Critical Reasoning

Philosophy 200 with Prof. Gregory Owcarz in SH 321 on MWF at 1-1:50 pm

“We must follow the argument wherever it leads.” - Socrates (Fifth Century BC)

“Three minutes’ thought would suffice to find this out; but thought is irksome and three minutes is a long time.”

“Many people would sooner die than think. In fact they do.”

- A.E. Housman and Bertrand Russell (Twentieth Century AD)

Required Readings Supplemental Readings

The Elements of Reasoning The Examined Life

by D. Conway, R. Munson, A. Black by Robert Nozick

What Does It All Mean? A Rulebook for Arguments

by Thomas Nagel by Anthony Weston

How to Do the Right Thing The Elements of Style

by Colin McGinn by William Strunk and E.B. White

Additional Assistance

Office Hours: MWF 12-1:00 pm (bet on it) MW 10-11:00 am (another good bet)

Office Contact: Tel. 818-677-4796, Email GregoryO@csun.edu, Office in ST 516

Course Description

This course satisfies the critical reasoning section (A.2) of the General Education Program, which recognizes critical reasoning as a fundamental competence. Courses in this section of General Education take reasoning itself as their focus. Their goals are to provide students with criteria and methods for distinguishing good reasoning from bad and to help students develop basic reasoning skills that they can apply both within a broad range of academic disciplines and outside the academic environment. Students are expected to acquire skill in recognizing the logical structure of statements and arguments, the ability to distinguish rational from non-rational means of persuasion, skill in applying the principles of sound reasoning in the construction and evaluation of arguments, and an appreciation of the value of critical reasoning skills in the pursuit of knowledge. The arguments considered will be those commonly encountered in everyday life, when one stops to reflect somewhat philosophically on that life – arguments involving love and death and God and law and wisdom and so on. The aim is good thinking and putting it to use in thinking over what really matters, the better to reflect on oneself and on one’s world at large. Socrates may exaggerate in suggesting that the unexamined life is not worth living, but sound reasoning informs and invigorates people’s lives. Surely the unexamined life is not lived as fully.

Policies and Requirements

Class Format Classroom activities and discussion constitute 30% of the final course grade, to be determined according to participation, homework, and attendance. Some lectures will be given where necessary to introduce new material or difficult concepts, but practice and discussion are fundamental to examining and evaluating modes of thought, and grading will reflect the integral role of that participation.

Two In-Class Exams Each exam constitutes 35% of the final course grade, and the final exam presupposes familiarity with material from the midterm. Make-up exams will not be offered.

Homework Assignments Short exercises will be assigned for each class meeting, which will be discussed and collected as attendance records. These endeavors facilitate classroom discussion and help ensure that a steady course of study is maintained to keep up with the subject matter. Late work will not be accepted.

Deadlines The deadline this semester to withdraw without having to seek special permission is Friday, February 18^th, and to withdraw with only the instructor’s signature is Friday, February 25^th. After that date, according to CSUN’s regulations, withdrawal will require additional approvals and can only be obtained for “serious and compelling reasons” and provided that there is “no viable alternative”.

Tentative Schedule of Topics

-Week One: Introducing Argument Readings: Elements Ch.1, What Does Ch.1, How to Do Ch.1

Argument Defined, Language and Argument, Inference Indicators, Implicit Premises

-Week Two: How We Know and the Anatomy of Argument Readings: Elements Ch.2, What Does Ch.2

Strategies of Analysis, Explanations, Conditionals, Disjunctives, Complex Arguments

-Week Three: Eating Animals and Evaluating Arguments Readings: Elements Ch.3, How To Do Ch.2

Deduction, Validity, Truth, Soundness

-Week Four: Other Minds and Evaluating Arguments Readings: Elements Ch.3, What Does Ch.3

Induction, Statistical Syllogisms, Complex Argument Structure

-Week Five: Meaning and Definition Readings: Elements Ch.9, What Does Ch.5

Types, Methods, Standards of Definition

- Week Six: Abortion and Ambiguity Readings: Elements Ch.10, How to Do Ch.3

Vagueness, Referential Ambiguity, Grammatical Ambiguity

- Week Seven: Death and Reasonable Belief Readings: Elements Ch.11, What Does Ch.9

Accepted Belief, Logical Possibility, Necessary Truth, Laws of Thought

- Week Eight: Mind-Body and Argument by Analogy Readings: Elements Ch.7, What Does Ch.4

Analogical Arguments and Models

Midterm Exam

-Week Nine: Violence & Validity Readings: Elements Ch.4, How to Do Ch.4, What Does Ch.7

Sentential Forms, Connectives, Negation, Symbolizing

- Week Ten: Justice and Invalid Argument Forms Readings: Elements Ch.4, What Does Ch.8

Conditionals, Equivalence, Rules of Inference and Equivalence

-Week Eleven: Categorical Reasoning Readings: Elements Ch.5, How to Do Ch.5

Categorical Statements, Categorical Syllogisms, Venn Diagrams

-Week Twelve: Sex and Fallacious Reasoning Readings: Elements Ch.8, How to Do Ch.5

Fallacies of Relevance and Inadequate Evidence

-Week Thirteen: Drugs and Fallacious Reasoning Readings: Elements Ch.8, How to Do Ch.6

Illegitimate Assumptions, Response and Criticism, Defense

-Week Fourteen: Censorship and Causal Analysis Readings: Elements Ch.6, How to Do Ch.7

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions, Causal Explanations, Testing Causal Claims

-Week Fifteen: Virtue and the Meaning of Life Readings: How to Do Ch.8, What Does Ch.10

Structure, Style, Persuasion, Simplicity

Final Exam