• Reason and Argument, Richard Feldman,  Prentice Hall

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Whenever we are wondering about what's right or wrong, what's true or false, what's to be believed or not, we are reasoning–using that capacity that is indispensable in our quest for knowledge. Unfortunately, few of us reasons as well as we could and should. As a result, we are often the victims of others who would have us believe what they want in order to persuade us to act their way, buy their product, support their candidate, or adopt their point of view. Fortunately, while we cannot avoid the use of reason we can improve the capacity that we have through practice and instruction. Studying logic is one of the best ways of sharpening our reasoning and arguing skills. 
Logic is the systematic study of differences between good and bad reasoning. Philosophy 001 is a course in applied logic. It is devoted to developing the sense of logic that all of us have, and applying it to such important and practical matters as ethical, scientific and legal issues. 
 
Taking this course should do several things for you: 

• It should make you a better reader and listener. It will help you to see what is being said in a textbook, letter to the editor, or campus lecture. Just as important, it will help you to see what other claims are implied by the ones the author, correspondent or lecturer makes. 
• It should make you a more effective writer and speaker, better equipped to say exactly what you intend, and less prone to being saddled with claims that you have no desire (and no need) to defend. As a result, your term papers, projects, etc., should be better organized and move more straightforwardly towards conclusions that are well supported and reasonably defended. 
• More importantly, it should improve your ability to analyze and evaluate arguments. Anything that you can think about or study is something you can reason and argue about. That's what guarantees the applicability of this course to your particular field(s) of interest. 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

• Assignments—10% 
• First Midterm—20%
• Second Midterm—30%
• Final Exam—40% 

Note: Philosophy 001 has no prerequisites.
Note: Philosophy 001 may be applied towards the Certificate in Liberal Arts