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Course Coordinator: Professor Jenny McMahon

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Understand the difference between argument and rhetoric;
3. Recognize what counts as evidence in deductive, inductive and abductive arguments respectively;
4. Identify errors (particularly the classic fallacies) in arguments;
5. Write clearly structured essays in which arguments are set out, then criticised or defended;
6. Understand and analyse arguments, both written and spoken;
7. Engage in argumentation with their peers in a productive and constructive manner.

Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn, How To Think About Weird Things, 7th
edition (McGraw-Hill, 2014). Earlier editions will suffice.

1. Please read the course text, How To Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, by Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn, published by McGraw Hill Higher Education. The latest edition is the 7th but any of the 3rd-7th editions will suffice.

In order to match your reading of the Course text - How to Think about Weird Things by Schick and Vaughn - with the Lecture and Tutorial content, we advise that Ch. 3 (Arguments Good, Bad, and Weird) from the seventh, sixth, fifth and fourth editions, and the Appendix (Informal Fallacies) from the third edition are particularly relevant to the first part of the Course (weeks 1-6). The rest of the book mainly addresses the content of the second part of the course (from week 6). In your second essay, you are required to draw upon Schick and Vaughn but we will explain more about this when the details of the second essay are made available to you. Generally though, the content of Schick and Vaughn will greatly assist you in understanding the course.

1. The Elements of Reasoning by Ronald Munson and Andrew Black (5th, 6th or 7th edition) or The Elements of Reasoning by Munson, Conway and Black (4th edition).

The first week of lectures are focussed on recognising and then diagramming simple and complex arguments. The text The Elements of Reasoning by Ronald Munson and Andrew Black has two chapters on this: “Recognising Arguments” and “Analysing Arguments”. These sections are not required reading, but are definitely helpful in understanding the lecture material. There have been several editions of The Elements of Reasoning. Look for the editions that have the two chapters listed above.

2. There is a copy of the book Science and Unreason by Radner and Radner posted on MyUni. This is an important text for the second essay and for the lectures on pseudo science, both in the second half of the course.

Various online resources are provided and employed in the teaching of this course.  Assessment tasks also involve online engagement.

Lectures and Tutorials, On-line component

Each week questions are provided for each tutorial. Students are expected to bring their written answers to each tutorial. Answers are discussed in tutorials and the lecturer provides answers online the week after the relevant tutorial.

There will be one tutorial which is conducted online at the same time each week; that it, it will not be run in person. The tutor will only run the tute in-person twice: once in mid-semester and once in a revision session at the end of the semester. For the other sessions, the students enrolled in the online tute will engage in discussion online through myuni during the hour of the tutorial. Look out for this tute when enrolling if you prefer not to attend in person. However, this online tute is only recommended for those students who are very confident in their skills regarding the material to be covered. Other students will find attending in person will be very beneficial to their performance in the course.

2 x 1-hour lectures (or equivalent) per week	24 hours per semester
1 x 1-hour tutorial (or equivalent) per week	12 hours per semester
4 hours assignment/exam preparation per week	48 hours per semester
3 hours tutorial preparation per week	36 hours per semester
3 hours reading per week	36 hours per semester
TOTAL WORKLOAD	156 hours per semester

 




 

LEARNING ACTIVITIES SUMMARY

Lecture 1-2: The Structure of Arguments
We analyse the structure of arguments in ordinary language, including premises and conclusion indicator words. Structure diagrams will be introduced and practiced.

Lectures 3-6 : Deduction 4 lectures
Lectures on deduction, in which we look at the difference between valid and invalid arguments and between sound and unsound arguments. We develop several tests for discovering invalid arguments, including analogy, counterexample, and Venn diagrams.

Lectures 7-12 Evaluating Arguments
A lecture on language, in which we study quotation marks and definitions is followed by two lectures on the ways in which arguments can go wrong. In these two lectures we identify fallacies or common errors in argument which have been classified over the centuries. These are particularly relevant to reasoning in the media, and to political debates. Then, there is a lecture where we look at ways in which arguments can be good even though they are invalid. Inductive arguments will be studied in relation to discovering the causes of phenomena. Then the role of explanations, and criteria for better or worse explanations, is discussed.
The last lecture in this section focuses on reason versus emotion: should either be feared?

Lectures 13-14: Legal Reasoning
In these lectures the basic distinctions of criminal and civil law are introduced, in the belief that knowledge of these concepts is of benefit to everyone. The key role of analogy is emphasised.

Lectures 15-16: Science and Pseudo-Science
We use the tools we have learned in the rest of the course to examine the distinction between science and pseudo-science with a focus on spurious kinds of ‘reasoning’. Subjects for discussion include UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, alien abductions, astrology, and ‘pyramid power’. We also look at some areas where the distinction is more vague (e.g., parapsychology).

Lectures 17-19: The SEARCH Formula
We study the link between evidence and conclusion, drawing upon examples in Schick and Vaughn. We focus on inductive and abductive reasoning.

Lectures 20-22: Cognitive bias and fallacies.
We consider further ways in which reasoning can go wrong. In particular we focus on common ways in which reasoning can be swayed by implicit bias. We also consider the fallacies philosophers have identified over the centuries. Some of these were covered earlier in the course but we consider these and more in the context of current media, social and political debates. In particular we consider those which have arisen with the advent of social media.

Lectures 23-24: Rhetoric
In these lectures on Rhetoric we look specifically at the ways in which associations and stereotypes are exploited to persuade without argument. We examine the use of rhetorical devices in argumentation. When are rhetorical devices a useful tool as opposed to simply a sign of a weak argument? We will analyse certain famous historical speeches in the light of Aristotle’s writing on rhetoric.
In the last lecture there is some revision, and we will discuss the second essay again and the format of the exam.

Tutorial Small Group Discussion on questions provided online in the previous week.

Essays, Coursework, Exam

The first essay is worth 15% (week 6) and the second 35% (week 13). If you improve on the second essay, and counting the second essay as worth 50% of your essay mark would improve your overall mark, this is what we will do. But this is only offered to you if you submitted both essays and made a genuine attempt at both.

The exam is worth 50% and is taken during the exam period at the end of the semester. We provide two practice exams online with answers by week 9. The final exam always follows the format of the practice exams. Also, all questions on the exam are modelled on the questions covered each week in the tutorials. So if you keep up to date with tutorial questions and answers, you will be fine. The exam is open book which means you can bring all your notes. We test your understanding, not your memory.

1. Please read the course text, How To Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age, by Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn, published by McGraw Hill Higher Education. The latest edition is the 7th but any of the 3rd-7th editions will suffice.

In order to match your reading of the Course text - How to Think about Weird Things by Schick and Vaughn - with the Lecture and Tutorial content, we advise that Ch. 3 (Arguments Good, Bad, and Weird) from the seventh, sixth, fifth and fourth editions, and the Appendix (Informal Fallacies) from the third edition are particularly relevant to the first part of the Course (weeks 1-6). The rest of the book mainly addresses the content of the second part of the course (from week 6). In your second essay, you are required to draw upon Schick and Vaughn but we will explain more about this when the details of the second essay are made available to you. Generally though, the content of Schick and Vaughn will greatly assist you in understanding the course.

2. The first week of lectures are focussed on recognising and then diagramming simple and complex arguments. The text The Elements of Reasoning by Ronald Munson and Andrew Black has two chapters on this: “Recognising Arguments” and “Analysing Arguments”. These sections are not required reading, but are definitely helpful in understanding the lecture material. There have been several editions of The Elements of Reasoning. Look for the editions that have the two chapters listed above.

3. There is a copy of the book Science and Unreason by Radner and Radner posted on MyUni. This is an important text for the second essay and for the lectures on pseudo science, both in the second half of the course.

Essays, Coursework, Exam

The first essay is worth 15% (week 6) and the second 35% (week 13). If you improve on the second essay, and counting the second essay as worth 50% of your essay mark would improve your overall mark, this is what we will do. But this is only offered to you if you submitted both essays and made a genuine attempt at both.

The exam is worth 50% and is taken during the exam period at the end of the semester. We provide two practice exams online with answers by week 9. The final exam always follows the format of the practice exams. Also, all questions on the exam are modelled on the questions covered each week in the tutorials. So if you keep up to date with tutorial questions and answers, you will be fine. The exam is open book which means you can bring all your notes. We test your understanding, not your memory.

See the Philosophy Handbook for details