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HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
COURSE SYLLABUS
1.
COURSE TITLE
Critical Thinking for Liberal Studies
2.
COURSE CODE
LSE 7020
3.
NO. OF UNITS
3
4.
OFFERING DEPARTMENT
Department of Religion and Philosophy
5.
AIMS & OBJECTIVES
(1) To introduce to students the basic methodology in analysis and logical argumentation
(2) To develop students’ skills of critical thinking, including those in logico-linguistic
analysis, the detection of fallacies and logical and scientific methods.
(3) To help students to apply the skills of critical thinking to tackle issues in Liberal
Studies.
(4) To better prepare senior secondary school teachers to employ the skills of critical
thinking to teach various units in the Liberal Studies curriculum.
(5) To nurture students’ appreciation of the significance of critical thinking for teaching
Liberal Studies.
6.
COURSE CONTENT
To tackle and resolve many of the issues in Liberal Studies demands strong analytical
power and good skills of critical thinking. This course mainly provides secondary school
teachers with a basic introduction to critical thinking, with emphasis on its applications to
issues in Liberal Studies. Students in this course are expected to learn the basic skills in
logico-linguistic analysis, the detection of fallacies and logical and scientific methods.
Examples will be mainly taken from the areas covered by Liberal Studies.
Outline Content:
I.
Introduction: Liberal Studies and Critical Thinking
II.
The Approach of Logico-linguistic Analysis
a. The General Method of Logico-linguistic Analysis
b. Linguistic Pitfalls
c. Meaning, Definition and Classification of Questions
LSE 7020 Critical Thinking for Liberal Studies
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III.
Informal Fallacies
a. Definition of “Fallacy”
b. Four Basic Types of Fallacies
IV. Methods of Logic
a. Reasoning and Argumentation
b. Deduction and Validity
c. The Method of Deduction
V.
Induction and Scientific Method
a. Induction and Inductive Correctness
b. Probable Inference
c. Mill’s Methods
d. Science and Hypothesis
VI.
7.
8.
Practical Applications in Liberal Studies
COURSE INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (CILOS)
CILO
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
CILO 1
Explain the basic concepts, principles and methods of critical thinking,
including those related to logico-linguistic analysis, the detection of
fallacies and logical and scientific methods.
CILO 2
Demonstrate an understanding of the methods and skills in critical
thinking.
CILO 3
Apply the methods of critical thinking to issues and problems in Liberal
Studies.
CILO 4
Detect and expose fallacies in the contexts of issues in Liberal Studies.
CILO 5
Analyze arguments and valid argument forms in the contexts of issues in
Liberal Studies.
TEACHING & LEARNING ACTIVITIES (TLAS)
CILO NO.
TLAS
CILO 1, 2
Students will be given instruction on basic concepts and principles and
methods of critical thinking. (Lectures and classroom discussions)
CILO 2, 3, 4
Students will work in teams for group presentations and discussions.
(Tutorial presentations and discussions)
CILO 2, 3, 4
Students will find out concrete cases in Liberal Studies and detect the
LSE 7020 Critical Thinking for Liberal Studies
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fallacies in them.
CILO 2, 3, 5
9.
(Assignments)
Students will be given concrete cases and problems to analyze arguments
and argument forms. (Tutorial presentations)
ASSESSMENT METHODS (AMS)
Type of
Assessment
Tutorials
Weighting CILOs to be Description of Assessment Tasks
addressed
40 %
2, 3, 4, 5
Group presentations and discussions will
assess students’ contributions to analysis and
problem solving, and their engagement with
other students.
Assignments
20 %
3, 4, 5
Assignments will test students’ ability to apply
the basic concepts and principles of critical
thinking to concrete cases in Liberal Studies.
Final Exam
40%
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
The examination will assess students’
knowledge of the basic principles of critical
thinking, and their application to issues in
Liberal Studies.
10. TEXTBOOKS / RECOMMENDED READINGS
Basic Texts in Religious Studies:
Bowell, T. and Kemp, G. Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide. London: Routledge 2002.
Browne, M. N. and S. M. Keeley. Asking the Right Questions. 6th ed. Englewood Cliff:
Prentice-Hall, 2001.
Copi, I. M., and C. Cohen. Introduction to Logic. 12th ed. New York: Macmillan, 2004.
Diestler, S. Becoming a Critical Thinker. 4th ed. New York: Macmillan, 2005.
Damer, E. Attacking Faulty Reasoning. California: Wadsworth, l980.
Hurley, Patrick J. A Concise Introduction to Logic. 7th edition. Belmont: Wadsworth,
Thomson Learning, 2000.
Kelly, John J. The Essence of Logic. London: Prentice Hall, 1997.
Missimer, C. A. Good Arguments: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 2nd edition.
Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1990.
Porter, B. F. The Voice of Reason: Fundamentals of Critical
Thinking. Oxford:
Oxford University Press 2001.
Priest, Graham. Logic: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000.
Salmon, M. H. Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking. 5th ed.
California:
Wadsworth, 2006.
Salmon, W. C. Logic. 3rd edition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1984; Chinese
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translation of the 1st edition by Ho Xiu Huang. Taipei: Sam Ming Press, 1967.
Schwarze, S. and Lape, H. Thinking Socratically: Critical Thinking about Everyday
Issues. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliff: Prentice-Hall, 2000.
Shaw, Patrick. Logic and Its Limits. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1997.
Thouless, R. H. Straight and Crooked Thinking. London: Pan, 1974.
Walton, D. N. Informal Logic: A Handbook for Critical Argumentation. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1989.
林正弘著：《邏輯》。台灣：三民書局，1991 年。
李天命著：《哲道行者》。香港：明報出版社，2005 年。
李天命著：《李天命的思考藝術》(終定本)。香港：明報出版社，1995 年。
李天命著：《語理分析的思考方法》。香港：青年書屋，1981 年。
拉比著（王曼君譯）
：《如何想得清楚和正確》。台灣：水牛出版社，1990 年。
周禮全著：《邏輯》。 北京：人民出版社，1994 年。
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