PHIL 105.003 – How to Reason and Argue: An Introduction to Critical Thinking

Instructor: Joseph Ross. This course meets TR 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. in PE 2060.

Perhaps more than any other class you will ever take, this course’s introduction to reason and argumentation will help you make sense of every other topic, theme, and time period you choose to study. It provides the essential foundation to higher learning and critical thinking that will guide you throughout your time in college and beyond, extending into your career and your life as a global citizen. Every college student needs to learn the skills in this course.

This course will not tell you what to think. It shows you how to think. 

Throughout our time together, we will learn how to examine arguments—identifying the different types, breaking them down into premises and conclusions, evaluating the quality of evidence, pinpointing logical fallacies, etc.—and how to construct our own arguments and communicate them effectively orally and in writing.