Joe Lau

PHIL1005 Critical thinking and logic

2007-08 second semester Friday 2-3:50pm LE1

This is the course web page for course PHIL1005. Students should check this page regularly for updates.

Information and announcements

  • [2/5] About the portfolio - the first part is worth 45% (15% for each item), and the argument map 55%.
  • [30/4] A student asked if model answers for tutorial discussion questions can be made available. Unfortunately I do not have a file with the answers to distribute. You can discuss the questions with your classmates on the discussion forum.
  • [25/4] Tutorial A07 was not included in the list of readings but we talked about the topic in the course, so I recommend that you should read it as well.
  • [20/4] Exercise set #5 (last one) is now online.
  • [31/3] Exercise set #4 on scientific reasoning has been posted online.
  • [20/3] The final exam will be held on Wed May 7 - 2:30-4pm, Lindsay Ride Sports Centre.
  • [22/2] In today's lecture, I should have discussed exhaustive alternatives in more details. Here are some further notes. Also, there is no lecture on 29 Feb, the day of the mid-term.
  • [20/2] You can now register for the mid-term test.
  • [16/2] Instructions for the portfolio assignment are now online.
  • [28/1] Timetable for tutorial groups Please check the timetable and note the number of the group you would like to join. Sign-up: 7pm 1 Feb - 12 noon 6 Feb on WebCT (first come first serve). No changes can be made once you have selected a group. Tutorial exercise set #1 has also been posted to WebCT. I shall be posting exercises regularly and they will be discussed during tutorials. Please work through the exercises before each tutorial.
  • [25/1] Tutorials - Compulsory group tutorials will begin 4 Feb. Each tutorial group will meet 6 times. There are about 30 groups with different timeslots which you can choose from on a first come first serve basis. The timetable will be posted online on Wed 30 Jan. Signup will be done online through WebCT starting from 1 Feb 7pm.
  • Course outline
  • Mobile fine collected: $20. I have topped up the fine to $90 and donated it to THE COMMUNITY CHEST OF HK. ( Reference No.: N32100059269; HSBC online 21 Mar 2008 )

Course schedule

  1. [Jan 18] Introduction: The basics of good thinking C01, C02
  2. [Jan 25] How to think and write clearly M01
  3. [Feb 1] Using definitions and other tools M02-M04 [*]
  4. [Feb 8] Chinese New Year - validity (self-study, no lecture) A01-A04, A09
  5. [Feb 15] Linguistic pitfalls to avoid M05-M07
  6. [Feb 22] Elementary deductive logic L01-L03, [*] (pdf on WebCT), also some further notes
  7. [Feb 29] Mid-term test on validity
  8. [Mar 7] Reading week - Venn diagrams (self-study, no lecture) V01-V05, [*] powerpoint on WebCT
  9. [Mar 14] How to analyze arguments A05-A06
  10. [Mar 28] Scientific methods for everyday life [* PDF on WebCT], A08
  11. [Apr 11] Thinking about causes and effects S04-S08, T5.3 T5.4
  12. [Apr 18] Reasoning about law and morality U01, U03-U06, U08 (U07 recommended but not required)
  13. [Apr 25] Fallacies and cognitive biases F01-F08
  14. [May 6] Portfolio assignment deadline (hand in before 4:30pm)