Course Instructor Contact: roddesw@yorku.ca

Virtual office hours: Virtual office hours will be held immediately following live lectures using Zoom. Students who are unable to attend regular office hours should contact me to schedule a meeting at a different time.

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 courses that counts as a Gen-Ed Humanities credit

Technical requirements for taking the course: This course will be delivered online. You will need a stable internet connection to access the lectures, participate in online discussions and upload your work.

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%

Online Debate (group assignment). . . . . . . . . .10%

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

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

Times and locations: This course has both online and in-person components. The lectures will be delivered online, but quizzes and the final exam must be written in person. There will be six quizzes (three per term) and a final exam in April 2024. The quizzes will be written on Thursdays 11:30-2:30 and the final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office. If you take this course, please make sure that you will be able to write the quizzes and the exam in person.

This course has both online and in-person components. The lectures will be delivered online, but the quizzes and the final exam must be written in person. There will be six quizzes (three per term) and a final exam in April 2024. The quizzes will be written on Thursdays 11:30-2:30 and the final exam will be scheduled by the Registrar’s Office. If you take this course, please make sure that you will be able to write the quizzes and the exam in person.

The online lectures will be delivered live, but students are not required to attend the live lectures and recordings will always be posted on eclass. Students will be invited to participate in a poll before the start of term to determine the day/time of the live lectures. Students are encouraged to watch and participate in the live lectures, if possible, as it allows students to ask questions while the material is being covered.

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.
• 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.