Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Dr. Matt McCormick

Phil. 4

Fall, 2008

Section 10, TTh 10:30-11:45 (DH 208)

Section 11, TTh 12:00-1:15 (MND 3009)

Office Hours: W 3-4, Th 2-3 and by appointment

Office: Mendocino 3020 Office phone: 278-7372

email: mccormick@csus.edu Webpage: www.csus.edu/indiv/m/mccormickm

Writing Guidelines: http://www.csus.edu/phil/req/writing.htm

Philosophy Department Office: Mendocino 3032, 278-6424

Catalog Description: PHIL004. Critical Thinking. Study of the basic skills of good reasoning needed for the intelligent and responsible conduct of life. Topics include: argument structure and identification, validity and strength of arguments, common fallacies of reasoning, use and abuse of language in reasoning, principles of fair play in argumentation. 3 units.

Satisfies General Education Area A3: Critical Thinking

Required text: Reason and Argument, by Richard Feldman. Prentice Hall: most recent edition.

Course Description: This course is designed to improve one of the fundamental intellectual abilities, the ability to think critically. A well-trained critical thinker has a number of skills that we will develop and practice.

The knowledge and skills to be studied in this course include:

- Logical analysis and the identification and construction of arguments.

- Understanding logical relations, in particular the relations between premises and conclusions.

- Recognizing the more common forms of formal and informal fallacies.

- Evaluating the relevance, validity, and strength of arguments.

- Understanding the logical structure of deductive and inductive arguments.

- Awareness of the abuses of language, including connotation, ambiguity, and definition.

- Recognizing arguments in a variety of contexts, including other disciplines as well as in public affairs.

- Improve ‘information competence’: the ability to find out what one needs to know in order to have a responsible position on an issue.

- Acquiring an immunity to propaganda.

- Developing not only the capacity but the disposition to use good reasoning in a variety of contexts.

- Developing a sense of fairness and respect for opposing positions.

- Developing basic thinking skills that are applicable to a variety of academic subjects and students' lives as citizens, consumers, leaders, and moral agents.

- Improving our ability to argue fairly, and to handle bias, emotion, and propaganda.

Student Outcome Goals:

At the end of the course the student should have the ability to:

- Locate the argument in a passage.

- Detect errors of reasoning and explain how the reasoning is in error.

- Engage in cogent and respectful discussion.

- Analyze specific arguments for consistency and credibility.

- Apply good reasoning to issues in professional and personal contexts.

- Evaluate evidence and make appropriate inferences from that evidence.

- Determine what evidence is necessary and know how to find that evidence, if possible.

- Construct and defend arguments in support of or in opposition to particular propositions.

- Analyze and solve complicated strategic challenges.

Critical Thinking and the Paranormal: We will be considering arguments from a variety of sources such as the television news media, newspapers, politicians, statistical studies, science, parapsychologists, pseudo-science and so on. American pop culture provides lots of interesting critical thinking case studies. Among other things, we will be looking at a number of claims and arguments offered by parapsychologists, paranormalists, and pseudo-science as test cases for critical thinking analysis. Critical thinking skills can be applied to great advantage to topics like ESP, clairvoyance, astrology, chiropractic, homeopathy, ghosts, unusual creatures like Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, alien visitations, and so on. We will conduct some experiments in class, including a test for astrology. This test will give us an opportunity to analyze and evaluate the scientific method as a method for arriving at true, well-justified beliefs.

Student Assessment: Students' abilities to meet these outcome goals will be evaluated with WebCT assessments, a midterm exam, a final exam, and class attendance and participation.

Grading: There will be 12 WebCT assignments given throughout the semester (5% of the course grade each=60%). There will be a Argument Strength homework assignment (7%) and an Argument Reconstruction Homework assignment (8%). And there will be a midterm exam (10%) and a final exam (10%). Class attendance and participation will count for 5% of the grade.

WebCT quiz assessments: 12 @ 5% each = 60%

Strength Homework Assignment 7%

Reconstruction Homework Assignment 8%

Midterm Exam 10%

Final Exam 10%

Class Attendance and Participation 5%

Attendance: Class attendance is mandatory. Everyone is expected to come to class prepared, having read the assigned materials, and ready to participate in the class discussions. Everyone who meets these requirements will receive a full 5% for their class participation grade. Failure to meet these requirements will result in a proportional reduction of that grade. Anyone with 4 or more unexcused absences will receive a 0 for class attendance and participation.

Instead of meeting in the classroom, during several weeks on the later day of class students will do work on WebCT. The days when in class meetings will not be held are listed on the week schedule below and will be announced in class.

Being Tardy: I take roll at the beginning of class; students who are late run the risk of being counted absent and will miss assignments, important information, and as a result, will do poorly in the course. If you are late, you must inform me that you are present that class period to get counted tardy instead of absent. Three tardies count as an absence.

Missed Assignments: Be forewarned: A missed assignment will be entered as a 0 in the grade spreadsheet, and that has a substantial negative impact on your course grade. Even an F (55 points) has a less damaging effect on your grade.

Makeup Policy: There will be no extra credit or make up assignments for any missed work. Nor will any in class tests be rescheduled—plan your time accordingly.

Late Policy: All late assignments will be penalized one letter grade per day.

Grading Guidelines: A detailed explanation of the standards employed in this course to grade assignments and the requirements for different grades can be found at: http://www.csus.edu/phil/req/grading.htm

Cheating: No cheating of any sort will be tolerated in this course. All sources in papers must be cited and given appropriate credit. The author of any information from the Internet must be given credit; using such information without indicating the source is stealing someone else's hard work and is immoral. Students are allowed to discuss lectures and even assignments with each other, but they must do their own work. Be cautious of sharing your notes and ideas with someone who did not attend class and did not take notes; that person has much more to gain than you do.

Here is the university policy on academic honesty:

The attempt by a student to cheat on an exam or other academic assignment or to engage in plagiarism is a violation of a fundamental principle of academic honesty and integrity and will not be tolerated in the University. Formal procedures exist for dealing with these cases and penalties will be imposed on students who are found guilty of academic dishonesty. In the event of expulsion, suspension or probation, a notation is made on the student’s transcript. Suspension and probation notations remain on the transcript for the life of the suspension/probation. For information, contact the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs.

All students will be responsible for reading and following the university honesty, plagiarism, and cheating policies. They are posted on the web at: http://www.csus.edu/admbus/umanual/UMA00150.htm

Intellectual Property Right Policy. The development of websites and businesses that buy students' notes and papers and resell them to other students willing to cheat has made this policy necessary:

I do not give my permission for any materials presented in my course, including but not limited to lectures, lecture notes, assignments, tests, and handouts, to be sold without my explicit written permission. Those materials also may not be given, or otherwise transferred by anyone who is not currently enrolled in my course to anyone who is currently enrolled in my course. Nor can they be given or otherwise transferred to anyone who is currently enrolled in my course to anyone who is not. They may not be used for any commercial purposes without my explicit written permission. Their use is to be educational and confined to use in my class. Anyone who violates these policies is in conflict with university intellectual copyright policy and will be subject to legal action.

Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented disability and require accommodation or assistance with assignments, tests, attendance, note taking, etc., please see the instructor during the first week of the semester so that appropriate arrangements can be made to ensure your full participation in class. Also, you are encouraged to contact the Services for Students with Disabilities (Lassen Hall) for additional information regarding services that might be available to you.

Some Advice about the WebCT assessments: The quizzes on WebCT are designed to assess student's mastery of concepts, techniques, and content that is presented in lectures and in the book. They are also designed to teach--later quizzes depend upon former quizzes, they are progressively harder, and they focus on different aspects of the various critical thinking skills we are trying to learn. The quizzes are timed, usually an hour long, and they are not repeatable. They are also only availble to be taken for a limited time. So plan accordingly and be thoroughly prepared when you begin the quiz.

Readings and Course Schedule:

Week 1-(Sept. 2 and 4)

First class: Introduction, Syllabus, Policies

Second class: The Basic Elements of Argument.

Reading: Chapter 1, pp. 1-23.

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 1: Consistency1. Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 2- (Sep. 9 and 11)

First class: no meeting

Second Class: Validity

Reading: Chapter 2, pp. 23-54, Truth and Rationality

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 2: Validity Quiz 1 Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 3- (Sep. 16 and 18)

First class: No meeting

Second class: Validity continued.

Reading: Chapter 3, pp. 55-93 Well-Formed Arguments

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 3: Validity Quiz 2 Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 4: Validity Reverse Quiz 1. Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 4- (Sep. 23 and 25)

First class: no class

Second class: Cogency

Reading: Chapter 3

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 5: Cogency Quiz 1 Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 5- (Sep. 30 and Oct. 2)

First class: no class

Second class: Deductively Strong Arguments

Reading: Chapter 4, pp. 94-112, Strong Arguments

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 6: Find the Conclusion Quiz Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 6- (Oct. 7 and 9)

First class: no class

Second class: Inductively Strong Arguments

Reading: Chapter 4

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 7: Deductive and Inductive Strength Quiz Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Assignment: Strength Homework due. Due by Friday, 3:00 in my office (MND 3020)

Week 7- (Oct. 14 and 16)

First Class: no class

Second class: Reconstructing Arguments

Reading: Chapter 5, pp. 113-148 Reconstructing Arguments

Assignment: Argument Reconstruction Homework. Due Friday by 3:00 in my office (MND 3020).

Assignment: WebCT Quiz 8: Argument Analysis Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 8- (Oct. 21 and 23)

First Class: no class

Second class: Reconstructing Arguments and Critically Evaluating Arguments

Reading: Chapter 6, pp. 167-215 Evaluating Arguments

Assignments: WebCT Quiz 9: Disproving Claims Quiz Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 9- (Oct. 28 and 30)

First Class: no class

Second Class: Critically Evaluating Arguments concluded, review.

Midterm Exam Review Sheet

Midterm: WebCT Note: ONE try on the midterm--1 hour time limit.

Available from Thursday,

Oct. 28, 3:00 until Thursday, Nov. 6, 9:00am.

Week 10 (Nov. 4 and 6)

First Class: no class

Second class: Critical Thinking: Pseudoscience and the Paranormal.

Presentation: Evaluating the Claims of Alternative Medicine

Readings: Paranormal and Pseudoscience Articles

The Placebo Effect: http://www.humphrey.org.uk/papers/2004Placebo.pdf

Placebo, Children, and Professional Ethics

Assignments: WebCT Quiz 10: Note: one attempt only on this quiz Paranormal and Pseudoscience Quiz 1 (questions on reading linked above.) Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am.

Week 11- (Nov. 11 and 13)

First Class: no class (Veteran's Day)

Second class: Pseudoscience and the Paranormal continued.

Reading: Paranormal and Pseudoscience Articles

Magical thinking in Complementary and Alternative Medicine: http://www.csicop.org/si/2001-11/alternative.html

An Investigation into Alleged "Hauntings": http://www.psy.herts.ac.uk/wiseman/papers/BJP-hauntings.pdf

More on Magical Thinking: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/m/mayesgr/ScienceValues.htm#Magical%20Thinking

Richard Dawkins: The Enemies of Reason

Assignments: none

Week 12- (Nov. 18 and 20)

First Class: no class

Second Class: Statistical Arguments

Reading: Chapter 9, pp. 232-276. Statistical Arguments

Assignments: WebCT Quiz 11: Statistical Arguments Quiz 1 Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 13- (Nov. 25 and 27)

First Class: Correlation Arguments

Second class: no class, Thanksgiving break.

Reading: Chapter 9, pp. 232-276. Statistical Arguments

Assignments: WebCT Quiz 12: Correlations Quiz 1 Available from Tuesday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Week 14- (Dec. 2 and 4)

First Class: no class

Second class: Causal Arguments

Reading: Chapter 10, Causal Arguments, pp. 277-327

Assignment: none

Week 15- (Dec. 9 and 11)

First Class: no class

Second class: Last day of class: Causal Arguments concluded, review

Reading: Chapter 10.

Assignments: WebCT Quiz 13: Causal Arguments Quiz 13 Available from Thursday, 3:00 until the following Thursday, 9:00am. Two attempts.

Final Exam: Final in WebCT open from Monday, Dec. 15, 8:00am through Friday, Dec. 19, 5:00pm. Final Exam on WebCT Note: One attempt only on the final, 2 hour time period.

Research on biases, mistakes, and bad reasoning:

Pronin, Gilovich, and Ross, Objectivity in the Eye of the Beholder: Divergent Perceptions of Bias in Self Versus Others: http://www.psych.cornell.edu/sec/pubPeople/tdg1/Pronin_Gilo_&_Ross_05.pdf

The Myth of the Hot Hand: http://www.psych.cornell.edu/sec/pubPeople/tdg1/Gilo.Vallone.Tversky.pdf

Pronin, Berger, Mouluki, I'm Not a Conformist: http://weblamp.princeton.edu/~psych/psychology/research/pronin/pubs/2007Conformity.pdf