Critical Thinking
        Philosophy

Critical Thinking Syllabus

Critical Thinking

Catalogue Description:                  

Phil 04 - Four Hours Lecture

The function of formal and informal logic, argument, critical evaluation, and use of language in the interpretation of diverse forms of discourse.

Phil 03 - Five Hours Lecture

The function and use of formal and informal logic, argument, critical evaluation, and language in written composition.

Instructor: Chris Storer

EMAIL: storerchris@fhda.edu            Phone:  (650) 949-2287

Required Texts:

Critical Thinking, [Ninth Edition, Brooke Noel Moore and Richard Parker, McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 2009).
Glossary of Terms, Chris Storer [Available Free on my website:
       <http://www.deanza.fhda.edu/faculty/storer/>]

Recommended Texts:

Writing Composition and Critical Thinking, Chris Storer, [Required for Phil 03. Available Free on my website:
      <http://www.deanza.fhda.edu/faculty/storer/>]
Other readings available on the class website.

THE COURSE

WELCOME!

It is my firm conviction that this course can be the most important course in the student's entire curriculum. However, as with most of education, what the student achieves and retains here will be largely determined by the energy and attention s/he invests, both in the classroom and outside of it.

There is an important sense in which all academic courses involve a development of critical thought. By making critical thought the subject of specific study and exercise, this course will improve the quality of all the student's future educational endeavors, and because we will be developing critical thought in general rather than through a specific pattern of thought tied to the content of a specific discipline, the improvement will yield benefits far beyond the classroom. After all, we seek an education to be better prepared for the demands placed on us while living our lives. Even the joy of learning for its own sake is an experience not limited to the classroom and it is always intensified by the application of critical consciousness.

Those familiar with the term "critical" may object that such a negative attitude toward life is deadening and destructive, and certainly there are many who use the word in this manner, but the concept of critical thought is not here intended to be negative. To be critical, in the sense meant here, is to question, not to deny, out of an open curiosity with a desire to understand. "Critical" means, "involving or exercising careful judgment or observation...."  (The Oxford English Dictionary)

A movie critic asks questions about her/his experience and writes a response in the form of a critical essay in the newspaper. We will learn from the critique things that will help us decide whether we want to go to the show or not, and which may enrich our experience should we choose to go. The critic may conclude "thumbs up" or "thumbs down," but we can understand their judgment without having to agree with it. With this stipulation, students who apply themselves to the material and exercises in this course with a positive and constructive attitude will discover new worlds that have previously been beyond their grasp.

Attendance: 

Critical thinking is partially the attitude implied by the above discussion, but it is also a set of skills, and like other skills, these must be acquired through practice and exercise with feedback from other minds. Much of class time will be organized around class and small group discussions and exercises. While these activities will presuppose the student's familiarity with the text and other out-of-class assignments, participation in class will be fundamental to the student's success and there are no easy substitutes for it. Students may be dropped from the class after three (3) unexcused absences. Note also that when a student arrives late for class, they disrupt the valuable time of the whole class. Two unexcused late arrivals will be treated as an absence. If you are unavoidably late, enter with as little disturbance as possible and take an available seat near the door.  Call your instructor's attention to your presence at the end of class.

Critical Thinking Website (LINK) - This Syllabus, assignment schedules, and resources are being developed with on-line access. Links in the left hand column of the pages allow quick access to various pages of the site. Students should familiarize themselves with the site so they know what is available. This site is very much a work-in-process and most of the documents and pages are in draft form. Please contact Chris if you notice something confusing, broken links, or find typographical errors that need correction. Your help is appreciated.

Assignments: <Current Schedule>

There is an attached calendar of provisional assignments (Current Schedule). However, there will be additional assignments made during class as the occasion requires. Assignments should be prepared before the class in which they are due. Note that, since much of the in-class work will be interactive, your lack of preparation may put an unfair burden on your classmates. A student who comes to class unprepared may be asked to go to the library to complete their assignment.

Written assignments come in two flavors, general daily assignments and specific work designed to be turned in when it is due. While all work will be more valuable if it is done neatly and carefully, work to be turned in should be proofread, typed or printed from a word processor, and double-spaced with 1 1/2” margins. The purposes of this are clarity and ease of comprehension to the reader, and space for my comments.

Intellectual Honesty, Integrity, and Plagiarism

Students should understand that higher education (and critical thought) are fundamentally a process of cognitive development. This process is dependent on social interactions as an honest dialogue between members of the community of scholars. Dishonesty of any variety undercuts the fabric of the entire community. Cheating and plagiarism can not be tolerated because they steal from others the very purpose that draws people to the community of scholars and they weaken the intellectual development on which our educational institutions and our society as a whole are based. While cases of plagiarism and cheating will be treated on a case-by-case basis, they will usually result in a "0" grade on the particular assignment and may result in a failing grade in the course. The student should also be aware that there are potential other disciplinary outcomes from the college that may result in suspension or expulsion.

Class and LISTSERV participation, preparation and homework, 200 Points in Phil 03 and 300 Points in Phil 04)

Students are expected to keep up to date on their work for the course. Students should do specific assignments, maintain class notes and reading notes, along with any questions that arise in their mind. Critical thought is a thinking that is aware of itself and when we think "out loud" on paper, we are provided the opportunity of looking at our own thoughts with an objectivity that only comes to meditative thought with much practice (if at all). After working to write down questions as clearly as possibe, and seeking answers fron the text, if questions remain, they should be raised on the class LISTSERV and/or brought to class for discussion.

You should also plan on keeping notes on new vocabulary. Much of what we learn is tied to new words, or to new or more precise meanings of words with which we were familiar. This will certainly be the case as we learn about critical thought and I expect that students will build a glossary of critical thinking concepts that may include several hundred important words which become a technical vocabulary for our thinking about thinking, and for our evaluation of thinking.

Again, I need to emphasize, regarding your work in the class in general. Keep up to date with the reading and assignments.  Not only will your time in class be much more profitable if you are well prepared, the amount of time the work will take will actually be less for the same or better results. Also, quarters go by very rapidly, particularly if you are always trying to play "catch-up." 

Another reason to keep your work up to date, well organized and clearly written is that you will be allowed to create a single 4” x 6” index card of notes and use it during quizzes and the Mid-term.  Thus, if your notes and homework are up to date, you can quickly review before classes, note important concepts and information you have learned on an index card, and use it should there be a quiz.  Also, before exams, you can create an organized summary of the material as part of your preparation for the exam. Actually, the time invested in creating an index card of structured notes is some of the best study time to which you can devote yourself, even in the case of our final exam when notes will not be allowed.  (This is true even in courses where you can never use a summary sheet in exams.)

Quizzes and Essays (200 Points)  

There will be more than 4 graded quizzes and/or essays during the term. Some of these may be unannounced, or announced only on CTSymposium, the class email listserv, and some may be take-home assignments or even small group assignments.

Quizzes will count up to 50 points each and lower scores will be dropped to leave only the four highest counted toward the final grade.

Quiz scores may be improved by turning in a typed explanation of the reasoning which led to your response. The more this explanation reflects an understanding of the issues involved in specific quiz questions the greater the improvement in that question’s mark. During the term, we will be spending some time talking about the process of writing since well-written compositions require and, to a certain extent, mirror critical thought. To think critically requires that we become conscious of our own thought processes, and it is a great deal easier to become aware of complex relationships when we have something fixed and concrete (written) to refer to. Also, writing our thoughts down often exposes to us their lack of clarity, incoherence, or confusion.

Midterm and Final Exams: (500 Points Total - 200 points for the MT and 300 for the Final)

Major Paper Project - Students in Phil 03 will be assigned a major paper project to be completed in four stages during the term. (100 Points)

The exams will be composed of a mixture of short answer and multiple choice questions, and some short essay questions, much like the quizzes in format.

Evaluation: (Total of 1000 Points possible)

All work:        A+ = 100% - 95%     B+ =   86% - 83%     C+ = 76% - 73%
                       A   =  94% - 90%      B   =   82% - 80%      C  =  72% - 70%
                       A-  = 89% - 87%       B-  =  79% - 77%

                       D+ = 69% - 67%           F =  59% and below
                       D   = 66% - 63%
                       D-  = 62% - 60%