Philosophy 101 Critical Thinking/ Uncritical Thinking

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1 Philosophy 101 Critical Thinking/ Uncritical Thinking Dr. Ada Jaarsma Office Hours: 12-1pm, Tues & Thurs Course Overview In this class, we will learn about several different approaches to what it means to think and what it means to think critically. The semester will be divided into three units, each of which demonstrates contrasting conceptions of what critical thinking entails (why it matters and how it works; how we gain the ability to think critically and why we should in the first place). First, we will look at what it means to think critically in our own context at the university and how the act of thinking requires the resources and capacity as individuals to be courageous, confident, and mature. Second, we will explore how thinking critically involves skepticism and doubt, especially in relation to coercion and deception, and we will contemplate how our own subjective choices and passions give rise to the capacity for critique. Finally, we will think about how thinking critically is a political act, and how thinking sometimes involves making unprecedented moral judgments. This course is premised on the idea that to think, in an engaged and complex way, about critical thinking is, at the same time, to develop important critical skills. These include: learning how to identify and evaluate the logic and premises of arguments; gaining facility in determining the difference between sophistry and truth-telling; being able to assess the broader political and social value of critical thinking. This means that the learning outcomes of the course are: gaining flexibility and self-reflexivity in the creation and assessment of arguments; deepening self-awareness of one s own subjective passions and truths; developing collaborative skills which enable productive discussion, participatory research, and engaged debate. Course Texts There is a coursepack of readings to purchase for this class. Course Policies and Assignments Attendance and Participation Thinking critically involves, in part, the ability to engage in dialogue and debate. This class will therefore have a strong emphasis on in-class discussion, and therefore attendance, participation, and preparedness (having read the assigned materials, etc) will all be essential components of the course itself. They will also make up a considerable portion of the final grade. We will work a lot in small groups, and it will be important that we all work together to foster a trusting and comfortable dynamic for everyone. Sensitivity and mutual respect are absolutely essential for this class. Please feel free to me or speak to me if at any time you feel uncomfortable with the classroom environment. Similarly, I will speak to you if I perceive any problematic assumptions, biases, or prejudices that are making others uncomfortable.

2 Three Exams This course is divided into three units, each of which focus on a different approach to critical thinking. We will do a great deal of in-class work together, thinking about and practicing these approaches, and each unit will culminate in an exam which will enable each student to demonstrate an understanding of the material and an ability to model various forms of critical thinking. Final Project: Critical Thinking Today The main theme of this course concerns the nature of critical thinking and its importance for scientific as well as moral knowledge, for personal self-awareness and growth, and for social and political justice. There is therefore a final project in the class that focuses on critical thinking today. The project will require research (undertaken collaboratively within groups), and it will depend a great deal on what students have learned in all three units of the course. In this way, it serves as a take-home final exam. Deadline: Exam Week Grades Attendance, Participation, and In-Class Assignments: 20 % Three Exams: 20 % Final Project: 20 % Grading Scale: A: ; A-: 90-94; B+: 87-89; B: 84-86; B-: 80-83; C+: 77-79; C: 74-76; C-: 70-73; D+: 65-69; D: 60-64; D-: Schedule and Overview Unit 1: Critical Thinking as Enlightenment: Objective Truth Why does objective truth matter, and how do we find it? Does objective truth require dispassionate, disinterested impartiality? Does being a university student mean that I am committed to becoming an enlightened thinker? Do I have to have both maturity and independence in order to think critically? Why does critical thinking require both courage and confidence? And how do I gain such qualities? What does it mean for my particular generation to become enlightened, in our present age? Why does a healthy democracy depend upon critical thinking? The motto of the Enlightenment is: Dare to know! Have courage to use your own reason without guidance from another. Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment? 1. Immanuel Kant, An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? 2. Stephen Jay Gould, The Median Isn t the Message, Discover Magazine (1985) 3. Ursula K. Le Guin, Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading, Harper s, Feb Michael Pollan, Unhappy Meals, New York Times Magazine, Jan 28, 2007

3 Unit 2: Critical Thinking versus Ideology: Subjective Truth What is ideology, and how is it different from real critical thinking? How can I tell when an argument relies on power and deception, rather than authenticity and truth? Where is the line between truth and deception? Who am I, as a critical thinker, and how can I become an authentic and passionate thinker? How can I secure real meaning in my life, in and through critical thinking? What is subjective truth? How am I oriented in the world, and how does this in part determine my own sense of truth? It is human existence which makes values spring up in the world, on the basis of which it will be able to judge the enterprise in which it will be engaged Simone de Beauvoir 5. Simone de Beauvoir, Introduction to The Second Sex, The Second Wave: A Reader in Feminist Theory. Ed. Linda Nicholson. New York: Routledge, Søren Kierkegaard, Two Ages, The Essential Kierkegaard. Ed. Howard V. Hong & Edna H. Hong. Princeton UP, Unit 3: Critical Thinking and Dialogue: Moral Judgment Do we need to be critical thinkers in order to determine what is morally right and what is morally wrong? How can I make such judgments? When is it important to cultivate uncertainty in my thinking, and when is it important to become certain about what I think? What does it mean to seek dialogue, rather than truth, and can I seek dialogue with myself as well as with others? How do I gain the ability to think, in the present moment, without relying upon old or prescribed formulas or assumptions? How can I engage in dialogue with those from very different cultures, perspectives, and backgrounds? Terror becomes total when it becomes independent of all opposition: It rules supreme when nobody any longer stands in its way. Hannah Arendt 7. Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem excerpts, in The Portable Hannah Arendt. Ed. Peter Baehr (Penguin, 2003), Richard J. Bernstein, Evil and the Corruption of Democratic Politics; Epilogue, The Abuse of Evil: The Corruption of Politics and Religion Since 9/11, Polity Press, 2005, 68-94;

4 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE Unit 1 Critical Thinking as Enlightenment: Objective Truth Aug 27 Sept 1 Sept 3 Sept 8 Sept 10 Sept 15 Sept 17 Sept 22 Sept 24 Sept 29 Oct 1 Oct 6 Oct 8 Oct 13 Oct 15 Oct 20 Oct 22 Oct 27 Oct 29 Nov 3 Nov 5 Nov 10 Nov 12 Introduction More in-depth introductions Reading: Immanuel Kant, An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment? Reading: Stephen Jay Gould, The Median Isn t the Message Reading: Ursula K. Le Guin, Staying Awake: Notes on the alleged decline of reading. And Michael Pollan, Unhappy Meals. Discussion and Review Unit One Exam Unit 2 Critical Thinking versus Ideology: Subjective Truth Reading: Simone de Beauvoir, Introduction to The Second Sex, Reading: Søren Kierkegaard, Two Ages, Continuation of Beauvoir and Kierkegaard discussion Watch Mad Men Furlough (no class); work in groups on Mad Men assignment Hand in Mad Men assignment; discussion Assignment for this class: to listen to two podcasts (which will be linked on web-ct) Unit Two Exam Unit 3 Critical Thinking and Dialogue: Moral Judgment Introduction of Unit three Reading: Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem excerpts Continuation of Arendt discussion Reading: Richard J. Bernstein, Evil and the Corruption of Democratic Politics; Epilogue. Review

5 Nov 17 Nov 19 Nov 24 Nov 26 Dec 1 Unit Three Exam Introduction of final project Furlough: no class Thanksgiving Group work Dec 3 Dec 8 Presentations of final project Dec 10 May 7 May 12 May 14 Introduction of Final Project Group Work Presentations of Final Project Exam week Final Projects due