CRITICAL THINKING

INTRODUCTION

Critical Thinking studies a process which is indispensable to all educated persons--the process by
which we develop and support our beliefs and evaluate the strength of arguments made by others
in real-life situations. It includes practice in inductive and deductive reasoning, presentation of
arguments in oral and written form, and analysis of the use of language to influence thought. The
course also applies the reasoning process to other fields such as business, science, law, social
science, ethics, and the arts.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Successful completion of this course will enable you to

 identify, evaluate, and construct inductive and deductive arguments in spoken and written
forms;
 recognize common fallacies in everyday reasoning;
 distinguish the kinds and purposes of definitions;
 distinguish the functions of language and its capacity to express and influence meaning;
and
 recognize and assess arguments in various forums of reasoning.

The goals of the course are to help you

 develop the habits of assessing and defending the reasonableness of your beliefs and
values and those of others;
 appreciate the importance of looking at an issue from a variety of points of view and of
recognizing the complexity that surrounds most controversial issues; and
 appreciate the value of critical thinking in both public and private decision-making.

After you have finished this course, you should be more:

 Self-aware, recognizing your own biases and influences;

 Inquisitive and curious, wanting to learn more about issues before passing judgment;
 Objective, basing your judgments on evidence and avoiding twisting evidence to fit your
opinion;
 Open-minded, having the ability to say, "I don't know" or "I was wrong";
 Sensitive to language, avoiding slanted language, recognizing ambiguous, vague,
emotionally laden language, defining key terms;
 Imaginative, approaching topics and problems from various angles;
 Fair and intellectually honest, avoiding misrepresenting the ideas of others or
misinterpreting data and research to fit your own purposes.