Critical Reasoning and Logic

Course Description

In science, thinking clearly and seeing the logical relationships between ideas is as important as experiments and data. Nevertheless, the logical basics of correct reasoning are not part of the curricula for most university degrees. In this course we introduce basic concepts of logic such as validity and soundness and the distinction between inductive and deductive reasoning. The idea of the course is to use these concepts as a toolbox for various aspects of scientific work. Participants learn techniques that help them identify strengths and weaknesses in arguments, structure texts optimally, and to state arguments clearly and precisely. During the course we apply the contents directly to the participants' research topics, for example in that we help them formulate precise research questions, explain the relevance of their research, and develop a clear argument structure for their texts or presentations.

Contents
? basic concepts of logic and argumentation theory
? deductive vs. inductive reasoning
? the logical structure of scientific texts and talks
? common types of fallacies
? tips and exercises for oral argumentation
Objectives The participants...
? learn to quickly identify strengths and weaknesses of arguments
? learn to build valid and sound arguments
? learn to break-down arguments into their logical structure
? train analytical thinking

Methods
The methods are interactive throughout. The course includes extensive
exercises that help the participants to apply the contents to their
individual research projects.