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161-003 Critical Thinking: The Art of Reasoning | |
Note | Formerly available as 161-104. Students who have completed 161-104 are not eligible to enrol in this subject. |
Credit Points | 12.5 |
HECS Band | 1 |
Coordinator | Dr Tim van Gelder |
Semester | 1 (view timetable) |
Contact | Two 1-hour lectures per week throughout the semester, and a 1-hour tutorial per week beginning the second week of semester |
Subject Description | This subject covers the fundamental principles of reasoning and argument in ordinary language. These include distinguishing reasoning from other forms of persuasion; uses and abuses of language in the expression of ideas; extracting arguments from texts; clarifying the internal structure of arguments; evaluating the acceptability of premises; distinguishing kinds of reasoning (statistical, causal, analogical, ethical, explanatory etc.); common patterns of error in reasoning; and the structure of debate. By the end of the subject students should have a greater ability to evaluate reasoning, to support their own positions, and to think their way through difficult issues. These skills should substantially enhance students' performance in subsequent subjects in the Philosophy Department and elsewhere. |
Assessment | Written work totalling 4000 words. An examination may be substituted for part of the written work. |
Prescribed Texts | Materials prepared by the department. |
Search : Index : Faculty of Arts : Philosophy
Prev 161-002 Study of Human Nature
Next 161-004 Fundamental Questions in Philosophy
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