Critical Reasoning and Logic ONLINE

Aims

The participants...
• state arguments clearly and precisely
• quickly identify strengths and weaknesses of arguments
• structure texts and presentations optimally
• train analytical thinking

Content

In science, thinking clearly and seeing the logical relationships between ideas is as important as are experiments and data. Nevertheless, the logical basics of correct reasoning are not part of the curricula for most university degrees. In this course we introduce basic concepts of logic such as validity and soundness and the distinction between inductive and deductive reasoning. The idea of the course is to use these concepts as a toolbox for various aspects of scientific work. Participants get to know techniques that help them identify strengths and weaknesses in arguments, structure texts optimally, and to state arguments clearly and precisely.

Contents:
• basic concepts of logic (validity and soundness of arguments etc.)
• inductive and deductive arguments
• fallacies
• the logical structure of scientific texts
• how to write a good introduction
• tips and exercises for oral argumentation

Methods

The methods are interactive throughout. The course provides extensive exercises that aim at the application of the acquired skills to the participants’ individual fields of work.

Target Group

All Doctoral Candidates & Postdocs

About the Trainer

Dr. Malte Engel studied philosophy, psychology and English. In 2010 he finished his PhD at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain with a thesis on “Cognitive Capacities as a Basis of Moral Responsibility”. Since 2012 he teaches courses on critical reasoning and logic and related topics. In 2013 he founded the Institute of Competence in Argumentation.

Workload

12 hours (course attendance 2x 6 hours)

Participants also get the chance to schedule an individual meeting with the trainer to discuss a text and/or exercises from the course.

Feature

Once registration is open, applications will be collected for 24 hours and course places allocated by lot. All registrations received after the initial 24h period will be put on a waiting list and assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Course places/places on the waiting list will be confirmed by e-mail. Course registrations can only be canceled before the registration period ends (send an e-mail to grace@unibas.ch). Full course attendance is mandatory. Participants who fail to attend a course without prior notification or withdraw after the registration deadline are subject to a fee of CHF 30. In addition, participants who cancel their course registration at a later point in time, are absent without an excuse or do not attend the entire course will, for reasons of fairness, not be considered for course registration in the following semester and will be removed from other courses offered in the same semester. Please find the detailed regulations on the Transferable Skills Homepage.