CRITICAL REASONING AND WRITING SYLLABUS
Philosophy A150, CRN: 31965
1st eight weeks, Spring 2012
Tues. & Thurs. 12:45-4:20 pm in Soc Sci 107
OCC voice mail: 714 432-5657
My Office: Social Science 200L
(2nd floor on left side of OCC bookstore)
Orange Coast College
Dr. David C. Ring
e-mail: dring@occ.cccd.edu
Office Hours: Monday 1:30 to 5:30 pm
and by appointment
H: A Concise Introduction to Logic, customized 11th ed., by Patrick J. Hurley with “Learning Logic”
CD-ROM and Aplia online subscription, Cengage Publishing Co., 2011
Q: Quia Philosophy A150 website at: http://www.quia.com/pages/dring/page3
WEEK DATE
1) Tuesday
1/31
TOPIC
What is logic? What is an argument?
Valid and invalid arguments
Deductive and inductive arguments
Argument forms
Thursday
2/2
2) Tuesday
2/7
Thursday
2/9
3) Tuesday
2/14
Thursday
2/16
4) Tuesday
2/21
Thursday
2/23
READING & EXERCISES
H: Ch 1, pp. 1-54, especially 21-24, 31-35, 41-49
Ex 1.1, Parts 1, 3, 4
Ex 1.2, Parts 4, 5
Ex 1.3, Parts 1, 2, 3
Ex 1.4, Parts 1-5 (all)
H: Recommend 1.5, pp. 54-59
More on valid and invalid arguments
Practice Test # 1 & go over it
Aristotelian categorical logic
The Traditional Square of Opposition
H: 4.1, 4.2; Ex 4.1 & 4.2 (all)
H: 4.5, 4.4; Ex 4.5, 4.4 (all)
TEST # 1a -- BRING an 882 SCANTRON FORM (skinny blue or green) & # 2 pencil
Categorical syllogisms & validity testing
H: 4.3, 4.6 Ex 4.6 (a)
Double and Triple Venn diagrams
H: 5.1, 5.2 Ex 5.1, 5.2
TEST # 1b
Review results for Test #1b
More on Categorical syllogisms & validity testing
More on Double and Triple Venn diagrams
Practice Test # 2 on categorical logic
Review for Test # 2a
H: 4.3, 4.6 Ex 4.6 (a)
H: 5.1, 5.2 Ex 5.1, 5.2
TEST # 2a over categorical logic
Go over Test # 2a
TEST # 2b over categorical logic
Go over Test # 2b
Read Kate Turabian’s Ch. 5 on Quia website
How to write an argumentative paper and formatting
T: 48-61
Q: see Formatting Instructions
Discussion on mistakes in writing an argumentative paper and how to resolve them.
Critical Reasoning and Writing exercises: The Three Doors Problem and its analysis
Syllabus for Philosophy A150 2
WEEK DATE
5) Tuesday
2/28
Thursday
3/1
6) Tuesday
3/6
Thursday
3/8
7) Tuesday
3/13
Thursday
3/15
8) Tuesday
3/20
Thursday
3/22
TOPIC
READING SELECTION
Three Doors Paper due – Only ONE page single spaced, one inch margins, 12 pt. font
TEST #3 on argumentative writing on Turabian Ch. 5 and Quia Formatting Instructions
Bring a scantron and prepare to answer 25 true/false or multiple choice questions
Go over Test # 3
Cognitive/emotive meaning & intensional versus extensional definitions
Group work on types of definition
H: 2.1, 2.2, pp. 74-90
Cognitive/emotive meaning & intensional versus extensional definitions
Group work on types of definition
H: 2.1, 2.2, pp. 74-90
Argumentative Writing Paper Due
See Quia website for Assignment, Formatting requirements and Rubric for grading
Introduction to fallacious reasoning
H: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
Practice informal fallacies
Practice Test # 4 over Chs. 2 & 3 on definitions and fallacies
Go over Practice Test # 4
H: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
TEST # 4 over Chs. 2 & 3 on types of meaning, definitions and informal fallacies
Go over Test # 4
Review for the comprehensive final exam
FINAL COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION in our classroom
Bring a NEW BLANK scantron and a number two pencil
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will be able to:
(1) Critically evaluate, assess and present types and properties of arguments and use logical techniques to
determine and justify their structural features and claims.
(2) Write an argumentative paper with good formatting, persuasive reasoning, good logic and argumentation and
a sensitivity to objections to their arguments.
Test 1 is worth 17.5% of the overall course grade
Test 2 is worth 17.5% of the overall course grade
Test 3 is worth 5% of the overall course grade
3 Doors paper is worth 2.5% of the overall course grade
Argumentative paper is worth 10% of the overall course grade
Test 4 is worth 17.5% of the overall course grade
Comprehensive Final Examination is worth 30% of the overall course grade