Philosophy 200:
Critical Reasoning
California State University, Northridge
Department of Philosophy
Spring, 2012
Syllabus
Course Description
(From the Catalogue)
Examination of the relationship between logic and language. Accelerated
introduction to the concepts essential to the identification, analysis and
evaluation of arguments, with attention to deduction, induction and common
fallacies. Emphasis on the application of these concepts.
Course Information for Course Number 13428
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Meeting Times................................ |
Fridays from 2:00 to 4:45PM |
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Meeting Location............................ |
Sierra Hall (SH) 192 |
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Website............................................ |
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Reading and Assignment Schedule. |
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Instructor......................................... |
Christopher Lay, PhD |
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Contact............................................ |
christopher.lay@csun.edu
(clay@csun.edu) |
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Office Location............................... |
Sierra Tower (ST) 535 |
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Office Hours................................... |
Fridays 8:30 to 10:30AM, and by appointment |
Role in the General Education
Program
This course satisfies the
"Critical Thinking" component of the "Basic Skills" section
of the General Education Program, which recognizes critical reasoning as a
fundamental competence. Courses in this part of General Education take
reasoning itself as their focus. Their goals are to provide students with
criteria and methods for distinguishing good reasoning from bad and to help
students develop basic reasoning skills that they can apply both within a broad
range of academic disciplines and outside the academic environment. Students
are expected to acquire skill in recognizing the logical structure of statements
and arguments, the ability to distinguish rational from non-rational means of
persuasion, skill in applying the principles of sound reasoning in the
construction and evaluation of arguments, and an appreciation of the value of
critical reasoning skills in the pursuit of knowledge.
Course
Goals and Objectives
This course aims at empowering
students to
1. distinguish between opinions,
facts, and arguments;
2. identify valid and invalid
reasoning;
3. identify formal and informal
fallacies; and
4. develop critical thinking
capacities by:
a)
identifying main theses,
b)
identifying what supports those theses,
c)
evaluating the strengths of that which supports those theses, and
d)
evaluating the validity of the reasoning that takes the reader from that which
supports those theses to the theses themselves.
Text
Burton F. Porter's The Voice of Reason: Fundamentals of
Critical Thinking, Oxford University Press, 2002.
Course Grade and Assignments
Participation
10% of course grade
Weekly
Quizzes 20% of course grade
Midterm
Exam 30% of course grade
Final
Exam 40% of course grade
Participation
Participation in philosophy is essential. You are expected to do the readings on
schedule (i.e. before the class period indicated) and come to class prepared to
discuss them. Class participation
will decide borderline grades, either up or down, and in rare cases,
extraordinary class participation can boost your final grade up a third (e.g.,
from 'B' to "B+"). Class
participation will mainly be evaluated by the contribution the student makes
toward the learning experience of the class as a whole. Note that discussing the substantive
issues of the course in office hours and via email will also count as class
participation.
Weekly Quizzes
Each
weekly quiz will cover that week's reading and will consist of questions either
from, or like, the "Assignments, Exercises, and Puzzles" from the
textbook.
Midterm and Final Exam
Both
the midterm and the final exams will consist of 1) questions either from, or
like, the "Assignments, Exercises, and Puzzles" from the textbook,
and 2) short essay questions. The
final exam will not be cumulative.
Make-up Quizzes
You will only be able to make up in-class assignments if you
have a credible excuse (e.g., doctor's note, jury summons, obituary notice,
etc.).
Academic Integrity
Plagiarism, cheating, or any other form of academic
dishonesty will not be tolerated.
It is your responsibility as a student to know CSUN's academic
dishonesty policy, as spelled out in the "Student Conduct" appendix to CSUN's catalogue. Any assignment produced in an
academically dishonesty way will receive an "F" grade, and the
student submitting it will be reported to the Dean of Student Affairs. Students who engage in academic
dishonesty in more than one assignment will receive an "F" grade for
the course. There are no exceptions
to this policy: "I didn't know that what I turned in constituted
plagiarism," "I forgot the quotation marks and citation," "It
was only one sentence," or "It was an accident, it'll never happen
again" are not valid excuses. Please, if you don't understand what
plagiarism or academic integrity is, ask me.
Students with Disabilities
This course will accommodate any disability if you have
registered with CSUN's Disability Resources and Educational Services.
Schedule
of Readings and Assignments
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Week
One |
Getting
Started |
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Friday,
January 27th |
Syllabus,
Schedule, Overview, and Introductions Midterm
and Final Review |
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Week
Two |
Critical
Thinking |
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Friday,
February 3rd |
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Week
Three |
Using
Words |
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Friday,
February 10th |
Chapter
One Quiz |
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Week
Four |
Language
and Definition |
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Friday,
February 17th |
Chapter
Two Quiz |
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Week
Five |
Disagreements,
Claims, and Reasons |
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Friday,
February 24th |
Chapter
Three Quiz |
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Week Six |
Avoiding
Mistakes in Thinking |
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Friday,
March 2nd |
Chapter
Four Quiz |
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Week
Seven |
Avoiding
Subtle Mistakes in Thinking |
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Friday,
March 9th |
Chapter Five Quiz |
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Week
Eight |
Midterm |
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Friday,
March 16th |
Midterm
Exam |
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Week
Nine |
Formal
Reasoning |
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Friday,
March 24th |
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Week
Ten |
CŽsar
Ch‡vez |
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Friday,
March 30th |
CŽsar
Ch‡vez Day |
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Week
Eleven |
Spring
Break |
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Friday,
April 6th |
Spring
Break |
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Week
Twelve |
Deductive
Reasoning |
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Friday,
April 13th |
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Week
Thirteen |
Deductive
Reasoning |
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Friday,
April 20th |
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Week
Fourteen |
Inductive
Reasoning, Causes and Analogies |
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Friday,
April 27th |
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Week
Fifteen |
Generalizations
and Hypotheses |
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Friday,
May 4th |
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Week
Sixteen |
Finishing
Up |
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Friday,
May 11th |
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Finals
Week |
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Thursday,
May 17th |
Final
Review from 2:00 to 4:00PM |
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Friday,
May 18th |
Final
Review from 12:00 to 1:45PM |
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Friday,
May 18th |
Final
Exam 3:00 to 5:00PM |