Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is considered to be central to higher levels of education or a fundamental goal of learning. It is also a process involved in any research activity.
The discipline outlines a concept of a logical culture of thinking and the formation of general methodological foundations of cognitive and professional activity. Students will learn how to critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data, how to make judgments and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution to a problem. This course is designed to provide students with the following skills: articulate the argument and the context for that argument; correctly and precisely use evidence to defend the argument; logically and cohesively organize the argument; avoid extraneous elements in an argument’s development; present evidence in an order that contributes to a persuasive argument.
The goal of mastering the discipline
The theoretical goal of studying the discipline is the formation of a system of knowledge about the logical structure of the language, and about the main forms of thinking and logical operations on them.
The practical goal of studying the discipline is to master the techniques and methods of basic logical operations, as well as the skills of critical thinking and writing.
The skills you get
- • know basic concepts, principals and methods of clear thinking allowing to overcome the influence of stereotypes and adapt to changing circumstances;
- • analyze information from the standpoint of its logical correctness and validity;
- • use the skills of critical thinking and writing for decisions making process;
- • logically correct and cognitively productive thinking, techniques and methods of conducting discussion and polemics;
- • understand the basic techniques of logical analysis of statements and various types of text;
Topics covered
- 1. The fundamentals of critical thinking. Critical thinking – Clear thinking.
- 2. Credibility of the sources of information.
- 3. Rhetoric. Persuasion through rhetoric.
- 4. Error of judgment and cognitive distortion. Different types of fallacies.
- 5. Inductive and deductive arguments.
- 6. Moral, legal and aesthetic reasoning.
When instructed
- 2nd year, 1st semester
List of references and sourses
Textbooks:
1. Brooke Noel Moore, Richard Parker. Critical Thinking. – McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2009.
2. Jennifer Moon. Critical Thinking: an exploration of theory and practice. – Routledge, 2008.
3. Daniel Kahneman. Thinking fast and slow. – Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013.
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