UWG Philosophy Program

UWG Philosophy Program

PHIL 2020: Critical Thinking (3 hours)

COURSE SYLLABUS

Fall Semester 2012

Sec. 05: MW 9:30-10:50am

Biology Building 114

Prerequisites: NONE

Instructor: Dr. Amanda Printz

Email: aprintz@westga.edu

Office: Pafford Hall 304d

Office Hours: Monday, 11:15-12pm or by appointment

English/Philosophy Telephone: (678) 839-6512

UWG SEVERE WEATHER POLICY: http://www.westga.edu/police/index_2277.php

Why study “Critical Thinking”? The first and most obvious reason is that it will greatly improve the caliber of your oral and written communication skills, which in turn will greatly improve the chances of receiving good grades in your courses. The most important reason, however, is that developing critical thinking skills is indispensable if you want to reason well, avoid being duped and manipulated, and adopt beliefs and conclusions that have a decent chance of being true. A friend of mine once characterized many of our daily activities, whether it be reading a book, going to class, watching television, or conversing with friends, as a battle for control over your own mind. The more critical thinking skills you possess, the greater your odds of retaining intellectual sovereignty and the greater your chances of thinking freely and correctly for yourself.

In this course you will learn, develop, and sharpen your critical thinking skills. We will study the nature of arguments and how to analyze and evaluate them. We will also examine the principles of deductive and non-deductive reasoning as well as the mistakes in reasoning that lead us to make bad arguments, draw incorrect conclusions, and adopt questionable beliefs.

Learning Outcomes

From our studies, you will learn how to think well. In general, you will know how to make a good argument, how to evaluate the arguments of others, and how to draw your own conclusions with regard to issues and problems that confront you everyday. More specifically, by the end of the semester, each of you will be able to

ü Identify deductive and inductive argumentation

ü Distinguish fact and informed opinion from mere opinion in a variety of argumentative contexts

ü Organize evidence and compose persuasive arguments, both orally and in writing

ü Identify and distinguish formal and informal fallacies of reasoning

ü Identify, develop, and analyze reasons in support of a conclusion

These course-specific learning outcomes contribute to the departmental learning outcomes of the Philosophy Program by enabling students better to

ü Ask philosophical questions and identify their types

ü Incorporate a philosophical position in oral and written communications

ü Critically outline and analyze philosophical issues

ü Exhibit critical thinking skills

Methods of Instruction

Our classes will be a mixture of lecture and discussions. There will be regular reading assignments, homework in the form of problem sets and other written work, and regular in-class quizzes. What you get from this course and how well you do in it depends on the time you devote to preparing for class and the thoughtfulness with which you approach the material. To succeed in this course you not only need to read the assigned reading and do the assigned homework, you must also actively engage yourself with the material and come to class prepared to participate in class discussions.

Required Texts

· Richard Feldman, Reason and Argument, 2^nd ed. (Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall), 1999. ISBN: 0-13-624602-8.

· The reading will occasionally be supplemented with excerpts from other texts. These will be included on handouts distributed in class when needed.

Forms of Assessment

A) Homework: 10%

B) Quizzes: 20%

C) Attendance/Participation: 10%

D) Test # 1: 20%

E) Test #2: 20%

F) Final Exam: 20%

A) Homework: All of the assigned readings have homework that corresponds to them. You should, therefore, expect to have a homework assignment due every class. I will collect your homework and then we will spend the first part of the class discussing it. Upon reviewing your homework I will assign it either a check +, check, or check-, determined by the effort with which you completed the assignment. Late homework assignments will not be accepted.

B) Quizzes: There will be 8 quizzes over the course of the semester, each of which will be given on a Wednesday. The questions on the quizzes will take a variety of forms and will be drawn from the readings and lectures from that week. There will be no make-up quizzes.

C) Attendance/Participation: You are expected to come to class on time and prepared to learn and interact. Read the materially thoughtfully before coming to class and come in with thoughts and questions you would like to discuss. To receive attendance/participation credit you are expected

1) To come to every scheduled class but are allowed 5 absences without penalty; any absences over 5 will incur a 5-point deduction from your final grade. If you miss 8 or more class meetings, you will not earn a passing grade for this course.

**Also, PLEASE NOTE: you are REQUIRED to be present at each of the four class meetings during which “final exam speeches” are presented. If you miss one of these days, 5 points will be deducted from your final exam grade.

2) To offer a meaningful question or comment at least once per class.

D&E) Tests #1 & #2: There will be two tests consisting of a variety of forms of questions (short answer, multiple choice, True/False, and short essay). Each test will cover approximately 6 weeks of previously reviewed and discussed material. If you know that you will be absent on a test day, you must let me know in advance in order to schedule a make-up test. If you are unable to notify me in advance or for some other reason you miss a test, a make-up test will be permitted if and only if your absence is due to extenuating circumstances beyond your control or debilitating illness, which I will determine on an individual basis.

F) Final Exam: The final exam consists of a final paper and a final speech that corresponds to it. You will write a 4 page persuasive essay in which you develop and defend an argument on a controversial topic of your choosing. You will also attach a 5^th page to your essay that will include your argument standardization and a final, 6^th page, that includes the outline/text of your speech to the class. You will then give a speech to the class in which you explain and present your argument. Your speech should be 5 minutes long and you are expected to spend a few minutes afterwards answering questions posed by the class. 10% of your final exam grade will be based on your speech and the text/outline of the speech that you hand in. The other 10% will be based on the essay itself.

· No extra credit work will be given in this course.

· Final Grading Scale: A (100-90%) B (89.9-80%) C (79.9-70%) D (69.9-60%) F (59.9% and below)

Course Policies and Structure

Attendance will be kept and, along with your participation in the class, is a portion of your final grade. Please read the policy on attendance and participation for this course as it is outlined above. UWG’s official statement on attendance is included in the undergraduate catalog and is as follows:

“Class attendance policies are determined by each instructor for his or her own classes, subject to the following principles: class attendance policies shall be stated clearly during the drop-add period; each student is responsible for everything that happens in class and is responsible for making specific arrangements with the instructor for the work missed, including that missed during illness or university-sponsored activities; students absent from class while officially representing the University should not be penalized in the calculation of final grades; students may be dropped from the class by the instructor for violation of the instructor’s attendance policy with a grade of W up to the midpoint of the semester or with the grade of WF following the midpoint of the semester; any student who is unable to continue attendance in the class should either drop the course, withdraw from the University, or make appropriate arrangements with the instructor; any student who must be absent for more than three successive days is required to notify the Student Development Center, Parker Hall, tel.(678)839-6428. It is also recommended that the student notify the instructor or department. Faculty members have the authority to drop students who do not contact them or attend the first two meetings for classes which meet daily (or the first class meeting for classes which meet less frequently). Faculty do not, however, automatically drop students who miss these first classes. Students who do not intend to remain in the course must drop the course before the end of the official drop/add period. Failure to drop a course during the drop/add period may result in grades of F in courses not attended.”

Classroom Ethics

· Respect yourself and one another in the classroom. The obvious aim of this course is to provide an opportunity for you to learn critical thinking skills. A classroom environment that is conducive to such learning must be one in which each person feels comfortable to freely express their thoughts, to ask questions, to make mistakes, to disagree in a non-combative way, and to learn from and with one another. In short, use neither disrespectful speech nor any other form of disrespectful behavior towards one another.

· Cell phones and all other electronic devices (laptops, tablets, music devices, etc.) may NOT be used in the classroom. They are unnecessary and distracting.

· Do not leave the room during class unless it is absolutely necessary. Leaving the room while class is in session is disruptive to your learning and to the learning of others.

· Enjoy yourself!

Disability Pledge

· I pledge to do my best work with the University to provide all students with equal access to my classes and materials, regardless of special needs, temporary or permanent disability, special needs related to pregnancy, etc.

· If you have any special learning needs, particularly (but not limited to) needs defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and require specific accommodations, please do not hesitate to make these known to me either yourself or through Disability Services in 272 Parker Hall.

· Students with documented special needs may expect accommodation in relation to classroom accessibility, modification of testing, special test administration, etc. This is not only my personal commitment: it is your right and it is the law.

· For more information, please contact Disability Services at the University of West Georgia.

Academic Integrity

You are expected to uphold standards of academic and personal integrity and to strictly adhere to UWG’s honor code. The UWG Student Handbook states: “West Georgia students pledge to refrain from engaging in acts that do not maintain academic and personal integrity. These include but are not limited to plagiarism, cheating, fabrication, aid of academic dishonesty, lying, bribery or threats, and stealing. Definitions:

Cheating: ‘use or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information or study aids’

Fabrication: ‘falsification or unauthorized invention of any information or citation’

Plagiarism: ‘representing the words or ideas of another as one’s own. Direct quotations must be indicated and ideas of another appropriately acknowledged’.”

Any violation of academic integrity is grounds for failing this course.

Course Schedule

· The following schedule is TENTATIVE and subject to change.

· “RA” refers to the required text for this course, Richard Feldman’s Reason and Argument.

· Each entry on the schedule will include the date, the topic, the assigned reading, and the homework.

· You will see that on October 8 and October 10 it says "CONFERENCES". I will be using those two days to meet with each of you individually to discuss how you are doing in the course, to give you substantive feedback before the mid term grades are due, and to answer any questions you might have. There will be no class meeting those days. You will sign up for a time (the available times will be during the reguar class meeting time) for your conference.

· The reading assignments and homework are due on the date under which they are listed. For example, if the schedule were to read:

August 20

Read RA pp. 50-75; Do homework problems 1-5, p. 60,

then you should come to class on August 20 having read pp.50-75 and having already done homework problems 1-5 on p.60.

Course Schedule: PHIL 2020, Fall 2012

Monday, August 20

Introductions and Discussion: “What is Critical Thinking?”

Wednesday, August 22

Arguments

RA pp1-9

Exercises p.8: 1, 2, 4

Monday, August 27