本课程以全英文形式开设，旨在介绍批判性思维的概念、特点、原则、方法和途径，从而一方面为各类课程学习打下基础，使学生能对纷繁复杂的社会现象进行系统性的、逻辑化的分析，形成全面意见、做出理性判断、做出明智决定，形成正确的结论。另一方面，对于英语水平的提升，不论是对于接收为主的听力与阅读，还是以产出为主的写作与口语，批判性思维都有广泛运用。批判性思维课程帮助学生对其听读材料进行合理思辨，并使笔口表达更具有效性，对其英语语言水平提升意义较大。因此不论从知识技能方面，还是从延伸应用方面，教学效果都较为显著。</
Overview
Syllabus
- 1. Orientation
- 1.1 What Is Critical Thinking?
- 1.2 Why Study Critical Thinking?
- Critical Thinking: Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes
- 2. Basics of Critical Thinking
- 2.1 Claims
- 2.2 Issues
- 2.3 Arguments
- 2.4 Identifying Premise and Conclusion
- 2.5 What Arguments Are Not
- 3. Two Kinds of Reasoning
- 3.1 Two Kinds of Arguments
- 3.2 Distinguishing Deductive and Inductive Arguments
- 3.3 Validity and Soundness of Deductive Arguments
- 3.4 Strength of Inductive Arguments
- 3.5 Techniques for Understanding Arguments
- 4. Clarity
- 4.1 Clarity, Precision, Accuracy, and Relevance
- 4.2 Consistency, Logical Correctness, Completeness, and Fairness
- 4.3 Vagueness
- 4.4 Ambiguity
- 4.5 Generality
- 4.6 Defining Terms
- 5. Clear Writing
- 5.1 Tasks before Writing
- 5.2 Writing Argumentative Essays
- 5.3 Essay Types to Avoid
- 6. Credibility
- 6.1 A Few Words on Credibility
- 6.2 Credibility of the Claim
- 6.3 Credibility of the source
- 7. Persuasion through Rhetoric
- 7.1 What Is Rhetoric Device and Why Use Rhetoric?
- 7.2 Euphemisms and Dysphemisms
- 7.3 Weaslers, Downplayers, Hyperbole
- 7.4 Stereotypes
- 7.5 Innuendo, Loaded Questions, Ridicule and Sarcasm
- 7.6 Rhetorical Definitions and Rhetorical Explanations; Rhetorical Analogies
- 7.7 Misleading Comparisons
- 7.8 Proof Surrogates; Repetition
- 8. Psychological and Related Fallacies
- 8.1 Argument from outrage, Argument from Pity, Argument from Envy
- 8.2 Scare Tactics, Apple Polishing
- 8.3 Guilt Trip, Wishful Thinking, Rationalizing
- 8.4 Groupthink Fallacy, Nationalism, Peer Pressure
- 8.5 Appeal to Popularity, Appeal to Common Practice, Appeal to Tradition
- 8.6 Red Herring, Two Wrongs Make a Right
- 9. More Fallacies
- 9.1 The Ad Hominem Fallacy
- 9.2 The Genetic Fallacy, Straw Man
- 9.3 False Dilemma, Argument from Analogy
- 9.4 The Perfectionist Fallacy, The Line-Drawing Fallacy, Slippery Slope
- 9.5 Misplacing the Burden of Proof, Begging the Question
- 10. Causal explanation
- 10.1 Two Kinds of Explanations
- 10.2 Explanatory Adequacy
- 10.3 Forming Hypotheses
- 10.4 Mistakes in Causal Reasoning
- Final Exam
Taught by
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