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    Phil 201: Critical Thinking Syllabus

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    Joviner Yabres Lactam
    This document is a syllabus for a critical thinking course titled PHIL 201. It outlines the course instructor, their contact information, class meeting times and location, recommended textbook, course description, coursework including 11 homework assignments and 4 tests, grading scale, and tentative weekly schedule that will cover topics such as argument basics, fallacies, propositional logic, categorical logic, inductive arguments, and causal arguments.

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    Phil 201: Critical Thinking Syllabus

    Uploaded by

    Joviner Yabres Lactam
    63 views3 pages
    This document is a syllabus for a critical thinking course titled PHIL 201. It outlines the course instructor, their contact information, class meeting times and location, recommended textbook, course description, coursework including 11 homework assignments and 4 tests, grading scale, and tentative weekly schedule that will cover topics such as argument basics, fallacies, propositional logic, categorical logic, inductive arguments, and causal arguments.

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    This document is a syllabus for a critical thinking course titled PHIL 201. It outlines the course instructor, their contact information, class meeting times and location, recommended textbook, course description, coursework including 11 homework assignments and 4 tests, grading scale, and tentative weekly schedule that will cover topics such as argument basics, fallacies, propositional logic, categorical logic, inductive arguments, and causal arguments.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    63 views3 pages

    Phil 201: Critical Thinking Syllabus

    Uploaded by

    Joviner Yabres Lactam
    This document is a syllabus for a critical thinking course titled PHIL 201. It outlines the course instructor, their contact information, class meeting times and location, recommended textbook, course description, coursework including 11 homework assignments and 4 tests, grading scale, and tentative weekly schedule that will cover topics such as argument basics, fallacies, propositional logic, categorical logic, inductive arguments, and causal arguments.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    Phil 201: Critical Thinking

    Syllabus
    Instructor: Dr. Audrey Yap ([email protected])
    Office: CLE B307
    Phone: 721-7510
    Office Hours: Thursdays 10:00-12:00, and by appointment
    Class Information: TWF 10:30-11:20 in HSD A240
    Course Website: Through CourseSpaces: http://coursespaces.uvic.ca
    Recommended textbook: Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald The Power of Critical
    Thinking, Oxford University Press

    Course Description:

    Everywhere we look, we find arguments trying to persuade us of the truth of one claim or
    another. We are told that a scientific study proves one thing, and then later that a different
    scientific study proves the exact opposite. Conflicting claims are made on television, the
    internet, in advertisements, in newspapers, and in everyday interaction with other people.
    How do we evaluate them?

    Informal logic is the study of everyday reasoning, and of what makes arguments good
    or bad ones. If we tell ourselves we only want to be persuaded by good arguments, then
    we ought to have some criteria and some tools for analysing what distinguishes a good
    argument from a bad one. The goal of this course is to learn some of these skills, and how
    to apply them to actual arguments.

    Coursework:

    There will be 11 homework assignments, roughly one per week. Homework must be turned
    in by 5pm on the due date, unless otherwise specified, and will be done online through
    CourseSpaces. The lowest assignment mark will be dropped, and all remaining assign-
    ments will be weighted equally. Late assignments will not be accepted, since solutions will
    be released immediately after the assignments are closed. Exceptions to these rules will
    only be made in the case of documented illness or other extenuating circumstances which
    interfere with the timely completion of the assigned work. However, in order to be con-
    sidered, requests for exceptions must be received before the due date for the assignment.
    Students may verbally discuss the homework assignments in small groups, but must answer
    assignments independently. Plagiarised work will not be given credit. For more information
    on plagiarism, see the University Calendar.

    Homework will be worth 20% of the final grade. There will also be four non-cumulative
    tests, held in class, each worth 15%, and a cumulative final to be written during the exam

    1
    period (20%). Exam rewrites will only be scheduled in cases of documented illness or other
    extenuating circumstances. Such documentation must be received within a week of the
    exam date. Numbers will be converted to a letter grade in accordance with the following
    scale:
    90-100 = A+; 85-89 = A; 80-84 = A-; 77-79 = B+; 73-76 = B; 70-72 = B-; 65-69 = C+;
    60-64 = C; 50-59 = D; 0-49 = F.

    Schedule:
    • Week One: Sept 3, 5
    Topic: Introduction to Critical Thinking
    Reading: Chap 1

    • Week Two: Sept 9, 10, 12


    Topic: Argument Basics, Missing Premises
    Reading: Chap 3

    • Week Three: Sept 16, 17, 19


    Topic: Argument Patterns, Diagramming Arguments
    Reading: Chap 3
    HW 1 due Sept 19

    • Week Four: Sept 23, 24, 26


    Topic: Experts, Experience, and Advertising
    Reading: Chap 4
    HW 2 due Sept 24
    Test One (Basics) Sept 26

    • Week Five: Sept 30, Oct 1, 3


    Topic: Fallacies
    Reading: Chap 5
    HW 3 due Oct 3

    • Week Six: Oct 7, 8, 10


    Topic: Fallacies
    Reading: Chap 5
    HW 4 due Oct 10

    • Week Seven: Oct 14, 15, 17


    Topic: Propositional Logic
    Reading: Chap 6
    HW 5 due Oct 15
    Test Two (Fallacies) Oct 17

    2
    • Week Eight: Oct 21, 22, 24
    Topic: Propositional and Categorical Logic
    Reading: Chap 6, Chap 7
    HW 6 due Oct 24

    • Week Nine: Oct 28, 29, 31


    Topic: Categorical Logic
    Reading: Chap 7
    HW 7 due Oct 31

    • Week Ten: Nov 4, 5, 7


    Topic: Inductive Arguments
    Reading: Chap 8
    HW 8 due Nov 5
    Test Three (Propositional and Categorical Logic) Nov 7

    • Week Eleven: Nov 14


    Topic: Inductive Arguments
    Reading: Chap 8
    HW9 due Nov 14

    • Week Twelve: Nov 18, 19, 21


    Topic: Causal Arguments
    Reading: Chap 8
    HW 10 due Nov 21

    • Week Thirteen: Nov 25, 26, 28


    Topic: Evaluating Arguments
    HW 11 due Nov 28

    • Week Fourteen: Dec 2,3


    Topic: Review
    Test Four (Inductive and Causal Arguments) Dec 2

    Note: This syllabus is tentative, and should only be used to give a rough guide to
    the course schedule. Additional readings may be assigned, and dates may be changed if
    necessary.

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