FYSM 250 - Fallacies for Fun and Profit

Institution:

Trinity College

Subject:

Description:

"It ain't so much the things we don't know that get us into trouble. It's the things we know that just ain't so." Artemus Ward (1834-1867) A fallacy may be defined as an error in reasoning with potentially strong psychological appeal. It may occur accidentally or as a deliberate choice. The subject of this seminar is informal logic, in both verbal and quantitative settings. What is an argument Where would I find one How is a deductive argument different from an inductive one What characteristics do I look for in a good argument How can I identify a fallacy Besides an informal logic text, students will read selections from popular books like How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallacy of Human Reasoning in Everyday Life and Selling It: the incredible shrinking package and other marvels of modern marketing. Each student will also read a daily newspaper and occasional magazines of his/her choice in order to find examples of arguments and fallacies. Besides class discussions, reading, and written reports, students will prepare a final cumulative project, which will be an annotated scrapbook summary of the co 1.00 units, Seminar

Credits:

1.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.Trincoll.edu

Phone Number:

(860) 297-2000

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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