Professor Stefan Rodde

roddesw@yorku.ca

Virtual office hours: Virtual office hours will be held immediately following lectures (Tuesdays at around 5:00) using Zoom.

Virtually every human being uses arguments because virtually every human being discusses claims with the aim of defending their own positions and attacking those of others. The ability to detect bad arguments and to construct good ones is a skill which can be developed methodically. Through an examination of popular and scholarly articles, online media, film, and other sources, students will acquire the conceptual tools to recognize, evaluate, formulate and attack arguments in their written, oral and group work.

This course focuses on moral reasoning and students will have the opportunity to apply their skills in discussions about substantive moral issues. But many of the skills needed to construct good moral arguments are broadly applicable, and students will gain some familiarity with other types of reasoning, such as that which we find in political discourse and in the social sciences.

This is a General Education course that counts as a Humanities Gen-Ed credit

Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be delivered fully online. You will need a stable internet connection to access the lectures, participate in online discussions and upload your work. You will also need a computer with a microphone. A webcam is desirable but not required.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

To determine Internet connection and speed, there are online tests, such as Speedtest, that can be run.]

Govier, Trudy. A Practical Study of Argument, 7th edition. Belmont: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2010.

OR

Govier, Trudy. A Practical Study of Argument, Enhanced 7^th edition. Belmont: Thomson-Wadsworth, 2013.

The e-book version of these texts is also acceptable. Please note that in the past some students were able to find this text online

Links to additional readings will be posted on Moodle

Quizzes (Best 5 out of 6). . . . . . . . . . 20%

Homework (20) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10%

Assignments (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%

Dialectical Essay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20%

Debate Essay (group assignment). . .15%

Final Exam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15%

Times and locations: This course depends on remote teaching and learning. There will be no in-person interactions or activities on campus. The online lectures will be delivered live (synchronously) on Tuesdays 2:30-5:30 (though we will rarely go the full three hours), and a recording of the lectures will be posted on moodle for students who are unavailable during class time.

Organization of the course

This course has both synchronous (live) and asynchronous elements. Most of the coursework can be completed on your own time. However, there will be six online quizzes written during class, and an online  final exam in April. Each quiz will take about an hour to complete, and will typically be written at the beginning of class. The final exam will also be online and will be scheduled by the Registrar

Students are strongly encouraged to watch and participate in the lectures synchronously (live) as it allows students to ask questions while the material is being covered. The live lectures will also have online group activities which may result in small bonus marks on quizzes (bonus marks are only available to students who participate synchronously). However, students are only required to participate synchronously for the quizzes and the exam.

This course has two main objectives. The first is to develop skills, including:

• The ability to critically evaluate what you read and hear
• The ability to present your position in a clear, concise and persuasive manner, both orally and in your written work
• The ability to engage in civil discourse with others, including those who disagree with your views

The second is to establish a good foundation for moral reasoning. Students will become familiar with:

• The types of arguments that are most frequently encountered in moral discourse such as analogical, conductive and syllogistic reasoning
• The theoretical framework for constructing moral arguments, including consequentialist and principle-based reasoning, as well as virtue-based and non-traditional approaches to moral discourse

• This is a General Education course that counts as a Humanities Gen-Ed credit.
• There are three Modes of Reasoning courses: MODR 1730 (Reasoning in the Social Sciences), MODR 1760 (Reasoning about Morality and Values) and MODR 1770 (Techniques of Persuasion). You may NOT take more than one MODR course.
• A late penalty of 3%/day will be given for late assignments or essays. Homework is taken up in class and so it will not be accepted after the deadline.
• Students may not duplicate, copy and/or distribute recordings of the lectures without the instructor’s permission. These recordings are protected by copyright laws, and the university may take disciplinary or legal action against students who violate copyright.