Critical Thinking Skills

Course Description: In order to provide a solid foundation for our assertions, convictions, and attitudes about the world, this course examines the nature and methods of critical thought. From formal logic to dialectical materialism, from analysing arguments to the Socratic Method, we examine several aspects of critical thinking. Views of knowledge generation in its social context, reasoning and inference, valuing and evaluating, and observation and interpretation are all taken into consideration.

Course Objectives

• To identify logical fallacies within arguments.
• To develop basic understanding of discussion ethics and arguments
• To make an argument that follows logic and is supported by reasons.

Course Contents

Basic Principles

Appeal to Anger and Anger Management

Questioning the "Sources" of data

Logical Inferences: Induction and Deduction

Logical Fallacies

10 Appeals to the Mind

Dialectical Materialism

Dialectical Materialism: Introduction

Materialism vs Idealism

Abstraction

Does Truth Exist?

Totality vs Parts

Process and Relations in Dialectics

Relational Analysis: Four Relations

System of Conditioned Conditioning

System before History

Form and Function

Dialectical Reality/Social Reality

Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis

More to be added

Course Outcomes

1. Interpret arguments by delving into the logical reasoning process.
2. Produce arguments that are well-founded.
3. Analyze the level of argumentation, interpretation, and/or belief.
4. Consider the mode(s) of inquiry that were utilised to produce and collect the data.
5. Interpret the data and conclusions, particularly when they support opposing viewpoints.
6. Observe a situation from several angles to identify one's prejudices.
7. Determine whether a viewpoint, an argument, or a belief is reasonable.
8. When tackling challenging issues, maintain discipline, organisation, attention, and empathy.
9. Reflective thought is used to assess one's own opinions or conclusions.

Further Readings

1. Blair, John G. The Poetic Art of W.H. Auden (n.p., n.d.).
2. Drew, Elizabeth T.S. Eliot: The Design of his Poetry.(London,1950)
3. Gardener, Helen. The Art of T.S. Eliot. (London, 1968)
4. Jeffares, A.N. W.B. Yeats, Man and Poet.(London, 1949)
5. Leavis, F.R. New Bearings in English Poetry. (London 1961 ed)
6. Macneice, Louis The Poetry of W.B. Yeats.( London, 1967)
7. Spears, Monroe K. The Poetry of W.H. Auden. (New Jersey, 1981)
8. Unterecker, J. W.B. Yeats: A Reader’s Guide (London, 1988).
9. Ferguson, M. Salter, M. J., Stallworthy, J. (2005). The Norton Anthology of Poetry. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
10. Untermeyer, L. (2011). Modern British Poetry. Whitefish, MT: Literary Licensing