2023
Critical Thinking and Argumentation
Name: Critical Thinking and Argumentation
Code: FIL02321L
6 ECTS
Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours
Scientific Area:
Philosophy
Teaching languages: Portuguese
Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English
Regime de Frequência: Presencial
Sustainable Development Goals
Learning Goals
This course on critical thinking intends to contribute to a better performance of students whenever they have:
? to critically react to what they read in books, journals, newspapers or on the internet;
? to judge the quality of a speech or of a lecture;
? to actively participate in classes and seminars;
? to build an argument of their own;
? to write an essay in defense of a certain conclusion.
? to critically react to what they read in books, journals, newspapers or on the internet;
? to judge the quality of a speech or of a lecture;
? to actively participate in classes and seminars;
? to build an argument of their own;
? to write an essay in defense of a certain conclusion.
Contents
Identification of questions, positions and arguments
Arguments conclusions and reasons
Implicit premises
Intermediary conclusions
Language vagueness and ambiguity
Definitions Facts and values
Objective and subjective judgements
Representing arguments with diagrams
Does the conclusion follow from the premises?
Probability in the premises
Strong and weak inductions
Principles of rational discussion
Common mistakes in the assessment of premises
Good and bad appeals to authority
Mistaking the person for the argument
Disjunctive and Conditional claims and how to deny them
Necessary and sufficient conditions
Reasoning from an hypothesis
Contrafactual reasoning
Objecting and refuting
Presenting and assessing counter-examples
Formal fallacies and fallacies with respect to content
Reasoning by analogy Numbers graphs averages
Generalizing d
Arguments conclusions and reasons
Implicit premises
Intermediary conclusions
Language vagueness and ambiguity
Definitions Facts and values
Objective and subjective judgements
Representing arguments with diagrams
Does the conclusion follow from the premises?
Probability in the premises
Strong and weak inductions
Principles of rational discussion
Common mistakes in the assessment of premises
Good and bad appeals to authority
Mistaking the person for the argument
Disjunctive and Conditional claims and how to deny them
Necessary and sufficient conditions
Reasoning from an hypothesis
Contrafactual reasoning
Objecting and refuting
Presenting and assessing counter-examples
Formal fallacies and fallacies with respect to content
Reasoning by analogy Numbers graphs averages
Generalizing d
Teaching Methods
Lecturing.
Analysis of argumentative techniques.
Discussion of examples.
Written tests and essays.
Analysis of argumentative techniques.
Discussion of examples.
Written tests and essays.
Teaching Staff
- João Tiago Reis Pedroso de Lima [responsible]
