PHIL/PSYC 2100 - Critical Thinking
Journal
Objective
The journal is meant to apply the concepts and tools learned in class to real life. Keep in mind that I am not merely looking for a crisp and accurate analysis, but that I will also be looking for creativity and originality in your choice of passages and in your use of critical thinking tools. So have some fun with this, and make sure to challenge yourself: try to apply your skills to areas you are unfamiliar with, or maybe just a little bit all too familiar. Try it on something that isn't your standard letter to the editor (although those are always very good sources!). Try it on your own beliefs and arguments. Try it on what the book writes. Try it on what the instructor said in class. Etc.
It is important to treat the journal as a show-off of what you learned in class, rather than as a bunch of little problems or exercises that you do in order to find-some-answer-the-instructor-is-looking-for and-thereby-receive-a-'check'-mark. Indeed, it is crucial to make this journal your own: this is you, practicing your critical thinking skills, for your benefit. Please don't see this journal (or, for that matter, this whole course!) as some kind of hoop you have to jump through on your way to your college diploma, after which life really begins. No, critical thinking is the real deal: I can't think of any more useful and valuable tool that you can use to improve the world around you! So, put some effort into this. This is your practice run, and hopefully you'll learn from the falls, scrapes, and bruises you may get. But you do all this for yourself, not for me!
During various points in the semester I'll ask you to collect examples from real-life that relate to certain material we talked about in class, and analyze them in your journal using the specific tools I will indicate. Paste your entries onto paper, using one piece of paper for each separate entry! Use a wide variety of sources: newspapers, magazines, books, internet, radio, television, or personal conversations you had or overheard. A good place to look for arguments is the Opinion/Editorial/Perspective sections of newspapers or magazines and of course online discussions boards or comment sections. You can use up to 2 printed advertisements and up to 2 personal conversations. Also, try and pick material that is 'relevant', i.e. something that is on the public radar screen, a hot-button political issue, or of local or personal importance. Also, all material should be recent: not more than 2 months old! Finally, for each of these entries, state the source of the passage (For newspapers or magazines: title and date. For webpages: URL address and date (sometimes part of URL).
Entries without a source will not count!