Logical and Critical Thinking

The University of Auckland

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Start Date: 09 Nov, 2020
8 weeks
Study Content: Videos

Improve your logical and critical thinking skills in this free online course. Identify common obstacles to effective thinking.

Course Fee: Free

Certificate Cost: See Fees and Eligibility

Enrol Now

Introduction

Introduction Video

Course Description

This course is made available through the eLearnAfrica and FutureLearn partnership.

We are constantly being given reasons to do and believe things: to believe that we should buy a product, support a cause, accept a job, judge someone innocent or guilty, that fairness requires us to do some household chore, and so on. Assessing the reasons we are given to do or believe these things calls upon us to think critically and logically.

Improve your logical and critical thinking skills

Even though we’re called upon to use our critical and logical thinking skills all the time, most of us are not that good at it. This free online course aims to help you develop and improve these skills.

You’ll learn how to:

identify and avoid common thinking mistakes that lead to the formation of bad beliefs;

recognise, reconstruct and evaluate arguments;

use basic logical tools to analyse arguments;

and apply those tools in areas including science, moral theories and law.

Associate Professor Tim Dare and Dr Patrick Girard from the University of Auckland take us on an informative and engaging eight week journey through the worlds of logical and critical thinking helping us to avoid these common obstacles and fallacies and improve our logical and critical thinking skills.

Throughout the course, Tim and Patrick provide videos, articles, and assignments to lead us through the thickets of logical and critical thinking.

We will spend the first half of the course exploring key concepts in logical and critical thinking. In the second half of the course, we will apply those concepts in familiar areas, to help you develop practical and useful logical and critical thinking skills.

We begin, in the first week, with an introduction to logical and critical thinking and common obstacles and fallacies.

In week two Patrick introduces arguments. We learn to identify premises and conclusions – components of a good argument – and by the end of this week we’ll be able to construct an argument in standard form.

In week three we will learn how to distinguish between deductive and non-deductive arguments and about validity, invalidity, strength and weakness.

In week four we examine good and bad arguments in more detail, learning how to tell when an argument is sound or cogent, and how to evaluate an argument.

Weeks five to seven examine three familiar areas – science, law, and morality – that call upon our logical and critical thinking skills in ways appropriate to the particular demands of those areas.

Finally in week eight we will apply the lessons of the course to an argument “in the wild”, seeing how the skills we have developed over our eight-week journey can be used in our own lives.

By the end of the course, you will have acquired the basic skills to assess arguments logically and critically, and so to be in a better situation to own the reasons for your beliefs.

You can find out more in Patrick’s post for the FutureLearn blog: “What can the New Zealand flag teach us about logical and critical thinking?”

This course is open to anyone with an interest in improving their logical and critical thinking skills. No previous knowledge or experience is required.

This course is provided through eLearnAfrica’s partnership with FutureLearn.

Please note that, should you choose to purchase a Certificate of Achievement or a Statement of Participation, you will be re-directed to the FutureLearn for processing.

The following information is from the Future Learn website:

What is a Certificate of Achievement?

A Certificate of Achievement is a valuable certificate to prove what you’ve learned on your course.

Your Certificate will include your name; an outline of what you’ve learned and how long it took; the logos of the university and other organisations associated with your course. Your printed certificate will also include the lead educator’s signature.

In addition to the digital and printed certificate, you will receive a detailed transcript of what you’ve learned, how long it took and your average test score (if your course contained tests).

You can view our page about Certificates of Achievement to see what they look like.

How do I qualify for a Certificate of Achievement?

To be eligible to buy a Certificate of Achievement, you must:

complete 90% of the steps in a course (by using the “Mark as complete” button on each step),
attempt every test question in the course,
score over 70% on average across all course tests.

How do I buy a Certificate of Achievement?

If you’re taking a course, we’ll email you details of how to buy a Certificate of Achievement, once you’re eligible for one.

How much does a Certificate of Achievement cost?

The cost of the Certificate of Achievement varies depending on the course. They normally cost from £39.00 (GBP) to £59.00 (GBP) + shipping. The price shown includes a digital and printed certificate and transcript, and VAT or local sales tax. The exact price for your course will be shown within the course itself.

What if I don’t qualify to buy a Certificate of Achievement?

If you don’t qualify to buy a Certificate of Achievement because your test score does not meet the 70% pass threshold, you have a couple of options. You will still be able to purchase a Statement of Participation for the course, or you could join a later run of the course. Unfortunately it is not possible to retake tests in FutureLearn courses.

What is a Statement of Participation?

A Statement of Participation is a collectable printed and digital record that you can buy, to show that you’ve taken part in a FutureLearn course. Statements are available for the vast majority of FutureLearn courses in both digital and printed formats. You can view our page about Statements of Participation to see what they look like.

Your Statement will include your name; a short summary of the course and how long it took; the logo of the university and other organisations associated with your course. In addition, your printed certificate will also include the lead educator’s signature.

Your Statement will confirm that you’ve completed the majority of steps in a course and attempted all test questions, but it will not show your individual level of completion or your test scores.

How do I qualify for a Statement of Participation?

To be eligible to buy a Statement of Participation, you must complete over half of the steps in a course (by using the “Mark as complete” button on each step) and attempt all test questions.

How do I buy a Statement of Participation?

If you’re taking a course, we’ll email you details of how to buy a Statement of Participation, once you’re eligible for one.

To be eligible, you must complete the majority of steps in the course and attempt all test questions. You can check how close you are to being eligible on your course progress page.

How much does a Statement of Participation cost?

The cost of a Statement of Participation varies depending on the course. They cost from at £19.00 (GBP) to £34.00 (GBP) plus shipping. The price shown includes a digital and printed version, and VAT or local sales tax. The exact price for your course will be shown within the course itself.

For more information on Fees and Eligibility, please feel free to consult the Frequently Asked Questions:

If you do not find an answer to your question, you can also contact FutureLearn directly via email, at: feedback@futurelearn.com

The information provided was current as of 22 September 2016. Please visit Certificates and Statements to check for changes.

Certificate cost may vary. You will be redirected to the host page for cost and payment options.

This course is provided through eLearnAfrica’s partnership with FutureLearn. To go directly to a specific Category of Frequently Asked Questions, please feel free to click on any of the links below (you will be redirected to the FutureLearn website):

The University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university and the only one included in the Times Higher Education top 200.

Founded in 1883, it is also the highest ranked New Zealand university in the QS World University Rankings and Shanghai Jiao Tong Academic Ranking of World Universities. Some 35 percent of the top ranked academic researchers in New Zealand are at the University of Auckland.

Teaching and research is conducted over eight faculties and two large-scale research institutes. The university has a very strong Arts and Humanities programmes, the largest Science programme in New Zealand, and professional undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Architecture, Engineering, Law and Medicine.

It is the only New Zealand university invited to be a member of Universitas 21, the World Universities Network (WUN) and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, consortia of prestigious global universities. In addition, the university engages regularly with the Go8 universities in Australia. These international linkages are vital to a teaching and research University which strives to be academically excellent and to provide its staff and students with the best possible educational and career opportunities.

This institution is available on eLearnAfrica through partnership with FutureLearn.

You may be able to download course materials after enrolling in this course. If not, all of the necessary course materials provided by the course instructor will be available on the provider's course page.

COLLABORATION POLICY

By enrolling in a course on or through eLearnAfrica, you are joining a special worldwide community of learners. The aspiration of eLearnAfrica is to provide anyone with an internet connection access to courses from the best universities and institutions in the world and to provide our learners the best educational experience internet technology enables. You are a part of the community that will help eLearnAfrica achieve this goal. eLearnAfrica depends upon your motivation to learn the material and to do so with honesty and academic integrity. In order to participate in eLearnAfrica, you must agree to the Honor Code below and any additional terms specific to a class.

ELEARNAFRICA HONOR CODE PLEDGE

By enrolling in a course, program, or degree hosted on the eLearnAfrica App or Site, I agree that I will:

Complete all tests and assignments on my own, unless collaboration on an assignment is explicitly permitted.
Maintain only one user account and not let anyone else use my username and/or password.
Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve my results, or improve or hurt the results of others.
Not post answers to problems that are being used to assess student performance.
Abide by any and all requirements of the eLearnAfrica Participants as may regard the expectations of civil or academic behavior or of community standards.

VIOLATIONS

If you are found in violation of the Terms and Conditions or Honor Code, you may be subject to one or more of the following actions:

Receiving a zero or no credit for an assignment;
Having any certificate earned in the course withheld or revoked;
Being unenrolled from a course, learning program or degree program; or
Termination of your use of the App and/or Site.
Additional actions may be taken at the sole discretion of eLearnAfrica and eLearnAfrica course providers.

No refunds will be issued in the case of any corrective action for such violations.

Honor code violations will be determined at the sole discretion of eLearnAfrica, the Partners, or Members. You will be notified if a determination has been made that you have violated this honor code and you will be informed of the corresponding action to be taken as a result of the violation.

CHANGING THE HONOR CODE

Please note that we review and may make changes to this Honor Code from time to time. Any changes to this Honor Code will be effective immediately upon posting on this page, with an updated effective date. By accessing the App and/or Site after any changes have been made, you signify your agreement on a prospective basis to the modified Honor Code and any changes contained therein. Be sure to return to this page periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version of this Honor Code.

Effective Date: September 22, 2016