This course is a critical reasoning/informal logic course designed to teach students to evaluate logical arguments in daily life and conversation. Students will learn to recognize arguments, the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning, and to recognize and identify informal fallacies. A large part of the course will be devoted to the logic of induction, including the role it plays in probability theory, statistical methods of reasoning, and marking off the difference between science and superstition. Students will also learn the role of inductive logic and analogy in legal and moral reasoning, as well as in discovering causal connections.
