Course Instructor Contact: roddesw@yorku.ca

Office hours: In-person office hours will be held immediately following class in Ross S417. I can also meet students online if they are not available after class.

Virtually every human being uses arguments because virtually every human being discusses claims with the aim of defending their own positions and critiquing 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 criticize 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 in-person. You will need an internet connection to upload homework and assignments.

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. Links to additional readings will be posted on eclass

Quizzes (Best 5 out of 6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%

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

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

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

In-Class Debate (group assignment) . . . . . . . .10%

Debate Revision Paper (group assignment). . .10%

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

Times and locations: This course will be delivered in-person. The lectures are on Tuesdays 2:30-5:30 (though we will rarely go the full three hours) in HNE 034 (Health, Nursing and Environmental Studies Building).

The lectures in this course will be delivered in person, and the quizzes, and the debates will be completed in class. There will also be in-class group activities which may result in small bonus marks. Other assignments will be completed on your time. The final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar.

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 2%/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.