So, what are we learning here? Well, this is a class about "arguments." Next week you'll be learning what we mean by that. But, for now, I'll say we don't mean anything like "fight" or "debate" or even "dispute." As you'll learn next week, there's another use of the word.

This is a skills class. That is, in the end, you're learning skills. Don't get me wrong, you will memorize some information. Most weeks, you'll learn the definition for a list of terms. But, that's not the goal. The goal will be to apply that knowledge to examples in ways that demonstrate skills. Over the semester, you'll fine-tune your ability to recognize, analyze, and especially evaluate arguments. Yes, we'll learn what those terms mean. But, more importantly, we'll be fine-tuning our ability to do those things: recognize, analyze, and evaluate arguments.

After this week, every single quiz question and every single exam question will ask you to demonstrate a skill. Over the course of the semester, you'll be given an example of an argument and asked to identify its conclusion and premise(s); you'll be asked what type of argument it is, and you'll be asked if its premise makes any mistakes. Yes, we'll be learning what these terms mean. More importantly, we'll be applying that knowledge to examples. We'll be fine-tuning those skills.

The course's goal is to fine-tune one's ability to recognize the difference between good reasoning and poor reasoning. By this we won't mean "Did the argument persuade anyone?" Poor arguments often persuade people. No, in the end, the course will help each of you answer the question, "SHOULD I be persuaded by this argument?" Toward that end, we'll fine-tune our ability to recognize when arguments are clear and when they're unclear, when they're relevant and when they irrelevant, when they provide sufficient evidence and when they don't. Yes, we'll learn what those terms mean. But, ultimately, we'll be fine-tuning those skills.

This week is step one. Become familiar with the syllabus and the web site. This week's quiz will be the only time a quiz asks you to do anything other than demonstrate a Critical Thinking skill. It asks you questions about the syllabus and web site. It's important to understand that stuff before trying to do the course. This week we'll also read the introduction to the textbook. It elaborates on the themes I've highlighted here. It discusses what it means to think critically: which is the goal of our class.

You've probably already read that chapter. I recommend you read it again. While you're at it, read this again. Reflect on their themes. Maybe return to them in future weeks as we focus on specific skills. As you fine-tune those skills, you'll likely better understand what we mean when we say that, in this class, we're fine-tuning our ability to think critically.

Michael