Philosophy 3: Critical Thinking University of California, Santa Barbara Fall 2011

Transcription

1 Philosophy 3: Critical Thinking University of California, Santa Barbara Fall 2011 General Information Lecture Time: MWF 8-8:50 AM Location: BUCHN 1910 Course Webpage: TA Information Justin Clark Section: M 1-1:50 PM (PHELP 1448), W 1-1:50 PM (PHELP 1448) Office Hours: T 1-3 PM (South Hall 5717) justinclark@umail.ucsb.edu Jonathan LaSalle Section: R 9-9:50 AM (GIRV 2124), R 3-3:50 PM (GIRV 2120) Office Hours: TBD (South Hall 5721) jlasalle@umail.ucsb.edu Instructor Information Instructor: Albert Shin Office Hours: MW 9-10 AM (South Hall 5721) ashin8320@gmail.com Jason Bennett Section: T 9-9:50 AM (GIRV 2124), T 3-3:50 PM (PHELP 1444) Office Hours: M 2-3 PM, F 9-10 AM (SH 5721) phil3@dedicto.org Eric Yang Section: F 11-11:50 AM (PHELP 1448), F 1-1:50 PM (PHELP 1440) Office Hours: F 9-11:00 AM (South Hall 5706) ucsberic@gmail.com I. Course Information Course Description We are constantly exposed to claims, through the media, through social circles, and so on: The death penalty is immoral ; Raising taxes hurt businesses ; All spiders are poisonous. Not all claims are true, and often ill-founded. We need to decide which claims to accept and which to reject. To do so, we need to evaluate the reasons for and against such claims. In other words, we form arguments in favor or against some claim. Critical thinking is the art of rational argumentation. It is the art of analyzing arguments, the art of determining whether an argument is good or not. Though critical thinking may not always lead us to true beliefs after all, we are human at least our beliefs will be justified. We will begin the course by learning some basic tools for evaluating the form of arguments. Some of these tools will be abstract; we will use symbols to extract the general form of the argument without the distraction of the specific claims themselves. We will also learn some of the more common errors in reasoning. Once we are equipped with these tools, we will put them to practice by evaluating some specific arguments on various topics. Required Text Vaughn, Lewis. The Power of Critical Thinking, 3 rd Ed. (Oxford Univ. Press, 2009) ISBN: Course Webpage The course webpage will contain the syllabus, handouts, homework assignments, and any updates for the course. Furthermore, I will make a shortened version of the lecture slides available through the

2 website, usually 24 hours prior to lecture (see below). I highly recommend that you check the website on a consistent basis to make sure you are up-to-date with assignments and course material. Updates I reserve the right to make any changes to the syllabus, including grading policy, assignment due dates, and exam schedule. Any changes and updates will be announced in class and posted on the course webpage. Also, both the TAs and I may send need to send information by . We will do so through UCSB s U-Lists service, which means s will be sent to your Umail address. If you have a different primary account, make sure to set up forwarding. Lecture Slides I will post incomplete lecture slides on the course webpage, usually 24 hours prior to the course. Remember that the slides are merely a tool to help, and cannot replace attendance. I will be supplementing information in the textbook. There may even be times in which I disagree with the author. So if you do not attend lectures, you will be missing information you cannot get anywhere else. Also, I will be going over practice problems in lecture, and that information will not be included in the slides. So the best strategy is to print out the slides the day before the lecture and add to that information during lecture. II. Course Requirements Overview Attendance (Discussion Sections) 10% Homework (10 collected periodically) 10% Midterm #1 25% Midterm #2 25% Final Exam 30% Attendance & Tardiness Students are expected to attend all lectures and sections prepared (i.e. completed required reading) and on time (I take offense to students who show up late). However, you will only be graded for section attendance. To get credit for attending, you must arrive at the discussion section on time. You will be granted only one absence, excused or unexcused, without any effect on your grade. Remember that we will cover some material in lecture and section that will not be available through the readings or lecture slides. Homework Homework will be assigned on a consistent basis. They will be due at the beginning of lectures, and are to be handed into the TA whose discussion section you are officially enrolled. Though I will assign many more than 10 homework assignments, I will only collect and grade 10 assignments. Homework will be graded on completeness, not accuracy. You will be allowed to miss only one assignment, excused or unexcused, without any negative effect on your grade. No late homework will be accepted. Exams The two midterms will be held in class. The final exam will be held at the time and location determined by the Registrar s office.

3 There will be no rescheduled exams. If you have some special circumstance, I might make an exception, but you will need to inform me as soon as possible in writing. The longer you wait, the less likely it is that I will grant an exception. Grades Ideally, your aim should be to learn, not to merely earn a grade. Your grade will be determined by performance, not by need or effort. Academic Dishonesty I do not tolerate any form of cheating, including plagiarism. I will seek the harshest punishment possible, which will be at minimum failing the course. If you are having difficulty with the course, you should notify your TA or me as soon as possible so that we can work with you. By the time you are caught, it will be too late for any excuses. Remember, ignorance is never an excuse. You are responsible for following the university policy on academic dishonesty (available online at: Support Available Instead of resorting to academic dishonesty, I suggest you come speak with either your TA or myself for any help with the course material. We are available during office hours and by . I am also willing to make appointments by if you cannot make it to office hours. I highly recommend you come to either your TA s or my office hours at some point in the course, whether or not you are struggling. If you are facing any serious difficulty of any kind (e.g. medical condition, family crisis), please contact me as soon as possible. I want to work with you, but I can only help you if I know of your situation. III. Readings & Schedule (Tentative) Week 0 9/23 [1.1] Introduction *Optional: Chapter 2 (pp. 2-65) Week 1 9/26 [2.1] The Basics *Required: Chapter 1 (pp. 3-22) 9/28 [2.2] Types of Arguments: Deductive, Inductive, and Abductive Arguments *Required: Chapter 3 (pp ) *Homework #1 Due 9/30 [2.3] Types of Arguments: Deductive Arguments and Basic Inference Rules *Required: Chapter 3 (pp ) *Homework #2 Due Week 2 10/3 [3.1] Propositional Logic: Symbolization and Logical Connectives *Required: Handout 3.1 (Symbolization); Handout 3.8 (Equivalences) *Homework #3 Due 10/5 [3.2] Propositional Logic: Truth Tables for Connectives Additional Symbolization Practice

4 *Required: Chapter 6 (pp ); Handout 3.2 (Truth Tables) *Homework #4 Due 10/7 [3.3] Propositional Logic: Truth Tables (Long) [3.2] Propositional Logic: Truth Tables for Connectives *Required:Handout 3.3 (Filling in Truth Tables) *Homework #5 Due Week 3 10/10 [3.4] Propositional Logic: Assessing Validity Using Truth Tables [3.3] Propositional Logic: Truth Tables (Long) *Required: Chapter 6 (pp ); Handout 3.4 (Assessing Validity Using Truth Tables) *Homework #6 Due 10/12 [3.5] Propositional Logic: Truth Tables (Short) [3.4] Propositional Logic: Assessing Validity Using Truth Tables *Required Optional: Handout 3.5 (Short-Hand Truth Tables) *Homework #7 Due 10/14 [3.6] Propositional Logic: Practice Problems (Short-Hand Method) Midterm Review *Homework #8 Due (Will not be collected) Week 4 10/17 Midterm #1 (on the Basics, Inference Rules, Symbolization, Truth Tables) 10/19 [4.1] Categorical Logic: Categorical Statements *Required: Chapter 7 (pp ); Handout 4.1 (Categorical Statements) 10/21 [4.2] Categorical Logic: Categorical Syllogism (Moods and Figures) *Required: Handout 4.2 (Moods and Figures) *Homework #9 Due Week 5 10/24 [4.3] Categorical Logic: Venn Diagrams (Two Circles) *Required: Chapter 7 (pp ); Handout 4.3 (Venn Diagrams Two Circles) *Homework #10 Due 10/26 [4.4] Categorical Logic: Venn Diagrams (Three Circles) *Required: Chapter 7 (pp ); Handout 4.4 (Venn Diagrams Three Circles) *Homework #11 Due 10/28 [4.5] Categorical Logic: Assessing Validity Using Venn Diagrams *Required: Handout 4.5 (Assessing Validity) Handout 4.6 (On Distribution); Handout 4.7 (Rules and Fallacies of Categorical Syllogisms) *Homework #12 Due Week 6 10/31 [4.6] Categorical Logic: Practice Problems (Assessing Validity) *Homework #13 Due 11/2 [5.1] Inductive Inference: Enumerative Induction *Required: Chapter 8 (pp ) 11/4 [5.2] Inductive Inference: Causal Arguments *Required: Chapter 8 (pp ) *Optional: Chapter 9 (pp )

5 *Homework #14 Due Week 7 11/7 Midterm #2 (on Categorical Syllogism, Venn Diagrams, Inductive Arguments) 11/9 [6.1] Reasons for Belief and Doubt: Part I *Required: Chapter 4 (pp ) 11/11 NO SCHOOL Week 8 11/14 [6.2] Reasons for Belief and Doubt: Part II *Required: Chapter 4 (pp ) 11/16 [7.1] Fallacies: Irrelevant Premises *Required: Chapter 5 (pp ) *Homework #15 Due 11/18 [7.2] Fallacies: Unacceptable Premises *Required: Chapter 5 (pp ) *Homework #16 Due Week 9 11/21 [8.1] Application: Capital Punishment (Essay 1 and 5) *Required: Appendix A (pp & ) *Homework #17 Due 11/23 [8.2] Application: Stem Cell Research (Essay 7 and 13) *Required: Appendix A (pp & ) 11/25 NO SCHOOL Week 10 11/28 [8.3] Application: Freedom of Expression (Essay 18, 19, 20, and 21) *Required: Appendix A (pp ) *Homework #18 Due 11/30 [9.1] Morality: Assessing Moral Arguments *Required: Chapter 11 (pp ) 12/2 [9.2] Morality: Assessing Moral Theories *Required: Chapter 11 (pp ) Finals Week 12/9 FINAL EXAM: 8-11 AM Buchanan 1910