Logic & Critical Reasoning
Spring 2025
MWF 10 & 11 (sections 01 & 02)
Bowman 206
Professor: Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson
Department: English & Philosophy
Office: Office #109, 60 Porter Street
Office Hours: MW 3:15-4:15; F 2-3
Email: d.johnson@mcla.edu
Blog: http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com
Online Text: Matthew Van Cleeve, Introduction to Logic and Critical Reasoning.
Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking - Open Textbook Library
Focus of Course
This course is designed to improve your ability to understand, construct, and criticize both informal (natural language) and formal (categorical and propositional) "arguments" or claims presented as reasons for accepting some further claim. Our every effort to communicate (including our efforts to teach and learn) involves the use (and, quite frequently, misuse) of logical argumentation. Consider, for example, the following syllogism (an argument consisting of three statements (two premises and one conclusion) relating three terms (nothing, logic, and eternal happiness):
Nothing is better than finding eternal happiness.
Taking a course in logic is better than nothing.
Therefore, taking a course in logic is better than finding eternal happiness!
The argument has a superficially valid form (a>b, c>a, therefore, c>b) which produces a rather unbelievable result. It is clear that something in our reasoning has gone wrong -- but what exactly? (It turns out that the premises equivocate on the meaning of the two phrases "better than nothing" and "nothing is better than.") Our most general task is to avoid all such logical mistakes (especially in more serious contexts). To this end we will consider in some detail the very notion of argument, argument structure, and the criteria for constructing good arguments; distinguish arguments supported by evidence and reason from mere opinion or belief; learn about a constructive form of induction and the limits of deduction; assess the nature and scope of “critical thinking”; and, most generally, apply these logical concepts to our writing, thinking, and acting.
I assume as well that our primary, collaborative task is to provide an inclusive and effective environment for learning -- one that promotes careful, thoughtful, and critical thinking.
In my view, critical thinking is the educational counterpart of rationality: A critical thinker is one who appreciates (has the correct emotional and dispositional response to) and accepts the importance, the convicting force, of reasons; one who, when assessing claims, making judgments, or contemplating alternative actions, seeks reasons on which to base those assessments, judgments, and actions. {There are, of course, other, marginally different yet often compelling, interpretations of critical thinking.) We will frequently supplement our philosophical discussions with a consideration of the nature and value of teaching and learning. In fact, we may spend as much time discussing the general topics of pedagogy (theories of teaching and learning) and critical thinking as we devote to the more traditional concerns of logic.
Online Activities
In addition to assignments posted to Canvas, my blog listed above contains links to all ancillary University services, course handouts, and assignments, including a noninteractive page that lists weekly assignments for this course (“Assignments: Logic and CR”). Since I prefer to devote class-time to the exposition and analysis of student and textual positions, I typically reserve my own views for this online medium.
Class Policies and Expectations
Carefully review Handout CPE.
Cancellations. I will attempt to email the entire class to warn of any unanticipated cancellations.
Laptop Policy
Like a concert hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face interaction. Thus, barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but not use your laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones and all other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any electronic material required for class.
Examinations
There will be several exams, most likely 4, spaced roughly evenly throughout the semester. They will be modeled after the exercises of the text and designed to test your attendance and note-taking skills, basic grasp of the issues, ability to study for cumulative exams, and attention to the details of all reading assignments and problem sets.
My grading policy is, therefore, transparent and simple, based solely on the scores of your exams (See Handout CPE, “grading”).
Art and Philosophy
Spring, 2025
MWF 1-1:50
Murdoch 213
Professor:
David K. Braden-Johnson
Department:
English and Philosophy
Office: Office #109, 60 Porter Street
Office
Hours: MW 3:30-4:30; F 2-3; and by appt.
Email: d.johnson@mcla.edu
Blog: http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com
Required
Text: Aesthetics, Cahn and Meskin,
eds. (In MCLA Bookstore)
Focus of Class
This is an
introductory yet rigorous seminar in the philosophy of art (often
called “aesthetics”). In the context of a philosophical (essentially
theoretical, rather than a more narrowly historical, psychological, or
sociological, etc.) approach to the products and processes of human artistic
efforts, this course surveys and employs a variety of traditional and
contemporary concepts for describing accurately our experience, understanding,
and appreciation of all forms of art.
Our
philosophical inquiries will engage two central questions of aesthetics:
“What is art/the aesthetic -- can it be clearly defined?” and “What is the source of art’s unique
value to humans?” We will also take up several related,
domain-specific, or applied questions such as:
What are the significant connections between artists and their audiences, society, history, politics, and the so-called “art-world”? What is the nature of artistic innovation, creativity, and interpretation? How are emotions/feelings, knowledge, truth, morality, taste, beauty, experience, and interpretation related to the arts? What is the nature of modern, or conceptual, art? Is music a type of language?
Online
Activities
My blog listed
above contains links to all supporting course handouts (DKBJs Handouts) and assignments,
including a non-interactive page that lists weekly reading assignments for this
course (Assignments: Art and Philosophy). I will also
post each assignment to Canvas.
Class Policies
and Expectations
Carefully review Handout CPE
Cancellations
I will attempt
to email the entire class to warn of any unanticipated cancellations.
Laptop Policy
Like a concert
hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face interaction. Thus,
barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but not use your
laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones, IPods, and all
other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any material required
for class.
Exams
Every
two or three weeks, students will assist in composing and then complete in
class short exams covering the content of all discussions and
readings.
My grading policy is transparent and simple, based solely on the scores of your exams. (See Handout CPE,“grading”).
------------------------------------
Contemporary Moral Issues
MW 2-3:15
Murdoch 213
Professor: David K. Braden-Johnson
Department: English
& Philosophy
Office:
Office
#109, 60 Porter Street
Office
Hours: MW 3:15-4:15; F 2-3
Email: d.johnson@mcla.edu
Blog:
http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com
Required Text: Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, Cohen and Wellman, Eds., 2014
Focus
of Class
This is an
upper-division philosophy elective in applied
ethics – the self-consciously concrete and worldly application of normative
(evaluative, moral) thought and language to human affairs. We will briefly examine the nature of ethical
language and thought (so-called “meta-ethics”), the challenge of relativistic
ethics, and competing ethical principles and theories (virtue theory,
deontological and consequentialist/teleological theories, etc.) before
considering in detail a variety of moral dilemmas involving the infliction of
serious harm or death on sentient beings (humans included), such as capital
punishment, abortion, animal use/abuse, euthanasia, just war theory and pacifism, torture, paternalism and vaccination, affirmative action,, suicide, etc.
Online Activities
In
addition to assignments posted to Canvas, my blog listed above contains links to all ancillary University services, course handouts, and
assignments, including an interactive page that lists weekly assignments for
this course (“Assignments: CMI”). Since I prefer to
devote class-time to the exposition and analysis of student and textual
positions, I typically reserve my own views for this online medium.
Class
Policies and Expectations
Carefully
review Handout CPE.
Cancellations
I
will attempt to email the entire class to warn of any unanticipated
cancellations.
Laptop
Policy
Like a concert hall or theater, our classroom is reserved for face-to-face interaction. Thus, barring special needs or circumstances, you may bring but not use your laptop during class. The same policy applies to cell phones and all other distracting gadgets. Please print out in advance any electronic material required for class.
Examinations
There will be no examinations in this course.
Book Review
See Handout BR
Multi-Stage Critical Research Essay
See Handout M-SCRE
