Syllabus

Philosophy 6: Logic in Practice

Los Angeles Valley College

Fall 2009

 

Instructor

Christopher Pallotti

E-mail

pallotc@lavc.edu

Phone

Web-site

818-947-2600 ext 8190

filosofia.pageout.net

Student Drop In Hours

Mon 12:45-1:45

 

Day/Time

M & W 11:20am-12:45am

CC-205

Office

CC-226

My Teaching Philosophy:

I see myself as a facilitator of learning. My goal as a facilitator is to assist you—my student—in any way possible to help you succeed and to reach your goals.  All of us have strengths and weaknesses; let’s work together to harness our strengths and to nurture our weaknesses.   Please let me know if I can be of help to you.  I am most interested in seeing you engage with the class and the class material.  Please visit me during my drop in hours if you have any concerns.

Course Description:

The course Logic in Practice is an introduction to the practical (“real life” and useful reasoning skills) study of logic.  In this course we will look at the characteristics of good and bad thinking and the course will raise one’s awareness of the pervasiveness of manipulative language in the media and the society at large.  The course also takes an in-depth look at the difference between argument and rhetoric.  Please note:  the course does not assume that logic is the most prized of human thought processes; rather, logic is approached as if it were a model—and a useful one—to inform the direction of one’s thought, but not the only model.  We approach thought and language in general as something that can be very untidy and our work in this course will be to clean this up as best we can.

 

In this course, we are going to focus on the process that philosophers and others employ in their search for knowledge.  In this regard, there will be an emphasis on the technical aspects of thought and thinking, and a de-emphasis on the personalities and characters in the history of philosophy.

 

Required Text:

Moore & Parker Critical Thinking, 9th Ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Ed) 2008

ISBN: 0073386677

Goals:

Requirements:

Attendance and participation: students who come to every class—on time will receive extra credit.  20-every class—on time, 15-1 absent/late, 10-2 absent/late.  Your presence in the classroom is crucial to your learning experience as is participation in lectures; both are highly encouraged.  Barring emergencies or prior engagements, leaving class early is counted as an absence.  Coming to class late will also take you out of the running for attendance extra-credit.  Both behaviors are rude and disrupt the atmosphere of learning.  If you must do either, please exit/enter quietly from the back of the class.

 

Test Days: Do not miss test days, as make-up tests are given only for extenuating circumstances i.e. severe illness. Please be sure to call beforehand to reserve a privilege to take a retest.  

 

Extra credit: Since academic excellence includes ambition, students having difficulty with the material can raise their grade with extra credit.  We can discuss the form and content of extra credit (10 points) later on in the course.  There will also be many opportunities throughout the semester to collect some extra points; for example, I occasionally have group pop-quizzes and the group with the best score gets 3 points. 

 

Note on academic behavior:  LA Valley College students are expected to maintain high standards of honesty and ethical behavior.  All assignments submitted in fulfillment of course requirements must be the student's own work.  Also, if you are having trouble grasping the material, do not hesitate to contact me during my office hours.

Evaluation:

4—100 point exams: Exam format: ALL REQUIRE SCANTRON--multiple choice & T/F. 

1—50 point mini-argumentative essay…prompt to follow shortly

1—50 point debate…prompt to follow shortly

 

notes: The final is mostly comprised of material from the last section.  Quizzes and homework assignments will be given throughout the semester for which you will not be graded.  It is crucial that you do these because they mirror the exams both in terms of form and content.                                

 

A: 500-450, B: 449-400, C: 399-350, D: 349-300, F: 299 or less

 

How to succeed in this class: 

a.) pay attention in lectures and write everything that is on the board as well as everything I say.

b.) do the homework and know that the purpose of studying is to answer and to generate questions.  Generating questions while reading makes your learning experience more fruitful and personal.  Do the readings and come to class with questions.

c.) give yourself time to absorb and to memorize the material.

 

Other Services:

 

Writing Skills Center: Humanities 100, (818) 947-2810, writingtutor@lavc.edu.

Disabilities: DSPS, Campus Center, Room 100, (818) 947-2681/ TTY (818) 947-2680, dsps@lavc.edu

 

Financial Aid is available! Call (818) 947-2412. 

Go to the Financial Aid Office in the bungalow between Campus Center and the North Gym

Website address:  lavc.edu/studentservwebsite/financial/index.html

 

Logic in Practice

Rough Course Outline.  Please note that this is a rough course outline.   We will try and stick to it as closely as possible, but need the flexibility to explore and cover some concepts in greater detail than others.  There are 4 major sections: 1.) Introduction to critical thinking skills and terms; argument form and identification; argument evaluation and construction  2.) Fallacies.   3.) Formal/deductive reasoning    4.) Informal/inductive reasoning

 

Exam date

Topic

Section 1 material:

 

 

What is critical thinking?  Chapter 1

 

Identifying/Evaluating Arguments  Chapter 1  cont’d

Exam 1 Sept 30, 2009

Argument, Constructing and Writing Chapter 3

 

 

Section 2 material:

 

 

Rhetorical Devices   Chapter 5

 

Psychological Fallacies   Chapter 6

Exam 2  Oct 26, 2009

More Fallacies  Chapter 7

 

 

Section 3 material:

 

 

Ded/Ind Validity/Strength Chapter 2

 

Categorical Logic  Chapter 8

 

 

Exam 3  Nov 18, 2009

 

Section 4 material:

 

 

Inductive Reasoning  Chapter 10

 

Generalizations/Analogies Chapter 10

 

Causal Reasoning  Chapter 11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final Exam:

Dec 16, 2009 10:30-12:30 am

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If a man holding a belief which he was taught in childhood or persuaded of afterwards keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men that call in question or discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily be asked without disturbing it—the life of that man is one long sin against mankind.

W. K. Clifford

     --The Ethics of Belief

 

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.

Max Planck

    --scientific autobiography

 

The beauty of the democratic systems of thought control, as contrasted with their clumsy totalitarian counterparts, is that they operate by subtly establishing on a voluntary basis - aided by the force of nationalism and media control by substantial interests - presuppositions that set the limits of debate, rather than by imposing beliefs with a bludgeon.

Noam Chomsky

—After the Cataclysm

 

I am daily ever more convinced that theoretical work accomplishes more in the world than practical work.  Once the realm of ideas is revolutionized, actuality will not hold out.

Georg Hegel

    --Letters

 

In the matters we propose to investigate, our inquiries should be directed, not to what others have thought, nor to what we ourselves conjecture, but to what we can clearly and distinctly see and with certainty deduce, for knowledge is not won in any other way.

Rene Descartes

    --Rules for the Direction of the Mind

 

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.

Arthur Schopenhauer

    --Studies in Pessimism

 

I make no secret of changing my mind on one or two important issues....I've never thought it a virtue to adopt a position and try to get famous as a person who defends that position, like a purveyor of a brand name, like you're selling cornflakes.

Hilary Putnam

    --The Philosophers' Magazine, Summer 2001