A goal of this class is to learn how to critically analyze philosophical arguments. This involves being able to provide clear, concise, and comprehensive accounts of the philosophical issue being addressed by an argument, the philosophical position being supported by the argument, and the philosophical reasoning used to justify the position. A clear, concise, and comprehensive philosophical analysis helps one know how to criticize a philosophical argument, how to assess its strengths and weaknesses.

To achieve this goal our class readings will be complemented by Reading Quizzes. These questions are designed to help you recognize the key philosophical themes that we'll be discussing during our class meetings.

Whenever there is a required reading, there will be both online and in-class Reading Quizzes. Our class's online schedule will remind you of each week's online Reading Quiz. It will be helpful to review each week's online Reading Quiz questions before reviewing that week's required reading. Students often find it helpful to answer the Reading Quiz questions as they review each required reading. Each class in-class Reading Quiz question will be selected from these online Reading Quiz questions; so come to class already knowing the answers to these questions. In addition each exam's multiple-choice questions will be selected from our online Reading Quiz questions; so it will be helpful to review past week's Reading Quiz questions. In fact, you are encouraged to re-take each week's online reading quiz multiple times. Doing this regularly will help you develop the philosophical literacy needed to participate in our class knowledgeably.