| School/Faculty/Institute | Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences | |||||
| Course Code | PHIL 213 | |||||
| Course Title in English | Critical Thinking | |||||
| Course Title in Turkish | Eleştirel Düşünce | |||||
| Language of Instruction | EN | |||||
| Type of Course | Flipped Classroom | |||||
| Level of Course | Introductory | |||||
| Semester | Spring | |||||
| Contact Hours per Week |
|
|||||
| Estimated Student Workload | 137 hours per semester | |||||
| Number of Credits | 5 ECTS | |||||
| Grading Mode | Standard Letter Grade | |||||
| Pre-requisites | None | |||||
| Co-requisites | None | |||||
| Expected Prior Knowledge | None | |||||
| Registration Restrictions | Only Undergraduate Students | |||||
| Overall Educational Objective | To be able to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of reasoning in arguments. | |||||
| Course Description | This course aims at clarifying students’ thinking patterns; making them aware of common fallacies and helping them detect poor reasoning and construct stronger arguments. After a brief introduction to the nature of critical thinking and analyzing arguments, the bulk of the course is devoted to analyzing fallacies. Towards the end of the course, we look into the differences between ethical, religious, aesthetic, legal, scientific and pseudo-scientific reasoning. |
Course Learning Outcomes and CompetencesUpon successful completion of the course, the learner is expected to be able to:1) Identify fallacies 2) Distinguish strong (valid) reasoning from poor (invalid) reasoning 3) Separate argument from demagogy 4) Analyze the differences between moral, religious, scientific and pseudo-scientific reasoning 5) Construct stronger arguments 6) Defend arguments more efficiently |
| Program Learning Outcomes/Course Learning Outcomes | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Has a broad foundation and intellectual awareness with exposure to mathematics, history, economics, and social sciences | ||||||
| 2) Demonstrates knowledge and skills in different functional areas of business (accounting, finance, operations, marketing, strategy, and organization) and an understanding of their interactions within various industry sectors | ||||||
| 3) Applies theoretical knowledge as well as creative, analytical, and critical thinking to manage complex technical or professional activities or projects | ||||||
| 4) Exhibits an understanding of global, environmental, economic, legal, and regulatory contexts for business sustainability | ||||||
| 5) Demonstrates individual and professional ethical behavior and social responsibility | ||||||
| 6) Demonstrates responsiveness to ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity values and issues | ||||||
| 7) Uses written and spoken English effectively (at least CEFR B2 level) to communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions | ||||||
| 8) Demonstrates skills in data and information acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and reporting | ||||||
| 9) Displays computer proficiency to support problem solving and decision-making | ||||||
| 10) Demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills | ||||||
| 11) Displays learning skills necessary for further study with a high degree of autonomy |
| N None | S Supportive | H Highly Related |
| Program Outcomes and Competences | Level | Assessed by | |
| 1) | Has a broad foundation and intellectual awareness with exposure to mathematics, history, economics, and social sciences | H | Participation,HW,Presentation |
| 2) | Demonstrates knowledge and skills in different functional areas of business (accounting, finance, operations, marketing, strategy, and organization) and an understanding of their interactions within various industry sectors | N | |
| 3) | Applies theoretical knowledge as well as creative, analytical, and critical thinking to manage complex technical or professional activities or projects | S | Participation,HW |
| 4) | Exhibits an understanding of global, environmental, economic, legal, and regulatory contexts for business sustainability | N | |
| 5) | Demonstrates individual and professional ethical behavior and social responsibility | N | |
| 6) | Demonstrates responsiveness to ethnic, cultural, and gender diversity values and issues | N | |
| 7) | Uses written and spoken English effectively (at least CEFR B2 level) to communicate information, ideas, problems, and solutions | N | |
| 8) | Demonstrates skills in data and information acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and reporting | S | Participation,HW,Presentation |
| 9) | Displays computer proficiency to support problem solving and decision-making | N | |
| 10) | Demonstrates teamwork, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills | N | |
| 11) | Displays learning skills necessary for further study with a high degree of autonomy | N |
| Prepared by and Date | BAŞAK KEKİ , November 2024 |
| Course Coordinator | SENA CÜRE ACER |
| Semester | Spring |
| Name of Instructor |
| Week | Subject |
| 1) | Introduction to the course |
| 2) | Introduction to critical thinking |
| 3) | Making sense of arguments |
| 4) | Persuasion through rhetoric |
| 5) | Psychological fallacies |
| 6) | Fallacies of relevance and defective induction |
| 7) | Fallacies of presumption and ambiguity |
| 8) | Midterm |
| 9) | Causal Explanation |
| 10) | Irrational tendencies: egocentrism and sociocentrism |
| 11) | Religious reasoning |
| 12) | Moral, legal and aesthetic reasoning |
| 13) | Science and pseudo-science |
| 14) | Thinking critically about media |
| 15) | Final Examination Period |
| 16) | Final Examination Period |
| Required/Recommended Readings | The coursepack will include excerpts from the following: Bassham, Gregory & William Irwin & Henry Nardone & James M. Wallace. Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2013). Burns, Elizabeth and Stephen Law. Philosophy for AS and A2, (London: Routledge, 2004). Cohen, Carl & Irving M. Copi. Introduction to Logic, (New Jersey: Pearson, 2005). Elder, Linda & Richard Paul. Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life, (New Jersey: Pearson, 2014). Moore, Brooke Noel & Richard Parker. Critical Thinking, (New York: McGraw Hill, 2012). | ||||||
| Teaching Methods | Flipped Learning technology – Perusall (texts will be uploaded pre-class with questions) -, in-class discussions and exercises, presentation, exam, paper | ||||||
| Homework and Projects | Weekly Homework (questions on Perusall texts), paper, presentation | ||||||
| Laboratory Work | None | ||||||
| Computer Use | None | ||||||
| Other Activities | None | ||||||
| Assessment Methods |
|
||||||
| Course Administration |
acers@mef.edu.tr None kekib@mef.edu.tr In accordance with YÖK regulations, 70% attendance is mandatory. Attendance and active participation are required. There would be no late presentations and make-up exams unless a medical report was provided. Late submission of paper allowed with score reduction. MEF university values academic integrity. Therefore, all students must understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other academic offenses under the code of student conduct and disciplinary procedures. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism: Law on Higher Education Art. 54. |
||||||
| Activity | No/Weeks | Hours | Calculation | ||||
| No/Weeks per Semester | Preparing for the Activity | Spent in the Activity Itself | Completing the Activity Requirements | ||||
| Course Hours | 14 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 98 | ||
| Presentations / Seminar | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | |||
| Homework Assignments | 12 | 1 | 12 | ||||
| Midterm(s) | 1 | 8 | 2 | 10 | |||
| Final Examination | 1 | 10 | 2 | 12 | |||
| Total Workload | 137 | ||||||
| Total Workload/25 | 5.5 | ||||||
| ECTS | 5 | ||||||