Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2021 - PHIL 105 D100

Critical Thinking (3)

Class Number: 2176

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Mon, Wed, 11:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 20, 2021
    Tue, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the evaluation of arguments as they are encountered in everyday life. The central aim will be to sharpen skills of reasoning and argumentation by understanding how arguments work and learning to distinguish those which actually prove what they set out to show from those which do not. Open to all students. Students with credit for PHIL XX1 may not take this course for further credit. Q/Breadth-Social Sci/Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

Critical thinking means different things to different people. In this course, it means tools and skills for thinking clearly and reasoning well. Some of these skills are analytic: understanding and representing patterns and methods of reasoning. And some of these skills are evaluative: judging the quality of that reasoning.

This is a course about how to think, not what to think. It will not give you a bunch of facts to memorize, and the exams will mostly not test you on facts. It’s not that facts don’t matter. The ultimate purpose of clear thinking and good reasoning is to find, understand, and communicate truth. But our goal is to develop thinking skills you can use to get true beliefs and avoid false ones, in the rest of your life, now and in the future.

We’ll always need some true beliefs to begin with. If we start with too many false beliefs, the concepts and skills of good reasoning alone will not help us. But if we care about truth and are willing to learn about the world so that we have some facts to reason with, the tools of critical thinking are very powerful.

These tools include arguments, basic logic and probability, and scientific reasoning. Developing them requires hard work. But these tools are worth it because they empower us to better understand the world around us, to recognize when we should change our beliefs, to find and criticize other people’s errors, and to clearly organize, express, and defend our thoughts. So get ready to think!

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

  • Recognize and reconstruct arguments.
  • Analyze deductive arguments and evaluate them as valid or invalid.
  • Suggest and describe counterexamples and formulate objections.
  • Apply rules of probability to hypothesis testing.
  • Recognize and criticize some common fallacies of confirmation.
  • Recognize and evaluate reasoning by analogy.
  • Appreciate the relevance of sample size and explain a biased sample.
  • Evaluate causal reasoning in informal and scientific (controlled experiment) contexts.
  • Diagram causal explanations.

PHIL 105 may be applied towards the Quantitative Requirement, and the Breadth-Social Sciences Requirement OR the Breadth-Science Requirement (but not both; student can choose which Breadth requirement to satisfy and plan enrollment in other courses accordingly).

Note: PHIL 105 has replaced PHIL XX1. If you have taken PHIL XX1 in the past and you enroll in PHIL 105, it will be considered a repeat.

Videos: Why Study Philosophy? and Meet our professors!

Grading

  • 2 mid-term exams (each at 15%) 30%
  • Lecture participation (iClicker Reef responses) 10%
  • Tutorial (participation/engagement, discussion, short activities) 15%
  • 2 short assignments (each at 15%) 30%
  • Final exam 15%

NOTES:

Course and tutorial delivery: remote, synchronous. Online presence is required during scheduled lecture and tutorial time. Classes are live-streamed, not prerecorded. Tutorials are designed for real-time small group interaction. Exams are run live on Canvas.

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Students need reliable high-speed internet access and a computer or other device that permits streaming video, word processing, and videoconferencing with Zoom. Lectures and tutorials both use Zoom. Laptop or desktop computer is recommended. A tablet will also work. Smartphone is technically possible but not recommended.
 
We’ll also use iClicker Reef for student responses in lectures. This is the software version of iClicker. A one-term license costs US $9.99. For Reef to work correctly and record your marks, you must sign up with your SFU email address and SFU Canvas log-in info.

REQUIRED READING:

PDF course manual distributed through Canvas.


Department Undergraduate Notes:

Thinking of a Philosophy Major or Minor? The Concentration in Law and Philosophy? The Certificate in Ethics? The Philosophy and Methodology of Science Certificate?
Contact the PHIL Advisor at philmgr@sfu.ca   More details on our website: SFU Philosophy

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).