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Critical Thinking

This is a brief introduction to formalizing arguments using Propositional Logical, informal argument styles, and logical fallacies. The course material is primarily the podcast, the accompanying videos go over select answers from the practice problems.

What is an Argument

1.What is an Argument?
00:00 / 28:39

What is an argument, but also what's not. Arguments are sets of statements, in which some statements (premises) are intended to support another statement (the conclusion).

Evaluating Arguments

2.1Evaluating Arguments
00:00 / 18:30
2.2Evaluating Arguments
00:00 / 19:24

Arguments can be evaluated on the follow three criteria: (1) Whether the premises are true, (2) Whether the conclusion is at least probable given the truth of the premises, and (3) Whether the premises are relevant to the conclusion​

Formalization

3.1Formalization
00:00 / 21:33
3.2Formalization
00:00 / 11:13
3.3Formalization
00:00 / 18:54

To formalize arguments the statements need to be symbolized according to Propositional Logical. This is an introduction to the logical operators, their symbolization, and their semantics.

Not, And, Or

4.1Not, And, Or
00:00 / 17:35
4.2Not, And, Or
00:00 / 24:25

This is a closer look at how ordinary English sentences with 'not', 'and', and 'or' are formalized in Propositional Logic.

Conditionals

5.1Conditionals
00:00 / 16:51
5.2Conditionals
00:00 / 18:17

This is a closer look at how conditional sentences (If ... , then ...) in ordinary English are formalized in Propositional Logic.

Formal Argument Forms

6.1Argument Forms
00:00 / 21:40
6.2Argument Forms
00:00 / 19:44

Some common argument form: modus ponens, modus tollens, hypothetical syllogism, disjunctive syllogism, dilemma, and reductio ad absurdum.

Two formal fallacies: affirming the consequent and denying the antecedent.

Informal Arguments (pt1)

7.1Informal Arguments
00:00 / 22:00
7.2Informal Arguments
00:00 / 23:59

How to use and evaluate an arguments by example and arguments by analogy.

Informal Arguments (pt2)

8.1Informal Arguments
00:00 / 25:25
8.2Informal Arguments
00:00 / 25:13

How to use and evaluate arguments from authority, and arguments about cause

Fallacious Reasoning (pt1)

9.1Fallacious Reasoning
00:00 / 15:10
9.2Fallacious Reasoning
00:00 / 13:55
9.3Fallacious Reasoning
00:00 / 24:31

The first set of informal fallacies: ad hominem, poisoning the well, tu quoque, appeal to the people, appeal to pity, appeal to fear or force, rigid application of a generalization, hasty generalization, composition, and division.

Fallacious Reasoning (pt2)

10Fallacious Reasoning
00:00 / 28:50

The second set of informal fallacies: biased sample, post hoc, slippery slope, begging the question, complex question, appeal to ignorance, false dichotomy, equivocation, straw man, red herring, misleading precision, missing the point.

Satisfaction Guarantee

You will think more critically!

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