmatism (selections)
Italics	Indicate recommended self-test