Every day we are bombarded by all sorts of attempts to persuade us to think or act in certain ways. In this course, we will practice Critical Thinking — the process by which we develop and support our beliefs and evaluate the strength of arguments. The central goal of this course is to empower students to think more clearly and analytically about what to believe and be more effective in arguing for their views.

Students will develop mastery of various strategies for making and evaluating arguments, and they will develop expertise in recognizing and avoiding common logical fallacies. We will emphasize the application of techniques to real-life issues across a range of domains, including (i) ethics and law, (ii) technology and media, (iii) public health, and (iv) scientific controversies.