Question #3

One concept from throughout the semester that can use further discussion are fallacies. I learned that many arguments are bad because they require or use for repair false or dubious premise. I also learned that the argument is a fallacy only if the premise is dubious and no other premises support the conclusion. During one of the tests on fallacies, the examples were very confusing when you had to decide if it was “drawing the line”, “false dilemma”, “slippery slope”, or “bad appeal to authority”. There were a lot of other terms as well, but it became very confusing and hard to understand. On top of the fallacies, violating the principle of rational discussion was also a bit difficult to understand. There are slanters, ridicule, strawman and other terms you had to take into consideration as well. Overall, this information was just very overwhelming and I thought could use more explanation and help.

Question #2

1)   Critical thinking is extremely important because it is evaluating whether we should be convinced that some claim is true or some argument is good, as well as formulating good arguments. My favorite thing about this class was being able to learn about all of the different types of material when it comes to critical thinking. There are many ways to prove a certain argument, but there are also many ways that an argument can fail. I enjoyed learning about anologies as well. Reasoning by analogy taught me to compare one side of the conclusion. My least favorite thing about the class were all of the tests. The homework was easy to complete and understand, but the tests were extremely hard and I did not always do too great on them. They had a lot of trick questions and the examples were difficult as well. Even though it was open note and open book, I feel that the tests could be a little easier in order to improve the class.

Question #1

1)   This course has been extremely helpful and has enhanced my critical thinking skills in many ways. The most important thing that I learned throughout this semester was how to dissect an argument and determine whether or not the argument is strong or valid. It is important to know whether or not the reader is convinced of the subject and what makes a claim. I learned that a claim is a declaritive sentence used in such a way that it is either true or false (but not both). Claims are very important because it is either someone trying to convince you, you trying to convince someone else, or you trying to convince your own self. I also learned about arguments and the different types of arguments as well. The conclusion should always follow the premise in order to have a strong or valid argument. I also learned about the criteria for accepting and rejecting claims as well from personal experience and other sources. Overall, I learned a lot of useful information that I can use in the future and in my everyday life!