Treats major issues of knowledge, ethics, society, mind and body, freedom and religion. Does not meet requirements for the major. Introduction to the principles and practice of critical thinking as it occurs in a variety of social settings. Emphasis is placed on sound methods of fixing belief and determining values. Introduction to the fundamental principles of sound deductive and inductive reasoning.
Emphasis is placed on the application of the principles of inference to arguments of various sorts.
Sophomore standing Credit for enrollment in approved study abroad programs. Methods of natural deduction and semantic analysis are employed. Topics covered include formal proof techniques, admissibility proofs, expressive completeness, semantic tableaux, free logic and properties of relations. 3 credits An examination of major social and political theorists since the 17th century. Approximately ten thinkers are studied.