House Points:

• Gryffindor: 124
• Hufflepuff: 117
• Ravenclaw: 118
• Slytherin: 103

Course Syllabus: Syllabus PHIL 110 S18 (Updated_ March 25th).pdf

Course Description:  This course develops college-level critical thinking and writing. Critical thinking promotes self-awareness, independent thinking, and improved academic expression. This course examines philosophical methods of reasoning and composition, and the uses of informal logic and criticism in personal life, college, work, and democratic society.

Textbook Information:  Two books are required for this course:

1. Lewis Vaughn (2015). The Power of Critical Thinking: Effective Reasoning About Ordinary and Extraordinary Claims, Fifth Edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN-10: 0199385424

2. David McRaney (2012). You Are Not So Smart. Avery Publishing. ISBN-10: 1592407366

Student Learning Objectives:  After successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. To identify, reconstruct, and analyze logical arguments, including conclusions, premises, and implicit assumptions, within a wide variety of written works.

2. To apply, in both written and oral form, critical thinking concepts and techniques to contemporary issues related to society, politics, law, and education.

3. To identify common reasoning errors and cognitive biases that lead to faulty argumentation.

4. To write effective argumentative essays in which original, thoughtful, strongly developed critical positions are presented in a clear, methodical, well-structured manner.

Hours of Work: Courses are designed with the following in mind: 4 units is 4 hours lecture per week + 8-12 hours  outside of class for reading/test preparation/homework/projects/etc. = 12-16 hours/ week for a 4 unit course in a 16 week semester.