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| WELCOME TO CRITICAL THINKING (PHIL 4)!
Syllabus Critical Thinking, Philosophy 4, Summer 2009 Anthony Hanson
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.
In this class, we will explore critical thinking and philosophical concepts in the discussion of current events and politics. Issues we will address in the course might include such questions as: Is Affirmative Action unfair to individuals but good for "groups?? Is the Death Penalty a just punishment? Is income redistribution and the welfare state a violation of property rights or a social good? What are the features of a just war? Is the war in Iraq a just war? What is the proper balance between privacy and national security? Should people have the right to free speech, even though it incites some people to violence? Are religious beliefs irrational, or can one give good reasons for them? Are there universal moral principles that bind everyone, or are moral principles just created by people and variable according to culture? Are some cultures and ways of life more conducive to creating conditions for human flourishing and happiness than others? Can't we judge some cultural practices to be wrong, or is this “ethnocentrism”? Are first trimester abortions immoral? Are partial birth abortions murder? Is it wrong to use fetal stem cells in research? Is global capitalism and corporate profit bad for poor people or is it the best means to rid the world of squalor and poverty? How much can we really know about the world? Is science an objective description of the world, or do its results reflect our biases, goals and purposes? So break the mind-forged manacles of political correctness, and popular assumptions and be ready to express your opinions on these issues, and listen to the opinions of others!
Text - The text for the class is: Critical Thinking, Moore and Parker, McGraw-Hill Publishing, 2007, 9th edition. You can get by with the 8th too.
Class Web Site: http://faculty.deanza.edu/hansontony/
Text Website: Critical Thinking Online Learning Center:
This web site for our text book entitled “Critical Thinking Online Learning Center” (see link above) is an interactive study guide. Among other resources, it contains quizzes that are very useful for studying for the class quizzes.
Grading
A. 10 quizzes - (Objective, Multiple choice, True/False, Fill in blanks, short answer) 5 points possible for each. Quizzes can be given at any time. No make ups allowed, for any reason, since the grading system allows missed quizzes. The two lowest scores will be thrown out. Missed quizzes are zeros.
B. Mid- term (Comprehensive) 15 points possible Scantron Required
C. Final Exam (Comprehensive) 20 points possible Scantron Required. You will be given an incomplete or fail if you miss the final exam, depending on the circumstances.
Homework/Formal Presentations/Papers
D. Fallacy Team Presentation - 5 Points
Grading Team Presentation: Your team will be given one score, and each individual in the team will be given that score (except when there is obvious negligence on the part of a team member.) Therefore your grade on this activity can depend on the work of others. Each group member will also complete a Team Evaluation sheet, in which team members will have the opportunity to evaluate the other members' work on the team project. If you are opposed to this grading method, then you may not wish to take this class. Conversely, your decision to remain in this class is a tacit or implicit agreement that you accept this grading method.
E. Homework. Class work/homework and small writing assignments - 10 points possible. I will initial/stamp homework as on time and return it to you. It is your responsibility to collect it when I hand it back. You must save it and turn it all back in on Final Exam Day for credit. I do not have a predetermined homework schedule that I can give you in advance, since I like to tailor the homework to current events and discussions which often change. Therefore, I strongly advise you to exchange emails with one or more "study buddies," so if you miss class, you can find out what the homework is for the next meeting from them. Group presentations cannot be made up. You should get a cheap paper folder to keep your homework in, since I will collect these at the end of the quarter. You should do all homework assignments by yourself. Answers that are obviously duplicates of other student's answers will result in a 0 for the assignment for the person who copied, as well as the person who allowed their work to be copied. I do not give homework assignments through email. This is another reason you should find a "Study Buddy" - to get assignments if you are absent. I do not accept any homework through email. You will get half credit for late (unstamped) work for homework assignments, unless the answers are given later in class. In that case, late work is not accepted.
F. Participation, Punctuality, Classroom Etiquette - 10 points. You get points for participating in class. Participation consists of listening and contributing to class discussions. If you are late you can lose participation points (one point per tardy) since you are distracting the class by entering after it has started. This is a negative contribution. Positive contributions include asking questions, making comments, working well in groups. If you are late, it is your responsibility to see me after class that 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. Absences can also affect your participation score, since if you are not here, you are not participating.Classroom etiquette also affects participation and your participation score. Things such as leaving telephones on, talking in class during lecture, failing to participate in team work, sleeping, leaving class early without a prior explanation, and other disruptive behaviors 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 admirable, and will be reflected in this portion of your score. Please be aware of the drop deadlines in your course catalog. Please note that if you decide to drop the class and stop coming, it is your responsibility to contact the Registrar and process the drop. Otherwise, you will receive an F. If you are absent more than two weeks without any prior explanation, I reserve the right to drop you.
Final Grade: 91-100 =A; 88-90 = A-; 85-87= B+; 81-84=B; 78-80 =B-; 75-77=C+: 68-74= C; 58-67 =D; below 58 =F
Please note that you only need 68% to get a C, 78% to get a B, 88% to get an A. There is no extra- credit. Even though it is possible to miss quizzes (since two are thrown out) and do well, it is still in your best interest to take all that you can, if possible. You must get 68 to pass. 67 is not a passing score.
Office Hours - will be posted in class. There are a number of other ways you can contact me. My e-mail address is anthanson@live.com You may drop a note in the student drop box in the administration building or in the Social Sciences Division Office (L-13). You should not use the De Anza email address on this web page.
ACADEMIC HONESTY - Any form of plagiarism or cheating will result in a fail in the class. This includes, copying other people's work and representing it as your own work.
This is the end of the syllabus. Copy and paste the above text into a Word document and print it. SIGN IT BELOW AND BRING IT TO CLASS, AND TURN IT IN FOR CREDIT AS YOUR FIRST HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT!!!
I HAVE READ AND I UNDERSTAND THE TERMS, REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES FOR THE CLASS:
Signature_______________________________________________________________________________
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Concepts you are required to know.
Basic Terms
(Ch. 1)
1 critical Thinking
2 claim
3 issue
4 argument
5 conclusion
6 premise
7 conclusion indicator
8 premise indicator
Ch. 2 (8th Edition) CH. 3 (9th Edition)
9 vague claim
10 ambiguous claim
11 semantically ambiguous claim
12 syntactically ambiguous claim
Rhetorical Persuasion
Ch. 5 (9th Edition)
Ch. 4 (8th Edition)
13. rhetoric
14. rhetorical devices (Slanters)
15. euphemism
16. dysphemism
17. downplayer
18. horse laugh
19. hyperbole
20. innuendo
21. loaded question
22. proof surrogate
23. stereotype
24. weaseler
Fallacies (Pseudoreasoning)
Chapters 5 (8th Edition) Chapter 6 (9th Edition)
http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/fallacy.htm#Appeal%20to%20Emotions
25. apple polishing http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/skepticism/blfaq_fall_flattery.htm
26. common practice http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-common-practice.html
27. appeal to popularity http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-belief.html
28. "argument" by force, (Appeal to Force) http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-fear.html
29. appeal to pity http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-pity.html
30. red herring See smokescreen. http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/fallacy.htm#Red%20Herring
31. relativism (See Subjectivism below)
32. scapegoating http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/fallacy.htm#Scapegoating
33. scare tactics http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~shagin/logfal-emotion-scare.htm
34. subjectivism http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/relativist-fallacy.html
35. Appeal to tradition http://atheism.about.com/od/logicalfallacies/a/tradition.htm
36. two wrongs make a right http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/two-wrongs-make-a-right.html
37. wishful thinking http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-consequences.html
CH. 6 (8th Edition) CH. 7 (9th Edition)
38. Ad hominem
39. inconsistency ad hominem (Tu Quoque)
40. personal attack ad hominem (Abusive)
41. circumstantial ad hominem
42. 4appeal to ignorance
43. begging the question
44. perfectionist fallacy
45. slippery slope
46. straw man
47. false dilemma
48. False Cause Fallacy (ch. 11)
a. cum hoc, ergo propter hoc
b. post hoc, ergo propter hoc
49. Weak Analogy Fallacy (ch.10)
50. Hasty Generalization (ch. 10)
51. Fallacy of biased generalizing (ch. 10)
52. Fallacy of anecdotal evidence(ch. 10)
53. Unqualified Authority (ch. 4)
54. Gambler's fallacy (ch.10)
Informal and Basic Symbolic Logic
Ch. 7
55. deductive argument
a. Categorical Syllogism (ch.8) b. Hypothetical Syllogism (Ch. 9)
c. Disjunctive syllogism (Ch.9)
56. valid argument
57. sound argument
58. inductive arguments
a. Inductive generalization b. Causal Inference c. Argument by Analogy d. Argument from Authority (CH. 10 and 11)
59. Strong Argument
60. Cogent Argument
Ch. 9
61. conditional claim
62. antecedent
63. consequent
64. Modus ponens
65. Modus Tollens
66. Affirming the Consequent
67. Denying the antecedent
68. necessary condition
69. sufficient condition
70. chain argument
71. conjunction
72. disjunction
73. Addition
74. Constructive Dilemma
75. Destructive Dilemma
76. simplification
77. negation
78. truth tables
Moral Reasoning
Ch. 12
79. moral (cultural) relativism
80. utilitarianism
81. Duty Theory (Deontologism, Kant)
82. Divine Command Theory (religious absolutism)
83. virtue ethics
84. Analysis of Cynthia Tucker Essay
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Fallacy Presentations
Your group will be assigned a fallacy and it is your responsibility to teach it to the class using a Power Point presentation. Your presentation must include the following:
1.A clear explanation of why the fallacy is poor reasoning.
2.3 original examples of the fallacy. (See fallacy resources below)
3.Some kind of evaluation procedure to test your students on the information you have presented. Your test/quiz should contain at least 10 questions.
Your presentations should be about 15 minutes, and should be thorough. Everyone in the group should contribute. Team Member Evaluations will be collected from each student, after the presentation, assessing their own effort and performance, as well as their fellow team member's. Each team member will get the same team grade, unless they were deficient in their effort and performance in some obvious way, in which case, they will receive a lower grade.
Due Date: Tuesday Jan. 27
You should email your Power Point presentations to anthanson@live.com before Jan. 27
You should also put it on a flash drive and bring it on presentation day.
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Resources
Websites:
Good fallacy website: (More below)
Fallacies <http://ftp2.ca.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/index.html>: Very easy to use, extensive listing of fallacies, including examples and a general introduction to the subject, written by Dr. Michael C. Labossiere and hosted at the Nizkor site.
Below are some web sites that are very helpful as Critical Thinking resources.
Particularly, they can supplement our study of fallacies and basic deductive and inductive logic. If you find any other good Critical Thinking web sites, please pass them along, and I will add them to our list!
Critical Thinking Web Sites
The Power of Logic Web Tutor, by Mayfield Publishing Company, is a state of the art interactive tutorial designed to accompany C. Stephen Layman's textbook, The Power of Logic. <http://www.poweroflogic.com/>
Mission Critical, from San Jose State University, is a very useful interactive tutorial for critical thinking. Lots of exercises and explanations of basic concepts are provided. <http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/index.html>
The Critical Thinking Community, sponsored by Sonoma State University, is intended primarily as a resource for instructors, but contains some valuable information for students too. See the glossary of critical thinking terms in the "library," <http://www.criticalthinking.org/>
The Critical Thinking Web Site, created by Longview Community College, is intended primarily as a resource for teachers, but has a section with excellent explanations of the core concepts of citical thinking, including fallacies, that is useful for students. <http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/ctac/corenotes.htm>#
Mind Tools provides explanations of problem solving techniques and analytical methods including brainstorming, lateral thinking and statistical methodolgy. <http://www.psychwww.com/mtsite/page2.html>
Stephen Downes Guide to the Logical Fallacies provides definitions and examples of the standard fallacies taught in critical thinking courses (note the names of the fallacies often vary). <http://www.intrepidsoftware.com/fallacy/toc.htm>
Argumentative Writing, by W.D. Godfrey, is a guide to the use of logic in writing and covers the basic concepts of informal logic. <http://www.swifty.com/VB/logic/outline.htm>
Propoganda and Politics has a few examples of fallacies used in propaganda. All the examples are taken from Rush Limbaugh. ~http://www.teleport.com/~stiltman/Politics/prop-pol.html <http://www.teleport.com/stiltman/Politics/prop-pol.html>
A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names contains entries on concepts in logic and critical thinking, including fallacies. http://people.delphi.com/gkemerling/dy/ix1.htm#e <http://people.delphi.com/gkemerling/dy/ix1.htm>
Logic, is a section of Garth Kemerling's Philosophy Pages, and is a good introduction to elementary logic (based on Cohen and Copi's Introduction to Logic). <http://people.delphi.com/gkemerling/lg/index.htm>
Propoganda Analysis Home Page, by Aaron Delwiche, is an excellent discussion of propaganda and logical fallacies using real historical examples. See the Propaganda Gallery, a collection of propaganda film clips. http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/propaganda/contents.htm#war <http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/propaganda/contents.htm>
Legal Reasoning: Using the Central Concepts of Basic Logic <http://www.tsulaw.edu/Sophie/LWResources/reasoning.htm>:
Extensive discussion of the topic.
SoYouWanna avoid common logical errors? <http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/logic/logic.html>: Informative, easy to read article about the different types of errors in logic.
The Atheism Web: Logic & Fallacies <http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/logic.html>: Article on the Atheism Web that states in its introduction "[t]here's a lot of debate on the net. Unfortunately, much of it is of very low quality. The aim of this document is to explain the basics of logical reasoning, and hopefully improve the overall quality of debate."
Monty Python's Argument Clinic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM
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Homework includes, but is not limited to:
Syllabus
Exercise 4-1, 4-10
Exercise 5-2, 5-5
Exercise 6-2, 6-3, 6 -9, 6-10, 6-11
Exercise 7-7
Class Logic exercises deductive overhead) 1-8 etc.
Class Logic Exercises Inductive overhead
Logic chart
Exercise 9-16
Exercise 9-2, 9-3, 9-4
Exercise 9-8
Exercise 9-7
Exercise 12-4
Cynhtia Tucker Analysis
Discuss
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