PHIL 1101

PHIL 1101 Critical Thinking

Three (3) credit hours

This course aims at understanding and applying the principles of good reasoning by providing the tools for recognizing, analyzing, evaluating, and responding to arguments. To this end, it attempts to develop the students’:

1. INTERPRETIVE SKILLS, so that they appreciate the complexities of natural language. We are interested here in issues of clarity, distinctions between arguments and other kinds of linguistic usage, and between different types of argument.
2. EVALUATIVE SKILLS, i.e., the ability to assess language. This requires identifying the general criteria of truth and soundness, special patterns or conditions of logical strength and various methods of explaining an argument’s weakness, as well as common fallacies and irrational techniques of persuasion.

None

Ahmad Rahmanian, PhD
Department of Philosophy
University of New Brunswick - Fredericton

Office Location: Carleton Hall
Phone: (506) 458-7503

E-mail: arahmani@unb.ca

The course materials include a textbook and the instructor’s notes on each topic.  The approach taken to the evaluation of the students’ work is designed to facilitate one-on-one student-instructor dialogue and to enrich the students’ learning experience.  To enhance the interactive process, there is also a forum for the exchange of ideas.

The course covers 10 topics, including Meaning, Definition, Reconstructing and Assessing Arguments, Deductive and Inductive Reasoning, Arguing Back, and Irrational Techniques of Persuasion.

William Hughes & Jonathan Lavery, Critical Thinking: an introduction to the basic skills, 5th edition (Broadview Press, 2008)

Textbooks can be ordered from the UNB Fredericton Bookstore:
506-453-4664
unb.bkstr.ca

The assessment is based on 9 sets of discussions, 10 sets of tasks, a midterm test, and a final exam.  The discussions and tasks cover the entire course, the midterm covers the first few topics, and the final the rest of the topics.  The discussions and tasks require paragraph answers, the midterm is multiple-choice, and the final is multiple-choice and short-answer questions.  The students will have two hours to complete the midterm and three hours the final.  Both the midterm and the final are supervised; they will be scheduled by each student separately online.  The four components of the assessment are weighted as follows:

Click here to find more information on fees for this course.

Fees are subject to change by the Board of Governors.

Once you complete the Apply Now form below, please send payment. Methods of payment accepted:
Cash (Do not send in the mail. Please deliver to the College of Extended Learning, 2nd Level, Wu Centre, UNB Fredericton Campus)
Cheque or money order (Mail to UNB College of Extended Learning, PO Box 4400, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5A3)
MasterCard / VISA / American Express (Please call the College of Extended Learning at 1-866-599-4646  or 506 453-4646 with your credit card number, expiry date, and the name as it appears on the card. Please do not send credit card information via email).

Apply Now!