Think Again: How to Reason and Argue

Reasoning is important.  This course will teach you how to do it well.  You will learn some simple but vital rules to follow in thinking about any topic at all and some common and tempting mistakes to avoid in reasoning.  We will discuss how to identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments by other people (including politicians, used car salesmen, and teachers) and how to construct arguments of your own in order to help you decide what to believe or what to do. These skills will be useful in dealing with whatever matters most to you.

PART I: HOW TO ANALYZE ARGUMENTS

Week 1: How to Spot an Argument
Week 2: How to Untangle an Argument 
Week 3: How to Reconstruct an Argument 
Quiz #1: At the end of Week 3, students will take their first quiz. 

PART II: HOW TO EVALUATE DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS

Week 4: Propositional Logic and Truth Tables 
Week 5: Categorical Logic and Syllogisms 
Week 6: Representing Information
Quiz #2: At the end of Week 6, students will take their second quiz. 

PART III: HOW TO EVALUATE INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS

Week 7: Inductive Arguments 
Week 8: Causal Reasoning 
Week 9: Chance and Choice 
Quiz #3: At the end of Week 9, students will take their third quiz. 

PART IV: HOW TO MESS UP ARGUMENTS

Week 10: Fallacies of Unclarity 
Week 11: Fallacies of Relevance and of Vacuity 
Week 12: Refutation 
Quiz #4: At the end of Week 12, students will take their fourth quiz.