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WELCOME TO PHIL 03
Critical Thinking and Writing
ANTHONY HANSON
anthanson@live.com
COURSE OBJECTIVES
To teach the various skills which collectively encompass critical thinking.
These include:
The analysis of language and rhetoric and non-argumentative forms of persuasion and propaganda.
Distinguishing credible sources from non-credible sources.
The logical analysis of arguments and claims.
Identification of fallacious reasoning.
Moral principles as they operate in practical reasoning.
Learning and practicing intellectual virtues.
Constructing well supported arguments in writing.
REQUIRED TEXT
The required text is Patrick J. Hurley's A Concise Introduction to Logic, 9th or 10th editions, paperback or hardcover or etext. The publisher of the 10th edition of this book is Cengage (formerly Thomson Learning, formerly Wadsworth). The De Anza bookstore will stock only the latest 10th edition of this text. There should be used copies. You may get the 9th or 10th edition cheaper if you shop online.
You can also buy only the chapters we will cover. The chapters we cover are 1,2, and 3. We also may cover Ch. 14 on if we have time. To buy the online book or chapters go to http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/isbn/9780495503835
You do not need to buy Ch. 1 since you can access it here for free: http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/content/hurley03835_0495503835_02.01_chapter01.pdf
You should get the text or etext chapters by the first day of the 2nd week of class.
If you buy the book or chapters electronically you need to print them out. You will be required to print out the exercises for all the chapters we cover and bring them to class, since we will be working on exercises in class.
It is not necessary to purchase "InfoTrac" (a search engine for research papers) with the book. Your book does not need to include the Logic Coach CD, because you can download the latest edition of Logic Coach from the publisher for free (see "Homework" section below for instructions).
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Please not the schedule below is tentative and I reserve the right to make changes when necessary.
Weeks 1 and 2 Recognizing Arguments 1.1 - 1.4
Inductive and Deductive Arguments
Validity, Soundness, Strength, Cogency
Logical Form and Counterexample Method (if class time allows) 1.5
Weeks 3 (Test 1) & 4 Meaning and Definition 2.1 - 2.5
Weeks 5 (Test 2), 6 & 7 Informal Fallacies 3.1 - 3.4
Week 8 (Test 3), Reasoning about moral and social issues (Lecture, online materials)
Week 9 (Test 4) Logic in stanfardized tests (LCAT, GMAT, MCAT) Writing argumentative essays
Weeks 10, 11 (Test 5) Writing Argumentative Essays.
Week 12 FINAL EXAM All
GRADING
There will be six exams — five midterms and the final exam. The exams consist of true-false, multiple choice type questions. They mainly consist of problems comparable to homework problems. Each of the first five tests counts 15% of the final grade. The final exam counts 30%. Homework counts 10% of the grade. (Lowest mid-term test is thrown out)
SUMMARY:
Test #1 (on Ch 1) 150
Test #2 (on Ch 2) 150
Test #3 (on Ch 3) 150
Test #4 150
Test #5 150
Homework and short papers 200
Final Exam (Comprehensive) 300
Final Paper 400 (Outline 50, First Draft 150, Final Draft 200)
Total Points = 1650. However, your lowest mid-term score is thrown out. So the total possible points you can earn is 1500. Here is a scale of points converted to letter grades:
A+ = 1500 - 1440; A = 1439- 1381- ;A- = 1380-1320
B+ = 1319 - 1270 B = 1269 - 1220 ; B- = 1219 - 1170
C+ = 1169- 1120- C = 1119 -1020
D = 1019 - 870
F = 869 - 720
Tests 1-5 are open-book, open-note but you have a 30 minute time limit. The final exam is not open book or open note.
Tests must be taken on the appointed day. NO MAKE-UP TESTS will be given. Since your lowest score is thrown out, that means you can choose not to take one of the mid-terms and you will not be penalized. If you miss a test, it is your freebie. However, it is initially to your advantage to plan on completing all the tests to the best of your ability since you may need to miss one later in the course, and you do not want to spend your 150 points frivolously. Also, you will be tested on all of the class material in the final exam, so blowing off a unit for no good reason is not a good idea. If you miss more than one test, you should consider taking the class at another time, when you can attend class more often and be there on important days like test days.
You must purchase from the bookstore, six scantron forms with options a-e as answers. The Final Exam is comprehensive, and you need to bring a scantron to class.
You will be given an incomplete or fail if you miss the final exam, depending on the circumstances. Incompletes are only given if a verifiable documented emergency prevents you from taking the final exam, and the final exam is the only thing you need to make up.
There is NO EXTRA CREDIT in this class nor make up tests or quizzes. If you miss one quiz then you are not penalized. My view of offering extra credit is that it encourages students to not do the required work in a timely matter, since they think they can do easier "extra credit" work later. You need to make an effort to do well on the required work right from the start.
EXPECTATIONS REGARDING STUDENT CONDUCT
Attendance will be taken and your presence in class will be monitored. If you miss more than 6 hours, you may be dropped unless you have at least a C average. If you choose to withdraw at any time please be aware of the withdrawal deadlines in your course catalogue. It is your responsibility to do the paper work (online now) to drop the class, if you choose to withdraw. It is also your responsibility to make sure you have been dropped if you stop attending class. Don't just assume I have dropped you. If you have obligations that often prevent you from regularly attending class, then you should probably take the class at another time. Be prepared to sit in class for the duration, without leaving. If you are late, it is your responsibility to see me after class the same day so that I can change the roster from an absence to a tardy. If you do not, the record will remain as an absence. Things such as leaving telephones on, talking in class during lecture, failing to participate in team work, and sleeping, are impolite and disrespectful. On the other hand, helping your fellow students out when they may need it, positively participating in classroom discussions, and generally having a good attitude toward learning is encouraged. Excessive absences, tardies and etiquette considerations can affect your grade insofar as I will be less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt in borderline grading circumstances. Since many students at the end of class often fall on a grading borderline – 1 or 2 percent below a higher grade – it is very much to your interest to responsibly attend class.
Any student who violates the academic code (e.g., by cheating or plagiarism) will, at minimum, receive a final course grade of F. This rule is rigidly enforced.
HOMEWORK
I highly recommend that you keep current on homework. Many students fall behind assuming they can catch up at any time. My experience is that while a few students can succeed in the class without doing much homework, most students need to do homework regularly. Learning logic and good writing is like learning math or a language; regular practice really helps. The most common recommendation made by your fellow students in previous years’ evaluations for this course is “Do the homework and don’t get behind”. You are responsible for keeping current on homework; I will not be reminding you.
When is homework due?
All homework exercises are due the day of the final exam. However, writing assignments portion of the homework will be due on assigned dates during the quarter. Late writing assignments will receive a 50% deduction, and must be turned in the next class meeting. Only hard copy writing assignments are accepted. If you do not have a hard copy on the due date, then it is considered late.
What are the homework assignments?
The homework consists of text exercises and smaller writing exercises.
See the section "TEXT EXERCISES" below.
What do I hand in?
You can do your EXERCISES via computer using the Logic Coach software. Or, you can do them the "old-fashioned" way, by writing out on paper the answers to the homework problems listed at the end of this Syllabus. All things considered, I think it is currently easier for most students to do homework the old-fashioned way, without using the computer.
I cannot troubleshoot individual technical problems in the use of Logic Coach. If you have any doubts about your ability to use the software successfully, please do your homework the old-fashioned way.
If you use the Logic Coach software, please print (on paper) the summary table for each exercise set. The summary table indicates for each problem whether or not you have completed the problem. On each sheet, please make sure your Logic Coach user id is visible in the header. Do NOT hand in a diskette.
If you don't use Logic Coach, hand in the answers to the problems. It is not necessary to write out the questions also. Please indicate clearly what assignments you have done, e.g., by a checklist or table of contents. To save time on assignments such as those in Chapter I that ask you to identify premises and conclusion, you may copy the relevant pages from the textbook and mark up the copies, e.g., underlining or highlighting premises and conclusion in different colors.
How will homework be graded?
I will check your homework exercises only for completeness. Since you will be able to get the answer to any homework problem in class or from the instructor’s manual or (for most exercises) from Logic Coach, we will not go over all exercise problems in class.
The short writing assignments portion of the homework will be graded and handed back. You should include the returned papers in your homework packet and hand everything in at the end of the class. SAVE ALL YOUR WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. IF YOU LOSE THEM YOU WILL NOT GET CREDIT.
TEXT EXERCISES
I. If you use the Logic Coach software
If you do not want to use Logic Coach, skip this part and go to the section "If You Don't Use Logic Coach".
You can get Logic Coach 10 (the latest version) for free from the Web. It is the same version that accompanies the 10th edition of the text. If you are using an earlier edition of the text, please download Logic Coach 10 and use it instead of the one that came with your book.
To download Logic Coach 10, go here .
http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&flag=student&product_isbn_issn=9780495503835&disciplinenumber=5
Under "Book Resources" on the left, select "Logic Coach 10". You will then be asked to select the appropriate version for your system (Windows or Mac).
Follow the instructions for downloading and installing.
You may need Administrator permissions to install Logic Coach. If you own the computer you are working on, you probably can log in as Administrator if necessary.
If you are working on a computer that is owned by someone else (e.g., at your job) then you might not have enough permissions; it depends on what permissions your local system adminstrator has given you.
If you are using a computer at the Learning Center, and you find you don't have permission to install LogicCoach, see the aide on duty, explain what you are doing, and ask the aide to help.
Logic Coach Homework Assignments are all assignments in Logic Coach 10 that correspond to the assigned sections of our text.
If any exercise in Logic Coach differs from one listed in your textbook, do the one in Logic Coach instead.
II. If You Don't Use Logic Coach
Use of Logic Coach is optional. You can do the homework the old-fashioned way, by writing things out.
Below are the homework exercises you should do, whether in Logic Coach or the old fashioned way.
Section Group Do these
1.1 I 1-20
III all
IV all
1.2 I 1-10
III 2, 9
IV all
V all
1.3 I 1-20
II, III all
1.4 I, II all
III 1-10
IV, V all
1.5 I 1-5 (if covered in class)
2.1 III all
2.2 I Groups 1, 3, 4
II all
2.3 I - III all
2.4 I all
II Groups 1, 2, 7, 8
III all
2.5 N/A 1-20
3.1 N/A 1-10
3.2 I - II all
3.3 I – III all
3.4 I – III all
Final Paper project. Your final paper project will culminate in a 12 page argumentative paper. This paper will be completed in four steps.
In the first step you will submit a topic for approval. In the second,
you will submit an outline. Third, you will turn in a first draft. Then you will submit a final paper on final exam day. Here are the due dates and points:
Topic/issue due May 1
Outline due May 10 (50 points)
First draft due June 1 (150 points)
Final paper due final exam day (200 points)
Late work may be submitted with a 20% deduction, and must be turned in by the next class meeting. I will only accept hard copies. If you submit electronic copies they will be considered late until I get a hard copy. All submissions must be typed. If they are hand written they will be considered late until I get a typed copy. The final draft
may not be submitted late, unless there are documented emergency circumstances, in which case you will receive an incomplete until it is submitted.
Here are links to paper issues:
http://www.procon.org/
http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/
Not all of the topics mentioned on these lists will be suitable for this paper. But they might help you get some ideas which can then be modified into an acceptable topic.
Your paper should use MLA formatting. Here is a good link to guide you: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
The De Anza College Library is an excellent resource for helping you with your paper. Here is a good link to online resources
http://www.deanza.edu/library/researchdata.html
Before you submit your final paper you must complete a Plagiarism Tutorial, and take a test for the certificate: The link is here:
https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/
Some provocative resources to help you find topics:
Profiling
http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2012/04/in-defense-of-profiling.html
http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2012/04/the-trayvon-martin-case-and-the-growing-racial-divide.html
Voter ID
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5p70YbRiPw
http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2011/08/bill-clinton-the-race-card-and-voter-id.html
Illegal Immigration
http://maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/maverick_philosopher/2012/01/paradoxes-of-illegal-immigration.html
Writing a thesis statement:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/01/
Topic sentences
http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/parag/paragex3.htm
Home work: Pick FIVE Topic sentences from the list on the site below, and complete the paragraphs by adding supporting sentences. You should have at least four supporting sentences for each. Type your paragraphs and hand them in on Tuesday.
http://www.uefap.com/writing/exercise/parag/paragex7.htm
Outlining
Your paper outline is due Thursday, May 10
Your outline should be typed, and have a title.
Your first bullet point should be your thesis statement.
The rest of the body of the outline should consist of supporting claims. Each claim should be numbered. Then, if you have evidence or arguments for the supporting claim you can bullet point them underneath each supporting claim. (Most of the work in your paper will then consist of finding evidence for these supporting claims.)
Your outline should also consist of a list of at least two objections with brief responses if you have any.
Finally it should end with a concluding statement that summarizes your view.
Quoting, Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Carefully read these two pages:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/01/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/01/
Then do the exercises here (follow the directions)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/2/
Responses must be typed. Turn in your five paraphrases Tuesday, May 15
Gay Marriage
President Obama has come out in favor of Gay Marriage. Some of you are doing papers on this topic. Here is a link to an argument against gay marriage which is not based on any religious premises. If you support gay marriage then you should have good responses to his arguments. Otherwise your papers will not be convincing.
http://tech.mit.edu/V124/N5/kolasinski.5c.html
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Is this pic a Straw Man Fallacy, or an accurate depiction of logical inconsistency on the part of the "Occupy" Movement?
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Affirmative Action. Who do you agree with?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,75648,00.html
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/csre/EV_events_CantorAdmiss.htm
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"What are good sources to use in my paper?" See:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/588/02/
Should People Drink Bottled Water?
A couple ads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEc5foJ9plE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfZUIsSNxLE
Here is a critique of bottled water by Penn and Teller:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc
Make a list of the kinds of evidence and sources Penn and Teller use to support their position? For each, explain whether the sources and evidence are reliable.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) has produced a short video intended to provide consumers with “the facts about bottled water”. It addresses several (but not all) of Penn & Teller’s claims. Please find the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eklg6j2G2pk
Is this source reliable?
Which side do you agree with?
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Fallacy Presentation
Create a Power Point presenting your assigned fallacy. It should include the following:
1. A title page with all group members full names, and the fallacy you are presenting. Each group member should print this and include it in your homework packet due at the end of the class.
2. An explanation not copied from any other source, (including the text) of the fallacy
3. At least three original examples (not in the book). Online okay. Give source.
4. An example of your "fallacy in the wild."
5. Some kind of assessment activity to determine whether your audience understood your fallacy
Discuss
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