IMPORTANT
STUFF: There is a quiz on the syllabus due Thursday 3PM.
Please take it right away. If you take it before the deadline,
I'll add two percentage points to your First Midterm Exam.
If
you don't take the Syllabus Quiz by the deadline, you may be
dropped from the course for non-participation.
If you decide this class is not for you, please drop right
away on MyLane,
as there is no guarantee
you will be dropped for non-participation and there are
other students waiting to get in.
If you don't drop by
11:59pm Sunday, you will be charged for the class. Also,
after Sunday the class will be recorded on your transcript,
and even if you drop it will be listed with a"W" (withdrawn)
next to it. The last day to drop or change your grading option
to pass/no pass is always Friday of the 8th week, which this
term is
March 2,
5pm.
MORE IMPORTANT STUFF: This course requires testing at
an LCC campus lab or with approved proctor.
You
cannot take exams at home. If you live outside the
greater Eugene area and can't make it to the
Instructional
Testing Center, Cottage Grove Center or Florence Center,
you will have to
arrange a proctor. Tests are multiple
choice and true false and should take you less than an hour.
There
is no text to buy. We will be using OERs posted to
Moodle.
REQUIREMENTS
FORUM POSTS
(Students enrolled in regular online section only)
|
Due before Sunday 11:55pm each week |
10% of grade
|
CRITICAL
ESSAY (Students enrolled in Honors section only)
|
Due Friday,
March 9, before 11:59pm
|
10% of grade
|
| FIRST MIDTERM EXAM |
Begins: Thursday, January 25
at 9am
Ends: Thursday, February 1 at 7pm
|
30% of
grade |
SECOND
MIDTERM EXAM
|
Begins:
Thursday, February 15 at 9am
Ends: Tuesday, February 27 at 7pm
|
30% of
grade
|
| FINAL EXAM |
Begins:
Thursday, March 15 at 9am
Ends: Thursday,
March 22 at 5pm |
30% of grade |
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is aimed
at developing practical reasoning skills. Students
will learn to analyze and evaluate arguments, detect
fallacies, distinguish science from pseudo-science,
recognize media bias, and better understand methods of
deception employed by advertisers, political
organizations and others. A central goal of this
course is to develop an attitude of fair-mindedness
and intellectual honesty while learning to avoid the
pitfalls of defensiveness and rationalization.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The
objectives are this course are for students to (1) be
able to identify, analyze and evaluate arguments,
including being able to detect hidden assumptions and
recognize implied conclusions (2) be able to identify
various kinds of valid and strong arguments and to
distinguish them from formal and informal fallacies
(3) develop an awareness of various kinds of
psychological bias that can cloud clear thinking and
to develop effective strategies for overcoming it (4)
develop an awareness of social, cultural and
institutional bias and to develop strategies for
correcting for its influence (5) be able to guard
against non-rational means of persuasion such as slick
sales techniques, rhetoric and propaganda (6) be able
to apply critical thinking skills in different
contexts, e.g. advertising, science, religion, ethics,
politics (7) understand and appreciate the value of
rationality and objectivity.
COMPUTER USE: This course requires you to use (but not
necessarily own) a computer. Testing, distribution and
archiving of notes and handouts and reporting and calculation
of grades are all done via
Moodle. Campus labs
are staffed with people who can help you if you are new to
computers or have difficulty using them. Visit the
Student
Help Desk (SHeD) website at
https://www.lanecc.edu/atc/student-help-desk,
call them at 463-3333 or visit them in the Center 221B (in the
Library). Campus computer labs and hours may be found at
https://www.lanecc.edu/cit/computer-lab. Please make sure your current
email address is in your myLane account and Moodle profile.
EXAMS: You will have
a window of several days during which you must take each exam
in
Instructional
Testing Services in the in CEN 311 on the Main
Campus or at the
Cottage
Grove Center or with an approved proctor.
Exams
cannot be taken at home. You will need a photo I.D. and
to know your L Number and myLane PIN to log into the test. The
exam format will be multiple choice and true/false questions.
During the exam you may use a 3 x 5 card note card (both
sides) or a piece of paper measured with a ruler and cut to
the same size. The final will
not be comprehensive. Opening and closing
times of exams are in the syllabus and may also be seen by
clicking on the exam name in the main course view or
consulting your Moodle Calendar. Hours for
Instructional
Testing Services are posted at
https://www.lanecc.edu/learningcommons/its.
You must arrive one hour
before closing. See
http://www.lanecc.edu/laneonline/test-proctoring
for details on proctoring if you are taking the course from
out of the greater Eugene area. If you need help locating a
proctor, try The National College Testing Association at
http://www.ncta-testing.org/cctc/. A per test fee is
usually required, though fees will vary by institution.
Note:
LCC Testing labs will be closed Monday, January 15
(Martin Luther King Day) and Monday, February 19th
(Presidents' Day).
EXTRA CREDIT EXAM: There is an optional
Extra
Credit Exam, based on the material from the First and
Second Midterm Exams. It opens Monday of Week 8 and closes
Friday of Week 10. It will replace your First or Second
Midterm Exam score, whichever is lower. If you score lower
than either midterm, it will have no effect.
The Extra
Credit Exam cannot be used to replace a missing exam. If
you miss one of the midterms, you will receive a zero on that
exam and the Extra Credit Exam will have no effect.
MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY:
Since you will have at least a week to take each miderm exam,
you will be expected to meet the deadline. You may contact me
before the deadline via
Moodle messaging (not email) or in person to request an
extension without penalty. If you miss the Final Exam due to
some unforeseen circumstance, send me a Moodle message ASAP to
discuss options.
PENALTIES FOR CHEATING: Students caught cheating will
be given an
F in the course
(not just on the exam). Security measures in the lab are
excellent, with mirrors, cameras and watchful staff who send
immediate reports of incidents directly to me.
FORUM POSTS: The purpose of the forum assignment is to
allow you the opportunity to interpret, evaluate and apply
what you have learned, and to discuss the merits and
implications of class concepts with your classmates. At the
beginning of each week, a new forum will be open for posting.
To receive credit, you must make one post (or reply) which
substantially addresses a class topic. Postings will be
graded on a credit/no-credit basis and are due before Sunday
11:55pm at the end of each week. Late posts will not receive
credit. An extra credit forum will be available in Week Ten to
make up for one missed post. Students are also expected to
read every post.
HONORS ESSAYS: Instead
of posting to the weekly forum, honors students must write a
critical essay between 1250 and 1500 words in length.
A
rough draft should be submitted by Friday of Week 6. The
final version is due Friday midnight of Week 9.
GRADING: At
the end of the term, the class will be graded on the
following absolute scale. Any extra credit work (with the
exception of the Extra Credit Exam) does not count towards
the A+.
| A+ 97% -100% |
A 93% - 96%
|
A- 90% - 92% |
| B+ 87% - 89% |
B 83% - 86% |
B- 80% - 82% |
| C+ 77% - 79% |
C 73% - 76% |
C- 70% - 72% |
| D+ 67% - 69% |
D 63% - 66% |
D- 60% - 62% |
| |
F 0% - 59% |
|
AVAILABILITY
OF THE INSTRUCTOR: I am available by Moodle
messaging or in-person office visits. We can also set up an
appointment to talk on the phone or via a conferencing app
like Skype. If you are having difficulties with the class, please contact me as soon as
possible; I am here to help. If you performed
poorly on your first exam, please come by office hours or
make an appointment to see me to see what we can do to
improve your next exam score and the Extra Credit Exam,
which will replace your lowest midterm score. I am also
available to discuss any issue in the class which has piqued
your intellectual curiosity, or which you find interesting
or important, outside of the realm of assignments and
testing.
CLUB, CREDIT AND WORK STUDY OPPORTUNITIES: I am the
faculty advisor for Young Americans
for Liberty, a locally controlled, independent student
club dedicated to individual rights, personal
responsibility, limited government and the principles of
reason, freedom, tolerance and compassion. The club
currently meets Tuesdays 12-1 in Building 1, Room 212,
though is open to moving the time or adding a second meeting
to accommodate schedules. For more information, check out YAL on OrgSync
and click the Join button to be updated on club activities.
You can also check out YAL
at LCC on Facebook . If you're interested in doing an
internship through Cooperative Education (Political Science)
to earn 2 or 3 credits helping out with the club, send me a
Moodle message. Also, if you have Federal Work Study, I
could use a new Philosophy Assistant to help with some
research and clerical work.
COURSE OUTLINE
Note: I may add some material on advertising, risk/reward
analysis and science in the later weeks.
WEEK 1: What is Critical Thinking and Why Is It Important?
Objectivity, Truth and Knowledge. Language and Meaning. The
Problem of Vagueness. The Law of Excluded Middle.
WEEK 2: The Problem of Bias. The Ethics of Belief.
Arguments, Premises and Conclusions. Inductive and Deductive
Arguments. Validity and Soundness. Valid and Invalid
Arguments. Strong and Weak Arguments.
WEEK 3: Logical Operators. Basic Valid Arguments. Basic
Formal Fallacies
First Midterm opens Thursday 9a, (taken in Instructional
Testing Services, or with approved proctor)
WEEK 4: The Limits of Formal Logic, Argument by Analogy,
Informal Fallacies
First Midterm closes Thursday 7pm
WEEK 5 More Informal Fallacies
WEEK 6: Even More Informal Fallacies, Review
Second Midterm opens Thursday 9am
WEEK 7: Thinking Critically About Religion
Second Midterm Exam moved to Monday due to the Presidents
Day holiday
WEEK 8 Thinking Critically About Ethics
Second Midterm Exam closes Tuesday 7pm
Extra Credit Exam opens Monday 9am
WEEK 9 Thinking Critically About the Academy
WEEK 10 Thinking Critically About the News and Politics,
Everyday Life
Final Exam opens Thursday 9am
Extra Credit Exam closes Friday 5pm
FINAL EXAM WEEK
Take Final Exam in the Computer Testing Lab by Thursday
5pm