The principles and standards for thinking and communicating clearly and effectively. Topics include theories of meaning, uses of language, common causes of confusion and error in thought and argument, and evaluation of arguments.
Athena Title
Logic and Critical Thinking
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in PHIL 2020E, PHIL 2020H
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall, spring and summer
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to identify premises and conclusions in an argument.
Students will be able to identify formal and informal fallacies in arguments.
Students will be able to explain what distinguishes a valid argument and an invalid argument.
Students will be able to assess the soundness of basic arguments.
Students will be able to distinguish deductive and inductive reasoning.
Topical Outline
Topics will vary, but will normally include several of the following:
I. Diagramming arguments
II. Informal fallacies
III. Truth
IV. Trees
V. Venn diagrams
VI. Aristotelian syllogism
VII. Theory of definition
VIII.Mill's methods
IX. Argument by analogy
X. Decision theory
XI. Game theory
XII Probability theory
XIII.The use of statistics in arguments
XIV. Constraint satisfaction problems
XV. Knowledge representation
XVI. Scientific method
