Goodbye to Yesterday...

In case you hadn't seen already, your grades are now posted. Have a great summer!

Final Exam

Just a reminder that the final exam is Tuesday, May 5th at 8:00 a.m. in Science 128. (Note that it's not in our usual classroom or building.) The test should take you about an hour, but you will have until 10:00 a.m. to take it.

Homework #3

Homework #3 is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, April 28th. Your assignment is to choose an ad (on TV or from a magazine or wherever) and evaluate it from a logic & reasoning perspective.

• First, briefly explain the ad. If you don't want to summarize it yourself, you can attach it if it's from a newspaper or magazine, or transcribe it if it's a commercial on TV.
  
• Then, explain the argument that the ad offers to sell its product.
• Finally, list and explain the mistakes in reasoning that the ad commits.

Group Presentations

Here are the group assignments for our presentations. If you're not in a group yet, let me know as soon as possible so we can get you in one.

Team God Stuff (1st on Tuesday, 4/28/09)
Danica, Dave L., Janna, Nick, Wendy

Team Weed (2nd on Tuesday, 4/28/09)
Carissa, Dana, Heather, Kelli, Lindsay, Robin

Team Drinking Age (3rd on Tuesday, 4/28/09)
Bill D., Dave K., Fred, Jerry, Matt

Team Voting Age (1st on Thursday, 4/30/09)
Andrew, Bill P., Brian, Kevin

Team Prostitution (2nd on Thursday, 4/30/09)
Caitlin, David O., Jess, Katie, Mike

Also, I mentioned this in class, but just in case...

Attendance is mandatory for the group presentations on Tuesday (4/28/09), and Thursday (4/30/09). It's the only time I'll be a stickler for it. Basically, I want you to show respect for the other groups presenting.

If you don't attend on either the days your group isn't presenting (and your absence isn't excused), your own personal presentation grade will drop. Each day you don't attend will lower your grade by a full letter grade.

One last thing: be sure to keep the presentations under 15 minutes. A 10-minute presentation is ideal, so we can have time for a short question-and-answer session afterward.

Midterm Rescheduled

So, our schedule says the midterm is this Thursday.

Don't freak out. It's not.

We're pushing the midterm back to Thursday, March 26th.

Possible Paper Articles

Here are some links to good articles you could use for your paper on explaining and evaluating an article's argument:

Bad Stereotyping
race & gender = insufficient info

The Idle Life is Worth Living
in praise of laziness

In the Basement of the Ivory Tower
are some people just not meant for college?

The Financial Crisis Killed Libertarianism
if it wasn't dead to begin with

Consider the Lobster
David Foster Wallace ponders animal ethics

Who Would Make an Effective Teacher?
we're using the wrong predictors

Loyalty is Overrated
adaptability & autonomy matter more

FBI Profiling
it's a scam, like cold reading

Singer: How Much Should We Give?
just try to think up a more important topic

The Dark Art of Interrogation
Bowden says torture is necessary

Can Foreign Aid Work?
Kristof says it has problems, but we should use it

Against Free Speech
but it's free, so it must be good

You Don't Deserve Your Salary
no one does

What pro-lifers miss in the stem-cell debate
love embryos? then hate fertility clinics

Is Worrying About the Ethics of Your Diet Elitist?
since you asked, no

Is Selling Organs Repugnant?
freakonomicists for a free-market for organs

Should I Become a Professional Philosopher?
hell 2 da naw

Blackburn Defends Philosophy
it beats being employed

Paper Guidelines

Due Date: Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

Worth: 5% of final grade

Length/Format: Papers must be typed, and must be between 300-600 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word & WordPerfect have automatic word counts.)

Assignment:
1) Pick an article from a newspaper, magazine, or journal in which an author presents an argument for a particular position. I will also provide some links to potential articles at the course website. You are also free to choose any article on any topic you want, but you must show Sean your article by Thursday, March 12th, for approval. The main requirement is that the author of the article must be presenting an argument. One place to look for such articles is the Opinion page of a newspaper. Here’s a short list of some other good sources online:

• The New Yorker
• Slate
• New York Review of Books
• London Review of Books
• Times Literary Supplement
• Boston Review
• Atlantic Monthly
• The New Republic
• The Weekly Standard
• The Nation
• Reason
• Dissent
• First Things
• Mother Jones
• National Journal
• The New Criterion

(for even more sources, check out the left-hand column of Arts & Letters Daily)

2) In the essay, first briefly explain the article’s argument in your own words. What is the position that the author is arguing for? What are the reasons the author offers as evidence for her or his conclusion? What type of argument does the author provide? In other words, provide a brief summary of the argument.
NOTE: This part of your paper shouldn’t be very long. I recommend making this about one paragraph of your paper.

3) In the essay, then evaluate the article’s argument. Overall, is this a good or a bad argument? Why or why not? Check each premise: is each premise true? Or is it false? Questionable? (Do research if you have to in order to determine whether the author’s claims are true.) Then check the structure of the argument. Do the premises provide enough rational support for the conclusion? If you are criticizing the article’s argument, be sure to consider potential responses that the author might offer, and explain why these responses don’t work. If you are defending the article’s argument, be sure to consider and respond to objections.
NOTE: This should be the main part of your paper. Focus most of your paper on evaluating the argument.

4) Attach a copy of the article to your paper when you hand it in. (Save trees! Print it on few pages!)

TIP: It’s easier to write this paper on an article with a BAD argument. Try finding a poorly-reasoned article!

Quiz You Once, Shame on Me...

The first quiz will be held at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 17th. You will have about 25 minutes to take it. There will be a multiple choice section, a section on evaluating deductive arguments, a section on evaluating inductive & abductive arguments, and a section where you provide examples of specific kinds of arguments and statements. Basically, it will look like a mix of the homework and group work we've done in class so far.

Here's what will be covered on the quiz:

• arguments in general
• deductive args (valid & sound)
• fancier deductive args
• statements: contradictions, tautologies, contingencies
• inductive args
• abductive args (inferences to the best explanation)

The quiz is worth 7.5% of your overall grade.Feel free to insult me in the comments for putting you through the terrible ordeal of taking a quiz.

Understanding Args

Here are the answers to the handout on understanding arguments that was assigned as optional extra credit.

1. (P1) Fairdale has the best team.
(C) Fairdale will win the championship

2. (P1) The housing market is depressed.
(P2) Interest rates are low.
(C) It's a good time to buy a home.

3. (P1) China is guilty of extreme human rights abuses.
(P2) China refuses to implement democratic reforms.
(C) The U.S. should refuse to deal with the present Chinese government.

4. (P1) The results of the Persian Gulf War were obviously successful for the U.S. military.
(C) The U. S. military is both capable and competent.

5. (P1) Scientific discoveries are continually debunking religious myths.
(P2) Science provides the only hope for solving the many problems faced by humankind.
(C) Science provides a more accurate view of human life than does religion.

6. (P1) Freedom of speech and expressions are essential to a democratic form of government.
(P2) As soon as we allow some censorship, it won't be long before censorship will be used to silence the opinions critical of the government.
(P3) Once we allow some censorship, we will have no more freedom than the Germans did under Hitler.
(C) We must resist all effort to allow the government to censor entertainment.

7. (P1) I'm very good at my job.
(C) I deserve a raise.

8. (P1) Jesse is one year old.
(P2) Most one-year-olds can walk.
(C) Jesse can walk.

9. (P1) The revocation of the 55 mph speed limit has resulted in an increased number of auto fatalities.
(C) we must alleviate this problem with stricter speed limit enforcement.

10. (P1) The last person we hired from Bayview Tech turned out to be a bad employee.
(C) I'm not willing to hire anybody else from that school again.

11. (P1) Maebe didn't show up for work today.
(P2) Maebe has never missed work unless she was sick.
(C) Maebe is probably sick today.

12. (P1) The United States, as the most powerful nation in the world, has a moral obligation to give assistance to people who are subjected to inhumane treatment.
(P2) The ethnic Albanians were being persecuted in Kosovo.
(C) It was proper for the U.S. to become involved in the air campaign against Kosovo.

----------------
Hat tip: I took some of the examples (with some revisions) from Beth Rosdatter's website , and some (with some revisions) from Jon Young's website .

Homework #1

In case you didn't get a copy of it in class, here's Homework #1. It's due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 10th.


DIRECTIONS: Provide original examples of the following types of arguments (in premise/conclusion form), if possible. If it is not possible, explain why.

1. A valid deductive argument with one false premise.

2. An invalid deductive argument with all true premises.

3. An unsound deductive argument that is valid.

4. A sound deductive argument that is invalid.


MULTIPLE CHOICE: Circle the correct response. Only one answer choice is correct.

5. If a deductive argument is unsound, then:
a) its conclusion must be false.
b) its conclusion must be true.
c) its conclusion could be true or false.

6. If a deductive argument is unsound, then:
a) it must be valid.
b) it must be invalid.
c) it could be valid or invalid.

7. If a deductive argument is unsound, then:
a) at least one premise must be false.
b) all the premises must be false.
c) all the premises must be true.
d) not enough info to determine.

8. If a deductive argument’s conclusion is true:
a) then the argument must be valid.
b) then the argument must be invalid.
c) then the argument could be valid or invalid.

9. If a deductive argument is sound, then:
a) its conclusion must be true.
b) its conclusion must be false.
c) its conclusion could be true or false.

10. If a deductive argument is sound, then:
a) it must be valid.
b) it must be invalid.
c) it could be valid or invalid.

11. If a deductive argument is sound, then:
a) at least one premise must be false.
b) all the premises must be false.
c) all the premises must be true.
d) not enough info to determine.

12. If a deductive argument’s conclusion is false:
a) then the argument must be valid.
b) then the argument must be invalid.
c) then the argument could be valid or invalid.

Email Subscription

So why does this course have a blog? Well, why is anything anything?

A blog (short for “web log”) is a website that works like a journal – users write posts that are sorted by date based on when they were written. You can find important course information (like assignments, due dates, reading schedules, etc.) on the blog. I’ll also be updating the blog throughout the semester, posting interesting items related to the stuff we’re currently discussing in class. I used a blog for this course last semester, and it seemed helpful. Hopefully it can benefit our course, too.

Since I’ll be updating the blog a lot throughout the semester, you should check it frequently. There are, however, some convenient ways to do this without simply going to the blog each day. The best way to do this is by getting an email subscription, so any new blog post I write automatically gets emailed to you. (You can also subscribe to the rss feed, if you know what that means.) To get an email subscription:

1. Go to http://rowanlogic.blogspot.com.

2. At the main page, enter your email address at the top of the right column (under “EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION: Enter your Email”) and click the "Subscribe me!" button.

3. This will take you to a new page. Follow the directions under #2, where it says “To help stop spam, please type the text here that you see in the image below. Visually impaired or blind users should contact support by email.” Once you type the text, click the "Subscribe me!" button again.

4. You'll then get an email regarding the blog subscription. (Check your spam folder if you haven’t received an email after a day.) You have to confirm your registration. Do so by clicking on the "Click here to activate your account" link in the email you receive.

5. This will bring you to a page that says "Your subscription is confirmed!" Now you're subscribed.

If you are unsure whether you've subscribed, ask me (609-980-8367; landis@rowan.edu). I can check who's subscribed and who hasn't.

Course Details

Logic and Everyday Reasoning
Rowan University
Philosophy 09110, Section 1
Spring 2009
Tuesdays and Thursdays
8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. in Wilson Hall, Room 207

Instructor: Sean Landis
Email: landis@rowan.edu
Phone: 609-980-8367
Course Website: http://rowanlogic.blogspot.com

Required Text
Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric, 10th edition (Howard Kahane & Nancy Cavender)

About the Course
We are presented with arguments for all sorts of conclusions all the time, on topics as serious as abortion or the death penalty and as trivial as who the Phillies best player is or whether Letterman is funnier than Leno. How can we tell good arguments from bad ones?

This course focuses on understanding and evaluating arguments. We’ll first learn how to identify the components and structures of arguments. We’ll then learn how to pick apart the bad reasoning found in some arguments by going over logical fallacies, which are the different ways an argument can go wrong. We’ll also discuss psychological impediments that can throw us off. These are the ways most people naturally are led to reason incorrectly.

Armed with these evaluative tools, we’ll then explore our arguments for what we believe, and revise or strengthen them based on proper reasoning. The course’s main goal is to develop a respect for arguments and reasoning as an important, if not the most important, tool toward figuring out the truth.

Grades
93.3-100% = A
90-93.2% = A-
86.7-89.9% = B+
83.3-86.6% = B
80-83.2% = B-
76.7-79.9% = C+
73.3-76.6% = C
70-73.2% = C-
66.7-69.9% = D+
63.3-66.6% = D
60-63.2% = D-
below 60% = F

Midterm: 15%
Final: 25%
Quizzes (2): 7.5% each (15% total)
Oral Report: 15%
Short Paper: 5%
Group Projects (3): 3% each (9% total)
Other Homework (3): 4% each (12% total)
Attendance/Participation: 4%

Exams: The midterm tests everything covered during the first half of the course, and will last the full period (75 minutes). The final exam is cumulative: it tests everything covered throughout the whole course. The final will last 75 minutes during Finals Week.

Quizzes: Quizzes aren’t cumulative. Quiz #1 tests everything covered during the first 4 weeks of class, and quiz #2 tests everything covered after the midterm (weeks 7 through 9). Quizzes will last 20 to 25 minutes, and be held at the beginning of class on the scheduled day.

Oral Report: This will be a group project presented in front of the class at the end of the semester. Each group of 3-5 students will research a topic and present a 10- to 15-minute oral presentation on it to the rest of the class.

Short Paper: There will be one short paper (250-500 words each) on understanding and evaluating an argument.

In-Class Group Projects: In addition to the group project and a lot of informal group work, there are three in-class group projects due at various times throughout the semester.

Other Homework: There will be three total homework assignments. Each one is due at the beginning of class the day they are due.

Attendance/Participation: Most of this will be based on your attendance. If you’re there every class, you’ll get full credit for your attendance grade. In addition, informal group work can impact your grade.

Extra Credit: There will be some optional extra credit assigned throughout the semester.

Classroom Policies
Academic Integrity: Cheating and plagiarism (using someone else’s words or ideas without giving credit to the source) will not be tolerated in the class. Students found guilty of either will definitely fail the exam or assignment—and possibly the entire class.

Excused Absenses: Make-up exams, quizzes, in-class projects, and oral reports will only be rescheduled for any excused absences (excused absences include religious observance, official college business, and illness or injury – with a doctor’s note). An unexcused absence on the day of any assignment or test will result in a zero on that assignment or test.

Course Schedule

January 21—23
Tuesday: Introduction to class (no reading)
Thursday: Critical Thinking Intro (no reading)

January 28—30
Tuesday: Evaluating Args (1.1-1.5)
Thursday; Arguments: Deductive (2.1-2.3) (group work)

February 3—5
Tuesday: Fancier Args & Statements (2.4-2.5)
Thursday: Arguments: Inductive (2.6-2.8)
Homework #1 due

February 10—12
Tuesday: Arguments: Abductive (1.6-1.11) (group work)
Thursday: Fallacies (3.1-3.3)
Quiz #1

February 17—19
Tuesday: Fallacies (3.4-3.7)
Thursday: Fallacies (3.8)
Group Project #1 (in class)

February 24—26
Tuesday: Fallacies (4.1-4.4)
Thursday: Fallacies (4.5-4.7) (group work)

March 3—5
Tuesday: Fallacies (5.1-5.4)
Homework #2 due
Thursday: Fallacies (5.5-5.8)

March 10—12
Tuesday: Fallacies & Review for Midterm (5.9)
Group Project #2 (in class)
Thursday: MIDTERM

March 17—19
SPRING BREAK! (no class) (woo?)


March 24—26
Tuesday: Psychological Impediments (6.1-6.3)
Paper #1 due
Thursday: Psychological Impediments (6.4-6.6)

March 31—April 2
Tuesday: Psychological Impediments (6.7-6.9)
Thursday: Cognitive Biases (handout)
Group Project #3 (in class)

April 7—9
Tuesday: Intellectual Honesty: Charity (3.3, 3.7, 4.5)
Thursday: Intellectual Honesty: Ignorance (handout)

April 14—16
Tuesday: Writing Essays (9.1-9.4)
Quiz #2
Thursday: Writing Essays & Evaluating Ads (10.1-10.5)

April 21—23
Tuesday: Evaluating Ads & News (11.1-11.4)
Homework #3 due
Thursday: Evaluating News (11.5-11.8) (group work: presentation prep)

April 28—30
Tuesday: group presentations
Thursday: group presentations & review for Final Exam

Week of May 5—9
FINAL EXAM
(Time and date to be announced)