Critical Thinking*
Online Course in English (4 units)
Syllabus
[*AKA “Applied Logic,” “Reasoning,” “Informal Logic,” “Argument”]
Objective: to develop critical thinking skills by applying concepts of logic to day-to-day
arguments.
Outline
Part I. Arguments: What They Are and How to Recognize Them
Thinking about Arguments
Lesson 1: What’s “Critical Thinking?”
Lesson 2: What are Arguments Made Of?
Lesson 3: From Premises to Conclusions
Recognizing Arguments
Lesson 4: Recognizing Arguments: Introduction
Lesson 5: Argument vs. The Text Containing It
Lesson 6: Recognizing Conclusions
Lesson 7: Arguments vs. Explanations
Part II. Interpretation
Argument Diagrams
Lesson 8: Argument Diagrams: Introduction
Lesson 9: More about Argument Diagrams
Lesson 10: Argument Diagrams: Examples
Non-Inferential Support
Lesson 11: Hedges
Lesson 12: Disclaimers
Lesson 13: Examples
Rhetorical Language
Lesson 14: Rhetorical Language
Lesson 15: Referential Attribution
Interpretation
Lesson 16: Principles of Interpretation
Lesson 17: Implicit Premises
Part III. Evaluation
(A) The Good and the Bad
Good Arguments
Lesson 18: What’s a Good Argument?
Lesson 19: More Virtues of Arguments
Ignoratio Elenchi
Lesson 20: Argument Ad Hominem
Lesson 21: Argument Ad Verecundiam
Lesson 22: Argument Ad Populum
Lesson 23: Argument Ad Ignorantium
Lesson 24: Argument Ad Baculum and Ad Misericordiam
(B) Deductive Inferences
The Logic of Sets
Lesson 25: Venn Diagrams
Lesson 26: Beyond Venn
Conditional Arguments
Lesson 27: Modus Ponens
Lesson 28: Modus Tollens
Lesson 29: Conditionals
Lesson 30: Reductio Ad Absurdum
Disjunctive Arguments
Lesson 31: Process of Elimination
Lesson 32: Separation of Cases
Truth Trees
Lesson 33: Truth Trees: An Example
Lesson 34: How to Grow Truth Trees
Lesson 35: Truth Trees: Another Example
Relations
Lesson 36: Reflexive Relations
Lesson 37: Symmetric Relations
Lesson 38: Transitive Relations
(C) Inductive Inferences
Induction
Lesson 39: Inductive Generalization
Lesson 40: What's a Good Sample?
Lesson 41: The New Riddle of Induction
Causal Generalization
Lesson 42: From Induction to Causation
Lesson 43: Evaluating Causal Generalizations
Argument from Analogy
Lesson 44: Argument from Analogy: Basics
Lesson 45: Argument from Analogy: Examples
Lesson 46: Who Needs Analogues?
Inference to the Best Explanation
Lesson 47: Inference to the Best Explanation
Lesson 48: Experimentation
IV. Production
Constructing Arguments
Lesson 49: Building an Argument
Lesson 50: Writing Up an Argument
Online Location: The course will be conducted in the framework of Moodle
(http://moodle.haifa.ac.il/). Students are responsible for promptly arranging adequate
access to the system.
Requirements
 Syllabus: Students must read this syllabus and correctly answer the review
questions before starting on the lessons.
 Lessons: There are 50 lessons, to be completed by the end of the semester.
Completing a lesson includes (a) watching the video and (b) correctly answering all
the review questions. Starting a new lesson (after the first) requires completing the
previous one. Students proceed at their own pace, but it is probably a good idea to
complete at least four lessons each week.
 Quizzes: There are three online quizzes, to be taken after completing Lessons 1-17,
Lessons 18-38, and Lessons 39-50. Students must complete the quizzes on their own,
without any help from anyone else.
 Group Work: Students will be randomly divided into small groups, in which they
will submit three assignments, in accordance with the detailed instructions in
Moodle. Groups for the first assignment will be announced 10.3.16.
 Final Exam: There will be a final exam in the regular exam framework at the end of
the semester. Students will be eligible to take the exam only if they have completed
all 50 lessons and all three quizzes.
Deadlines (FOR REAL!—THIS MEANS YOU!!)
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Group Assignment #1—First Submission: 24.3.16
Group Assignment #1—Final Submission: 14.4.16
Group Assignment #2: 19.5.16
Group Assignment #3: 16.6.16
ALL lessons and quizzes: 16.6.16
Grade
 Quizzes: 10% each quiz x 3 = 30%
 Group Work: 10% each task x 3 = 30%
 Final Exam: 40%
General
 All work must be completed and submitted by the end of the semester, 16.6.16.

Students must read the course announcements promptly and follow any instructions
given there.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is presenting someone else's work as one's own. This includes any
sort of copying without acknowledgement of the source, whether in whole or in part, word
for word or in other words, with permission or without, in an exam, in homework, or in
any other kind of assignment. In the academic world, where the essence of every individual
consists in his words and ideas, there is no more serious transgression; any instance of
plagiarism will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
Language: The course is conducted completely in English. On the final exam students may
write their answers in Hebrew (though the exam questions will be in English).
Textbook: Students seeking a traditional textbook approach to the subject are advised to
look at Trudy Govier’s Practical Study of Argument, Cengage, 2009, or the instructor's Logika
Yiusmit: Madrich Le-ekronot Hatiyun (Hebrew), Israel Ministry of Education and Branco
Weiss Institute, 1998.
Classroom Hours: none.
Prerequisites: none.
Instructor
Jonathan Berg
Department of Philosophy
University of Haifa
[email protected]
04-8240989