Philosophy 210:
Practical Argumentation
Welcome to the course home page for PHIL 210, Practical Argumentation!
Course Description:
An Introduction to the nature of scientific reasoning and the application of inductive and critical thinking skills and discourse to claims regarding folk theories, evolution, and other controversial issues. Topics will include creationism and evolution, medical quackery (psychic surgery, iridology, etc.), UFO abductions, parapsychology, etc. These issues will be critically evaluated in light of inductive logic and fundamental aspects of scientific inquiry. NO PREREQUISITES.
Taught by Dr. Keith Korcz.
Spring 2019:
time: MWF 10:00 - 10:50
place: HLG 502
Section 001
About The Class
1. You can see how previous students evaluated this course here. (NOTE: You'll need to click on the "Back" button of your browser to return to this page.)
2. See the syllabus for the course.
3. See my How to Survive Your First Philosophy Class pages for all kinds of helpful advice.
For Further Exploration
1. See if you can figure out the ESP test mentioned in class!
2. See my Links to the Unusual page!
3. For fun, check out some brief videos about some of the issues we'll discuss in class.
4. Some Further Reading related to some of the course topics.
5. See how studying philosophy can enhance your education and your career!
6. See my home page for links to all kinds of stuff.
Some Practice Exercises
1. Here are some practice exercises, with answers, to help you identify arguments.
2. Here are some practice exercises, with answers, to help you identify instances of confirmation bias, the availability error and the representativeness heuristic.
3. Here are some practice exercises, with answers, to help you understand validity.
4. Here are some practice exercises, with answers, to help you learn how to apply the rules of probability discussed in class.
5. Here is some extra practice identifying informal fallacies (answers included).
6. Here is an example of how to do an Appeal to Experts assignment.
If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at keithk@louisiana.edu.
