Is your MP attacking ad hominem, ‘begging the question’ or sliding down a ‘slippery slope’?  How worrying is a positive test for philosophicuscriticologicius?  Develop your ability to critique others’ reasoning and improve your own while solving puzzles, pondering paradoxes and analysing arguments.  No previous knowledge of philosophy or logic required.

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will be able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of core elements of the course material;
• identify key strengths and weaknesses in reasoning;

• understand relevant empirical findings and their implications;     ;
• apply abstract conceptual tools to discussions in philosophy and other disciplines;
• use these tools to analyse material from non-academic sources, such as political debates.

Intellectual Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will be able to:

• analyse the structure of an argument;

• critically evaluate an argument;
• compare and contrast different positions on an issue;
• adjudicate disputes.

Discipline Specific (including practical) Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will be able to:

• analyse an argument;
• distinguish content from logical form;

• use selected philosophical  and logical vocabulary appropriately in a range of contexts.

This course is taught in 9, two-hour sessions, delivered on a weekly basis.

There will be a mixture of lectures and seminars, the precise proportion to be determined by the needs of the students enrolled. The seminar element may include debate, discussion, group activities, presentations and readings. Additional reading material will be recommended and a reading list will be supplied. If appropriate, other materials such as documentaries may also be included. Course handouts will be provided as appropriate.  The seminars will encourage the development of knowledge and understanding of the ideas and concepts discussed in the course. Intellectual skills will be encouraged through participation in class discussion, reading and coursework.

Academic Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will have:

• found relevant resources in the library and online;

• assessed the reliability of different sources of information;
• demonstrated a critical approach to academic texts.

Transferable/employability Skills:

By the end of the period of learning, the typical student will have shown that s/he can:

• recognise, analyse and criticise arguments;

• explain and defend a view clearly and concisely whether orally or in writing;
• respond constructively to disagreement;
• evaluate claims in terms of clarity, cogency and coherence;
• formulate critical questions.

In-class exercises    20%        Exercises   Various

Take-home exam      30%    Take-Home Exam  Approx. 1 week   Set by week 5/6 and submitted in week 7

Analysis of 1,000-1,200 words   50%   Argument Analysis     Set by week 5/6 and submitted after end of course

We will be concerned with the nature of different kinds of reasoning, the criteria appropriate to evaluating them and typical patterns of strengths and weaknesses in human thought.

Classes will incorporate a wide variety of materials to illustrate the application of theoretical concepts.

These may include philosophical texts, legal cases, political discourse, advertisements, newspaper articles, online discussions, fiction, empirical work in the human sciences, especially psychology, cartoons, puzzles and other sources.

The following list of sample topics illustrates the kind of subject matter which may be discussed but the specific issues selected will vary.

Logical concepts

• Arguments
• Varieties of arguments (e.g. deductive, inductive, conductive, abductive)
• Logical form
• Validity & soundness
• Fallacies
• Quantification & scope (e.g. ‘all’, ‘some’, ‘none’)

Logical Tools

• Semantics & syntactics (e.g. truth/falsehood vs. provability)
• Simple symbolisation, truth-tables & tableaux

Language

• Ambiguity & equivocation
• Vagueness, fuzziness etc.
• Self-reference
• Language vs. logic

Empirical work

• Human heuristics
• Cognitive biases (e.g. the effect of content on human reasoning, the impact of how questions are asked or facts are stated on human judgements and preferences, differences in human abilities to evaluate probabilistic and statistical information depending on method of presentation)
• Affective & social influences on human reasoning (e.g. Asch)
• Common manipulations (e.g. institutional communications, propaganda, advertising, phishing)

Philosophical issues

• Problems
• Puzzles
• Paradoxes

Probability & statistics

• Pitfalls in probabilistic reasoning (e.g. base rates & Bayes)
• Statistical claims & arguments

 Indicative Reading & Resource List

Students should not expect to understand everything covered in Sweet Reason: A Field Guide to Modern Logic, as parts of the texts are densely written and may seem somewhat technical.  They are encouraged to look at this book to see if the kinds of material covered are of interest.  Class sessions, handouts and supplementary readings will expand, illustrate and explore the technical concepts, as well as providing any necessary background. The other sources, with the possible exception of The Game of Logic and some of the annotations in The Philosopher’s Alice, are generally accessible, though they do not provide the same breadth of coverage or discuss topics explicitly in the same way.

Tom Tymoczko and Jim Henle (1995). Sweet Reason: A Field Guide to Modern Logic. W. H. Freeman.

Lewis Carroll (1974). The Philosopher’s Alice. With an intro. by Peter Heath. (Introduction and notes by Heath, Peter. Illustrations by John Tenniel). New York: St. Martin’s.

Lewis Carroll (1895). ‘What The Tortoise Said To Achilles’. Mind 4, 278-280

Lewis Carroll (2008a). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Champaign, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg ebook: http://Gutenberg.org/ebooks/11

Lewis Carroll (2008b). Through the Looking-Glass. Champaign, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg ebook: http://gutenberg.org/ebooks/12

Lewis Carroll (2003). The Game of Logic. Project Gutenberg, 1st Dec. 2003. Project Gutenberg ebook: https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/4763

Raymond M. Smullyan (1982a). Alice in Puzzle-Land: A Carrollian Tale for Children Under Eighty. With an intro. by Martin Gardner. Harmondsworth and New York: Penguin.

Raymond M. Smullyan (1982b). The Lady or the Tiger? and Other Logic Puzzles. New York: Random House.

Raymond M. Smullyan (1982c). To Mock A Mockingbird And Other Logic Puzzles Including An Amazing Adventure in Combinatory Logic. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Raymond M. Smullyan (1998). The Riddle of Scheherazade and Other Amazing Puzzles, Ancient & Modern. San Diego: Harcourt.

Raymond M. Smullyan (1978). What Is the Name of This Book? The Riddle of Dracula and Other Logical Puzzles. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Tom Stoppard 1976). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. London: Samuel French.