Fall, 2026 Syllabi (scroll down to desired syllabus)

 (Note: All syllabi are considered living documents; as such, they remain subject to change.)

Logic & Critical Reasoning

Fall, 2026

MWF 10 and 11 (FSEM)

Bowman 204 & 201

Professor: Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson 

Department: English & Philosophy

Office: 60 Porter Street, Office #109 

Office Hours: MWF 3:15-4:15 

Email:  d.johnson@mcla.edu

Blog: http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com

 

Online Texts:

Matthew Van Cleeve, Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking - Open Textbook Library

Patrick Hurley, “Fallacies” 

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/evidence 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 and improvisational 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 (see also my extended description of “good students” in handout CPE). 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

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”).

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 4-5, 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”). 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Social and Political Philosophy: Liberalism, Capitalism, Socialism

Fall, 2026

MWF 1

Bowman 204

Professor: Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson 

Department: English & Philosophy

Office: 60 Porter Street, Office #109 

Office Hours: MWF 3:15-4:15

Email:  d.johnson@mcla.edu

Blog: http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com

Text: Sehon, Socialism: A Logical Introduction

Preliminary Online Texts:

SEP entries on "Liberalism," "Capitalism," and "Socialism"  

Focus of Course

This seminar involves the application of ethical principles to the collective organization of individuals, in an attempt to adjudicate philosophical disputes related to justice, fairness, human rights, equality, and effective governance. Basic questions involve the proper relationship between individuals and the government, the just distribution of resources, and the comparative merit of various forms of political-economic organization.

Online Activities

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: S&P").

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 

------------------------------------------

Philosophy of Music

Fall, 2026

MWF 2

Murdoch 213

Professor: Dr. David K. Braden-Johnson 

Department: English & Philosophy

Office: 60 Porter Street, Office #109 

Office Hours: MWF 3:15-4:15 

Email:  d.johnson@mcla.edu

Blog: http://www.critojazz.blogspot.com

Online Text:

Gracyk & Kania, Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Music

Focus of Course

This seminar addresses two central questions in the philosophy of music: “What is music?” and “What is the meaning/value/significance of a musical work?”  We consider both traditional and contemporary accounts of music’s status and significance, suggesting variously that music has a special connection to emotion or other cognitive states; that it is a kind of language; that it depicts or reflects some part of the world; and that it has an enduring ontological or moral status.

Online Activities

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: POM”).

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 

----------------------------------------------------------------