A six-week crash course designed to arm you with the tools to dismantle weak logic, spot misinformation, and sharpen your reasoning skills.
A six-week crash course designed to arm you with the tools to dismantle weak logic, spot misinformation, and sharpen your reasoning skills.
Every day we're bombarded with endless information, clickbait headlines, and opinions disguised as facts. Most people simply take it at face value, but you won't. This course will equip you with practical tools to evaluate arguments, identify weak reasoning, recognise hidden agendas, and think more critically about the world around you.
Through real-world examples, lively discussions, and hands-on exercises, you'll strengthen your analytical thinking and learn to confidently assess complex ideas. Whether you're looking to advance your career or simply enjoy lifelong learning, this course will help you become a more thoughtful and informed decision-maker.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course, you'll be able to:
- Construct and recognise valid, strong, and analogical arguments, as well as inferences to the best explanation.
- Identify and avoid logical fallacies, cognitive biases, unsupported assumptions, persuasive rhetoric, reasoning gaps, irrelevant premises, and conspiracy thinking.
Course outline
Session 1: Constructing arguments: elements of an argument.
Session 2: Constructing arguments: validity and truth, logical fallacies, heuristics, and bias.
Session 3: Logical fallacies continued.
Session 4: Rhetoric: techniques of persuasion, logic, and emotion.
Session 5: Theories and inference to the best explanation.
Session 6: Evaluating arguments.
Who should attend?
Anyone who wants to sharpen their critical thinking, strengthen their reasoning skills, and become a more analytical thinker.
About your tutor, Natasha
Natasha is a Philosophy graduate and a GTA at the University of Auckland. She believes critical thinking is one of the most valuable skills we can develop. Better analytical thinking leads to better decision-making, while understanding common reasoning errors helps us avoid being misled. Although these skills are essential in everyday life, they are rarely taught outside a university setting.
Information and logo sourced from the Selwyn Community Education website.
