Welcome!

Introductory philosophy courses are taught in many different ways. Knowing a little about how what a particular version of "Critical Thinking" entails can help you to decide if it's the sort of thing you're looking for. This page provides information about how I usually run my PHIL04 course, as well as announcements and materials relevant to students currently taking it.

Broadly speaking, this course introduces and examines the role of formal and informal methods of reasoning in several forms of discourse. We will focus on the cultivation of argumentative skills relevant to academic, public, and interpersonal methods of communication.
More specifically, we'll be working closely with arguments and persuasive language in a variety of written formats (including short paragraph exercises and longer articles). Our in-class discussions will include assessments of commercial advertisements, themes in popular media, and investigations of some traditional philosophical problems.

Please feel free to have a look at the course syllabus, which is available via the navigation bar on the left of this page. It gives a more detailed description of the course requirements, as well as of the reading schedule we follow. I'd be happy to answer any further questions you might have about the course--just drop me an email.

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