CRITICAL THINKING AND INNOVATION

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Overview

Thinking and reasoning are essential components of human life. But much of our thinking and reasoning is biased, distorted, and uninformed. This subject trains you to reason well, to think clearly and independently, and also to engage fairly with others in discussions and debates. You will develop useful skills in presenting, analysing and evaluating different types of arguments. You will learn to apply these skills to real cases from popular culture, current affairs, and philosophy. You will also learn to use diagrams and symbols to assist higher and more abstract levels of logical reasoning and systematic thinking. Because the ability to think and to argue clearly and fairly is central not just to philosophy but to university studies in general, many students find the experience gained in this subject immensely valuable, both within the university and later in employment whatever their subsequent areas of specialization.

Portfolio

Office of the Provost

School

Subject coordinator

Jake Chandler

Subject type

Undergraduate

Year level

Year Level 1 - UG

AQF level

Level 5 - Diploma

Available as elective

Yes

Available to study abroad / exchange students

Yes

Capstone subject
Capstones provide students with a way of integrating and applying knowledge and skills gained throughout their course.

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Subject instances

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Career ready

Work based learning (placement):No

Graduate capabilities

COMMUNICATION - Communicating and Influencing

COMMUNICATION - Cultural Intelligence and Global Perspective

DISCIPLINE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS - Creativity and Innovation

INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS - Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

INQUIRY AND ANALYSIS - Research and Evidence-Based Inquiry

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL - Adaptability and Self-Management

Subject intended learning outcomes

On successful completion you will be able to:

Analyse and evaluate arguments pertaining to a wide variety of topics and drawn from a wide range of sources (e.g., books, newspapers, podcasts, videos)

Produce clear, precise and well-informed writings that analyse, critique, and develop arguments on a wide variety of topics

Demonstrate an understanding of elementary technical concepts pertaining to argumentation, including deductive soundness and inductive strength

Represent complex arguments in visual form, using argument diagramming technicques

Learning activities

Online lectures/readings/audios/videos, regular short quizzes, online discussions, short essays, written feedback from teachers.

Handbook