Joe Lau

PHIL1005 - Critical thinking and logic

2nd semester 2005-06. Library extension 1. 2-3pm Thur, Fri.

Most courses are about what to think - telling you what you should know and remember. This course is about how to think - the thinking skills you need in order to think independently and critically.

Critical thinking is a matter of thinking clearly and rationally. Good critical thinking is not just important for solving problems. It also helps us express our ideas clearly and systematically. The aim of this course is to introduce the basic principles of critical thinking and logic. We shall also learn how to apply these principles in everyday life.

Announcements

  • [22 Apr] Problem set #2 online. (Deadline 4pm Thursday 11 May 2006)
  • [14 Apr] Ex #9 online.
  • [8 Apr] Ex #8 online.
  • I have moved the course files back to the intranet folder: coursefolder:phil1005
  • [2 Apr] Ex #7 online.
  • [28 March] The HKU computer centre has changed the web server settings, so I am moving the course files here.
  • [26 March] As announced earlier, the lecture on Thursday 30 March is cancelled because of an urgent Arts Faculty meeting. Instead, the tutors will come and talk about the problem set.
  • [20 March] I have uploaded a new version of the problem set in response to these comments. There are no big differences other than the correction of a typo and additional remarks to clarify question #2. Late assignments will have 50% of the marks deducted, and no assignment submitted after 28 March will be accepted.
  • [11 March] The first problem set is here.
  • [19 Feb] You can use this bulletin board to post questions. I should add that the main purpose of the board is not to provide quick answers. It is rather a forum for you to discuss issues among yourselves. We hope students can help each other to answer the questions and we shall jump in only when necessary.
  • [14 Feb] Exercise set #2 is now available.
  • [10 Feb] I made a mistake in the lecture. When I gave the Chinese translation for "rectangle", I meant 矩形 and not 長方形. 矩形 includes both 長方形 and 正方形.
  • [9 Feb, 8pm] An email has been sent to all students with a password for signing up for tutorials. See this page. If you have not received your password, please contact Head tutor Miss Fanny Ho.
  • [9 Feb] Because too many students come in late, from now on no student will be allowed to enter the lecture room after 2:05pm.
  • Mobile phone policy? Total: $40. [24 Feb 2006] The sum has been donated to Medecins sans frontieres together with the fine from PHIL 2230. The receipt is on my office door. [8 May]
  • Tutorials - You are required to attend eight group tutorials in total. They will begin the week of 13 Feb. A password will be sent to you by email on 9 Feb which you should use to sign up for tutorials online starting from 5pm on 10 Feb 2006. More details will be provided later.
  • Tutorial discussion questions - Exercises will be posted at the bottom of this page and you should do them in preparation for the tutorials.
  • Tutors - Fanny Ho fannyho hkucc.hku.hk (Head tutor in charge of the course), Kelly Inglis kellyinglis yahoo.com , Arthur Chin arthurchin2 yahoo.com.hk. Please approach your tutor first if you have questions.
  • Assessment - 2 problem sets (45%), exam (short / multiple choice questions) (40%), tutorial performance (15%).
  • Copying : You will be punished if you copy your problem set from another person, or if you allow your problem set to be copied. Plagiarism also includes copying from the web or other sources without proper acknowledgment. You can be expelled from HKU as a result.

Course schedule

  • Key to readings: [R] Recommended but not required. [O] Additional optional readings for those who are really interested in the topic. Required reading otherwise.
  • Some of these items are located on the HKU intranet server. You can access them through the HKU library computers, or through a VPN connection if you are outside the HKU network.
  • All powerpoint files are located on the intranet HERE?. The files for a given lecture will be available at least four days before the lecture.

1. Introduction - what is critical thinking?

2. Analyzing meaning

3 & 4. Definitions, necessary and sufficient conditions

5 & 6. Linguistic pitfalls

7. Basic logic

8. Validity and soundness

9. Inductive reasoning

10. Venn diagrams (Self-study. No lecture on 3 March)

11. Argument analysis

  • Many Hong Kong and overseas companies and professional schools make use of critical thinking assessment tests. Many of these tests include sections on argument analysis. HERE are some useful notes and exercises you can go through on your own. (1-6 and A-F)
  • Some points some argument mapping - Extracts from a paper by Charles Twardy. The paper is about the use of argument mapping programs in teaching critical thinking, but the comments about the rules of argument mapping are useful.
  • "Sources of knowledge"

12. Q&A

  • This is a question-and-answer session. We shall finish early if there are no questions.

No lectures during reading week

13. Scientific reasoning

14 & 16. Causation

15. Q&A on problem set

17 & 18. Moral and legal reasoning

19. Cognitive biases

20. Fallacies

  • Critical thinking web - F01-F05 [R] F06,F07
  • [O] Gary Curtis's Fallacy Files - an online directory of fallacies with examples and explanations.
  • For the exam, I expect you to be familar with the "fourfold" classification, but not the names of the individual fallacies.

21. Creativity

22. Q&A

Additional resources

  • What is common between Bill Gates and Li Ka Shing? Apart from the fact that they are rich businessmen? Answer - They both love reading. If you want to read more about critical thinking, see this page.
  • Also, most of the topics we discuss are covered in the Critical thinking web.

Tutorial exercises

You should print out and complete these exercises and bring them to tutorials for discussion. Of course, there might not be enough time to go through all the questions.