Description
The need to think critically pervades practically every facet of our lives. This course is designed as an introduction to the theory and practice of logical analysis. Upon completing this course, students shall be able to (1) distinguish between arguments and non-arguments, (2) critically evaluate arguments, (3) identify common fallacies and understand what makes them fallacious, (4) effectively apply critical-thinking strategies to everyday situations, and (5) clearly communicate and express ideas orally and in writing. The required text for this course is Patrick J. Hurley’s A Concise Introduction to Logic, 12th ed. (Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2015; ISBN-13: 978-1-285-19654-1). While I shall spend some time lecturing in each class period, we will spend the majority of our time in class discussing the course concepts and applying them to examples.