Readings and Topics
The only text for the course is a package of photocopied readings. It is required. You can purchase the packet at Prints Copy Center, which is located at 118 Sherman Ave. It's near the corner of Lincoln Way and Duff. If you're driving east on Lincoln Way to Duff, Sherman is the last right before Duff. Another easy landmark is the McDonald's on Duff. Go into the parking lot, and the building with Prints is just north-west (the parking lots connect).
See the image for directions (click to enlarge). |
1. The "Two System" view of reason and decision-making
This first unit is an introduction to what is called the "two systems" view of human reason and decision making. This perspective is increasingly influential in psychology and behavioral economics. It has recently been popularized in a hefty book by Daniel Kahneman titled Thinking, Fast and Slow. ["Fast" refers to 'system 1', "slow" refers to 'system 2']
This framework functions as the theoretical backdrop to the growing literature on cognitive biases -- systematic ways in which our judgment and decision-making deviate from norms of rationality.
Critical thinking literacy requires that we become familiar with this theoretical backdrop, and at least a handful of the most important cognitive biases that structure our thinking. We need to understand these biases if we want to avoid falling into cognitive traps.
This framework functions as the theoretical backdrop to the growing literature on cognitive biases -- systematic ways in which our judgment and decision-making deviate from norms of rationality.
Critical thinking literacy requires that we become familiar with this theoretical backdrop, and at least a handful of the most important cognitive biases that structure our thinking. We need to understand these biases if we want to avoid falling into cognitive traps.
1. "Overview and chapter breakdown of Kahneman's Thinking, Fast and Slow"
2. Selections from Kahneman:
2. Selections from Kahneman:
- “The Law of Small Numbers”
- “Anchors”
- “The Science of Availability”
- “Availability, Emotion and Risk”
- “Tom W’s Specialty”
- “Linda: Less is More”
- “Causes Trump Statistics”
- “Regression to the Mean”
- “Taming Intuitive Predictions”
- “The Illusion of Understanding”
- “The Illusion of Validity”
- “Intuitions vs Formulas”
2. The Science of Persuasion and Influence
There is a growing literature in both the natural and the social sciences on INFLUENCE and PERSUASION - the study of the factors that determine what people believe and they make choices. Much of this research is motivated by business interests (marketing and advertising) and political interests (how to sway public opinion; how to influence public behavior to conform to policy goals).
The two reading selections illustrate research on persuasion and influence from these two perspectives, respectively.
3. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FIRST. It summarizes Cialdini's six principles that guide human behavior (specifically with respect to getting people to say "yes"). The reading below is a more in-depth discussion of ONE of these six principles.
“Scarcity: The Rule of the Few” (from Robert Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice, 2009)
4. “Choice Architecture” (from Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, 2009)
The two reading selections illustrate research on persuasion and influence from these two perspectives, respectively.
3. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FIRST. It summarizes Cialdini's six principles that guide human behavior (specifically with respect to getting people to say "yes"). The reading below is a more in-depth discussion of ONE of these six principles.
“Scarcity: The Rule of the Few” (from Robert Cialdini, Influence: Science and Practice, 2009)
4. “Choice Architecture” (from Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness, 2009)
3. Persuasion, Power and Propaganda
Persuasion can take on many forms. Under certain conditions efforts to persuade are best described as PROPAGANDA. Our first reading selections are from a book on techniques of propaganda.
In other contexts, efforts to persuade may be motivated by the goal of acquiring and maintaining POWER. The second set of readings is from an influential survey of principles for doing just that.
5. Selections from The Ten Commandments of Propaganda (Brian Patrick, 2012)
6. Selections from The 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene, 1998)
In other contexts, efforts to persuade may be motivated by the goal of acquiring and maintaining POWER. The second set of readings is from an influential survey of principles for doing just that.
5. Selections from The Ten Commandments of Propaganda (Brian Patrick, 2012)
- “Table of Contents”
- “Introduction”
- “The First Commandment: Control the Flow of Information”
- “The Second Commandment: Reflect the Values and Beliefs of the Audience”
- “The Third Commandment: Disambiguate”
- “Appendix One: Definitions of Propaganda”
6. Selections from The 48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene, 1998)
- “Table of Contents” (Summery of the 48 Laws)
- “Preface”
- “Law 27: Play on People’s Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following”
4. Basic Concepts in Logic and Argumentation
We've done a lot of psychology and social science up to this point. We covered some elements of scientific reasoning in the discussion of cognitive biases. Now we turn to some basic concepts in logic and argumentation. In almost all critical thinking courses you would see this material at the beginning, but reasons I'll elaborate upon in class I've put this at the end of our course.
7. Selections from Five Ways of Saying “Therefore” (Richard Epstein, 2002)
7. Selections from Five Ways of Saying “Therefore” (Richard Epstein, 2002)
- “Arguments”
- “Good Arguments”
- “Repairing Arguments”
- “Fallacies”
- “Induction and Deduction”
- “The Strength of an Argument”
- “Generalizations”
Appendix: Bayesian Reasoning
In our discussion of cognitive biases we looked at a few that are involved in fallacies of probabilistic reasoning. This is reasoning that violates norms of correct reasoning with probabilities. Bayes's theorem came up several times, and we saw Kahneman say that Bayesian reasoning is the right way to think about how to update our beliefs in light of new evidence. In this section we add some additional material on Bayes' theorem and Bayesian reasoning.
8. “Bayes’ Theorem” (Amir Aczel, Chance: A Guide to Gambling, Love, the Stock Market, and Just About Everything Else, 2004)
9. “Less and Less and Less Wrong” (Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail -- But Some Don’t, 2012)
10. My notes on probability theory. (Link is to a pdf). Includes the basic rules plus a set of worked problems commonly found in textbooks.
8. “Bayes’ Theorem” (Amir Aczel, Chance: A Guide to Gambling, Love, the Stock Market, and Just About Everything Else, 2004)
9. “Less and Less and Less Wrong” (Nate Silver, The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail -- But Some Don’t, 2012)
10. My notes on probability theory. (Link is to a pdf). Includes the basic rules plus a set of worked problems commonly found in textbooks.