Dowling College Fall 2002 CRN 95590 PHL 005A R 530-810 PM
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Dr Christian Perring |
Work phone: (631) 244-3349 |
Office Location:
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330A RC |
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E-mail: perringc@dowling.edu |
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Office hours: |
WR 400-530
PM |
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Required Textbooks: |
Critical Thinking 2nd edition, by R. Epstein. Workbook
for Critical Thinking 2nd edition, by R. Epstein. |
Read this syllabus!
It represents a contract between the professor and the student, and
contains important information.
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Class grading |
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15% |
Classwork. You
will be called on in class to answer the assigned exercises. All reading must be done and exercises
worked on the day listed. Attendance will
be recorded and lack of attendance will reduce your grade. Similarly, persistent lateness can reduce
your grade. |
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20% |
Quickie Exams
These will be handed out the last day the chapter is discussed and
will be due on the following class day.
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20% |
Writing Exercises
The cartoon writing exercises should be handed in on the Workbook
pages on the day scheduled. They can be handwritten. You must use blue or black ink. The essay writing exercises must be typed,
(10 pt. or 12 pt. font), double spaced, blue or black ink, with your
name. They must be no longer than
specified in the text. |
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20% |
Exam Chapters 1–5 |
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25% |
Exam Chapters 6–8 |
Extra Credit: You can do the Examples and Exercises from the Law that appear in the Workbook: each one counts for up to 2% extra credit. After the first exam, you can also take a recent editorial from The New York Times or Newsday, set out the argument, and assess it. This should be two pages, and is also worth up to 2%. You can earn up to 6% total extra credit in the course.
Make ups: You may also do any of the essay Writing
Lessons that are not assigned to replace ones for which you got a bad
mark.
Grading scale (percentage): 90–100 A, 80–89 B, 70–79 C,
60–69 D, below 60 F. No
+ or – grades will be given
unless it is a very close call.
Cheating
and Plagiarism:
Any form of academic dishonesty will be treated very seriously and reported to
the Dean of Students. Minor cases of
cheating will result of a zero grade with no possibility of retake. Any cases where you have clearly tried to
bypass the learning process or pass off someone else’s work as your own will
mean you fail the class.
You will be expected to have read and come ready to discuss
the material listed on the days below.
If no numbers are listed for the exercises, do them all.
An asterisk (*) indicates the material to be handed in on the day specified, with your name, stapled.
Class description. This is a course in informal logic and critical thinking. The aim of the class is to improve your skills in analyzing and evaluating arguments, as well as formulating your own arguments.
The material in this course is fairly simple, but if you do not understand the basics, you will find it very confusing. It is ESSENTIAL that you prepare carefully for class. You should be spending between 3 and 6 hours per week on the reading and assignments. If you are having difficulty, e-mail me, phone, or speak with me after class or during office hours, so we can sort out your problems as soon as possible.
Many of the exercises in our textbook Critical Thinking mention specific people and animals such as Dr. E., Dick, Zoe, Tom, Spot and Puff. We will suppose that the Cast of Characters, pictured at the start of the book, actually exists.
One of the essential features of this course is that it
involves defining some technical terms, such as claim, argument, valid,
invalid, strong, weak, good, and bad.
It is important that you remember these words have a specific meaning in
this course, which may not correspond to how they are used in everyday
life. I recommend that if you have any
trouble remembering these meanings, you write each word on an index card along
with its definition, and memorize those definitions.
Schedule (Subject to Revision!)
Sept 5 Truth Tables. Page 365-378.
Class work: Exercises for Sections A and B, C and D.
Sept 12 Homework due: Truth Tables
Class work: Chapter 1 all exercises, Chapter 2, all exercises.
Sept 19 Homework due: Quickie Exam on Chapter 2
Read Chapter 3, Sections
A-C
Class work: Review exercises for Chapter 3, Sections A-C
Sept 26 Homework due: Writing Lesson 1, on the topic “Students with learning disorders should be given special leniency when the professor assigns grades to course work.” AND Writing Lesson 2, on the topic “Students with learning disorders should be given special leniency when the professor assigns grades to course work.”
Class work: Exercises for Chapter 3
Oct 3 Homework due: Writing Lesson 3, on the topic in the book AND Quickie Exam on Chapter 3.
Class work: Writing Lesson 4, Exercises for Chapter 4, Sections A-D.
Oct 10 Homework due: Quickie Exam on Chapter 4, Writing Lesson 6.
Class work: Chapter 4, Exercises for Section E, Chapter 5, Exercises for Sections A and B.1-5
Oct 17 Homework due: Quickie Exam for Chapter 5, Writing Lesson 7 on the topic, “Prozac is a dangerous medication that causes some people to be homicidal or suicidal.”
Class work: Chapter 5, Exercises for Sections B and C, Chapter 6, Exercises for Sections A.1-2
Oct 24 Exam on Chapters 1-5 and Truth Tables.
Oct 31 Homework due: Writing Lesson 8 on the topic in the book.
Class work: Chapter 6, Exercises for Sections A, B.1, B.2, B.3
Nov 7 Homework due: Writing Lesson 9
Class work: Chapter 6, Exercises for Chapter 6
Nov 14 Homework due: Quickie Exam on Chapter 6
Class work: Chapter 7, Exercises for Sections A and B, Appendix on Aristotelian Logic, Exercises for Section B and C and D.
Nov 21 Homework due: Quickie Exam on Chapter 7, Writing Lesson 10
Class work: Appendix on Aristotelian Logic, Exercises for Section D, Chapter 8 all Exercises.
Dec 5 Homework due: Quickie Exam on Chapter 8 and Appendix on Aristotelian Logic
Dec 12 (?) Homework due: Writing Lesson 11
Exam on Chapter 6-8 and Appendix on Aristotelian Logic