Critical thinking and reasoning

Wise people have always understood the power of words. After all, we make all our decisions – both important and less important – based on information that convinces us and that we trust. How do we know who to believe and who not? How to objectively distinguish the valuable from the less valuable? How to recognize lies and manipulation? How to keep a “clear head”, think and make decisions for ourselves, not under someone else’s influence? Critical thinking is important for every person who wants to proactively take responsibility for their life and decisions, but especially for leaders whose decisions have an impact on the lives of other people, organizations, companies and society as a whole.

The course will examine various aspects of critical thinking from the perspective of argumentation. During the course, we will talk about how to (1) use argument models, (2) evaluate examples and evidence, (3) recognize logical fallacies and (4) criticize arguments.

Objective

To provide practical knowledge of the basic principles of critical thinking in argumentation.

Benefits

• model good arguments, recognize flaws in reasoning, present the rationale for arguments in a logical and structured way, and find the evidence necessary for the argument;

• examine the sources and credibility of evidence, recognize different types of evidence, evaluate the quality and importance of evidence in decision-making;

• recognize logical errors in the reasoning of others and avoid making logical errors;

• constructively refute others and critically evaluate one's own reasoning.

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Working method

Short lectures, practical exercises with elements of public speaking, evaluation of opinion pieces and examples of reasoning, discussions, debates.

Target audience

All those who want to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills.

Program

1. Quality of argumentation. Qualitative arguments consist of at least three parts - statements, clear justification, and evidence. However, arguments are often replaced with unfounded claims, illogical or incomplete reasoning, as well as examples that do not correspond to the argument and do not prove its essence. This part of the course will look at the modeling of logical, well-founded and structured arguments, as well as teach the skills necessary to avoid poor reasoning.

2. Effective and credible evidence. The cornerstone of qualitative argumentation is always empirical evidence and examples that connect the argument to events in the world. A wide variety of evidence is used to support arguments - personal examples, statistics, studies, expert opinions, models, as well as illustrations. However, not all types of evidence are of equal quality. This section will develop the ability to recognize and evaluate the evidence used.

3. Logical fallacies. Logical fallacies are argumentation tools that replace the logical reasoning necessary for qualitative arguments with rhetorical tricks. Logical errors are difficult to notice because they are rhetorically pleasing and sound convincing. Logical errors are often caught and used by politicians, journalists, and experts in various fields. In this section, you will learn to recognize logical errors in your own and others' arguments, understand how these errors were formed, and how to avoid them.

4. Criticism of arguments. The ability to criticize arguments is important both in decision-making and in assessing the quality of your own arguments. The skills of understanding the nature of argument criticism and assessing the extent to which the criticism expressed is justified and sufficient help develop constructive discussion, improve your own arguments, and look more objectively at your own and others' arguments and opinions. In this section, you will learn to understand the nature of argument criticism and assess its validity.