PHIL-1341 Tools for Reasoning

Reasoning is the process of using the evidence available to us in order to make informed decisions about what to believe and do. Good reasoning requires the ability to identify and assess deductive arguments; to formulate hypotheses, test them, and choose those that are best supported by the evidence; and to assess which courses of action are most reasonable given our beliefs and values. This class will introduce a number of tools that are useful for reasoning, including deductive logic, probability and statistics, and decision theory. The course will also consider problem-solving techniques and ways of evaluating the credibility of sources.