COURSE UNIT TITLE

: INFORMAL LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
IRE 1203 INFORMAL LOGIC AND CRITICAL THINKING COMPULSORY 3 0 0 5

Offered By

International Relations

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASISTANT PROFESSOR ALI ŞEVKET OVALI

Offered to

International Relations

Course Objective

The aim of the course is to help learners to form, develop and evaluate arguments. It is also designed to introduce the principles of scientific reasoning and methodology.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Recognize and evaluating arguments; picking out good and bad arguments by their form
2   Develop their abilities to detect deceptive arguments, and hence construct better arguments of their own
3   Distinguish between good and bad definitions, recognize the differences between explicit and implicit meaning, and remove ambiguities of meaning from unclearly worded statements.
4   Diagnose the most common reasoning errors and fallacies, as well as identify ways of improving reasoning.
5   Understand the rudiments of scientific methodology and reasoning.
6   Understand the basics of strategic reasoning and problem solving.
7   Recognize and evaluate arguments about values and morality, and diagnose fallacies.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Purposeful, Reflective Judgment The "Able" in "Willing and Able" to Think Critically
2 The "Willing" in "Willing and Able" to Think Critically
3 Clarifying Ideas
4 Using Maps to Analyze Arguments and Decisions
5 Evaluating Claims
6 Evaluating Arguments and Some Common Fallacies
7 Evaluating Deductive and Inductive Reasoning and Common Fallacies
8 Snap Judgments - Heuristic Thinking
9 Deciding What to Do and Doing It
10 Comparative Reasoning - "This is Like That" Thinking
11 Ideological Reasoning - "Top Down" Thinking
12 Empirical Reasoning - "Bottom - Up" Thinking

Recomended or Required Reading

Facione, Peter A. (2011). Think critically. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Crews-Anderson, Timothy A. (2007). Critical Thinking and Informal Logic. Tirril: Humanities-Ebooks.
Walton, Douglas (2008). Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach. Second Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. Lecture
2. Weekly readings

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 FINS FINAL EXAM
3 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE*0.40+FINS * 0.60

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria

The learners will:
1. Clearly describe and explain major concepts taught in class.
2. Explain and defend their arguments in oral and written communication.
3. Distinguish various types of reasoning and explain their strengths and risks.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attending at least 70% of lectures is mandatory.
2. Plagiarism of any type will result in disciplinary action.
3. Learners are expected to read the assigned material prior to class.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

sevket.ovali@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

to be announced later.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 12 3 36
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 12 4 48
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 20 20
Midterm 1 2 2
Final 1 2 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 118

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13
LO.15
LO.24
LO.35
LO.45
LO.55
LO.65
LO.75

CONTACT INFORMATION
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No: 144 35210 Alsancak / İZMİR
Phone: +90(232) 412 12 12 - Fax: +90 (232) 464 81 35

Copyright 2012 DEÜ. BİD

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