Description
Bad thinking has reached epidemic proportions in our society. When confronted with evidence that contracts a cherished belief, people often choose to double down on its veracity rather than undergo the hard work of revising their views. As a result, conspiracy theories and other mind viruses multiply, endangering the health of the body politic. Since the days of the Ancient Greeks, philosophers have recommended strategies for distinguishing good thinking from bad, promoting skills to develop the former and discourage the latter. In this course, we will practice a number of such skills, including logic games and puzzles to sharpen our wits, argument analyses to assess the strength and validity of reasoning, and careful critique of the generous but misguided notion that one way of thinking is just as good as another. Meets General Education Distribution Area I.C.