Students

PHIL1037 – Critical Thinking

2024 – Session 3, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Jennifer Duke-Yonge
jennifer.duke-yonge@mq.edu.au
By arrangement
Contact details for other staff will be available in iLearn
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit aims to teach the fundamentals of critical thinking and reasoning. Students learn how to construct, analyse and critically evaluate arguments; how to detect common fallacies in reasoning; and how to think logically and creatively. We teach these skills by developing practical techniques for the evaluation of reasoning, and applying them to arguments from business, law, science, politics, philosophy and the media. Critical thinking skills are invaluable across all disciplines, and will benefit students in academic contexts and in life beyond university.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Recognise the structure of arguments, and represent that structure in a clear standardised form.
  • ULO2: Differentiate between types of reasoning and the methods of evaluation appropriate to each.
  • ULO3: Appraise the arguments of others and represent them in a clear and standardised form.
  • ULO4: Construct well-reasoned arguments of your own.
  • ULO5: Apply the skills of critical analysis to arguments from a variety of contexts and disciplines.

General Assessment Information

Detailed assessment information and rubrics

Detailed information about each of the assessments, including rubrics and submission instructions will be available in the Assessment block in  iLearn. Please make sure you read the assessment information carefully, watch the Guide to Assessment video, and post a message in the relevant Assessment forum if you have any questions. 

Special Consideration

Requests for extensions should be submitted via a Special Consideration request, which is available in the http://ask.mq.edu.au portal. Your request should be submitted no later than five days after the due date and should be accompanied by appropriate documentation. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration for further details and instructions. Read this information closely as your request may be turned down if you have not followed procedure, or if you have not submitted a request in a timely manner. The Macquarie University Special Consideration Policy can be found at the end of this document. Please keep working on your assignments and submit as soon as you can, particularly if you are applying for Special Consideration over the mid-semester break while the University is closed. 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.    

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic. 

The Peer Review and Online Engagement tasks cannot be completed late without Special Consideration.

 

Academic Integrity

In Philosophy, academic honesty is taken very seriously, and a range of methods, including but not restricted to the use of Turnitin, are used to detect plagiarism. Misrepresenting someone else's work as your own may be grounds for referral to the Faculty Disciplinary Committee. If you have questions about how to properly cite work or how to credit sources, please ask the convenor for help and see also the  Academic Integrity Policy https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-integrity

Note: All assignments in this unit are individual assignments. Collusion (unauthorised collaboration on individual assignments) is a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy. This includes sharing or making use of shared assignments, in person or online, including through file-sharing websites.  If in doubt, contact a member of teaching staff. 

A helpful resource if you would like to know more about referencing and avoiding plagiarism is  Macquarie's Academic Integrity Module, available here: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills-development. You will need to complete this Module before accessing the unit content, if you have not already done so. More information is available in iLearn. 

 

Policy on the use of ChatGTP and other Generative AI tools

See iLearn for the unit's policy on Generative AI. This will also be discussed in lectures. If you uncertain, please contact a member of staff. The short answer is you may not use it for assignments. There are good reasons for this, which will be discussed in lectures

 

Academic Writing and Study Support

Macquarie University offers a number of services to help with academic writing, referencing and study skills. For details, see: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/skills/assignments

For information about policies related to Assessment, see Policies and Procedures section below.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online Engagement 15% No 11.55pm, Sun 5/1 (Topics 1-6); Wed 22/1 (Topics 7-12)
Standardisation task 25% No 11.55pm, Monday 23/12
Peer Review 20% No 11.55pm Sunday 12/1
Final Scenario Report 40% No 11.55pm, Monday 20/1

Online Engagement

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 11.55pm, Sun 5/1 (Topics 1-6); Wed 22/1 (Topics 7-12)
Weighting: 15%

 

Students will review their understanding of particular topics by participating in short online “self assessment” and engagement tasks.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the structure of arguments, and represent that structure in a clear standardised form.
  • Differentiate between types of reasoning and the methods of evaluation appropriate to each.
  • Appraise the arguments of others and represent them in a clear and standardised form.
  • Construct well-reasoned arguments of your own.
  • Apply the skills of critical analysis to arguments from a variety of contexts and disciplines.

Standardisation task

Assessment Type 1: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 11.55pm, Monday 23/12
Weighting: 25%

 

Argument standardisation exercise

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the structure of arguments, and represent that structure in a clear standardised form.
  • Appraise the arguments of others and represent them in a clear and standardised form.
  • Construct well-reasoned arguments of your own.

Peer Review

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: 11.55pm Sunday 12/1
Weighting: 20%

 

You will review the anonymised submissions (from the Standardisation Task assignment) of some of your fellow students. You will answer a series of multiple choice questions about each of these submissions, and give a short comment on each paper. Your mark will be determined by the accuracy of your assessment of the peer submissions.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the structure of arguments, and represent that structure in a clear standardised form.
  • Appraise the arguments of others and represent them in a clear and standardised form.

Final Scenario Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: 11.55pm, Monday 20/1
Weighting: 40%

 

The Final Scenario Report assignment requires you use all the skills you have acquired throughout the course from Topics 1-12 to write a report analysing arguments and providing guidance and material for a response.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Recognise the structure of arguments, and represent that structure in a clear standardised form.
  • Differentiate between types of reasoning and the methods of evaluation appropriate to each.
  • Appraise the arguments of others and represent them in a clear and standardised form.
  • Construct well-reasoned arguments of your own.
  • Apply the skills of critical analysis to arguments from a variety of contexts and disciplines.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures 

Lectures in this unit will be delivered online. There are no scheduled lectures.

One two-hour lecture video for each of the 12 topics will be released through the Echo 360 block in iLearn. You should watch these videos before joining the relevant forums. The weekly schedule is below.

Please note, that since this is an intensive subject, we will be doing between 2 - 3 topics per week (for a total of 5 weeks), meaning each week will contain between 4 - 6 hours of required lecture content in addition to the time required for assessments, engagement and reading. 

We would recommend that you do not enrol in multiple units in S3, but if you do it is your responsiblity to check and manage the assessment dates.

Online  Participation

At the beginning of semester, you will be assigned to an online participation group with a member of the teaching staff as an On-line Engagement Group leader. You will be expected to use self-assessments for understanding and contribute to your online group about assigned material. This will all be made available to you through the course web-site. See the Online Engagement information in iLearn for information about the assessment of Online Engagement in this unit. 

Course Texts

The Course Notes available through the PHIL/PHIX 1037 ilearn site constitute a text for the course. No other text is required. If you would like advice on supplementary texts, contact the convenors.

Teaching staff consultation times

Teaching staff consultation times will be advertised in iLearn. You are strongly encouraged to make use of these consultation times, if you are having any trouble or if you would like to discuss the unit content. 

Unit Webpages and E-Resources

This unit is delivered online through iLearn (http://ilearn.mq.edu.au). PC and Internet access are required. Basic computer skills (e.g., internet browsing) and skills in word processing are also a requirement. Please consult teaching staff for any further, more specific requirements. 

Unit Schedule

 

Week 1

(beginning 9/12)

Introduction and standardisation

Topic 1

Introduction to Critical Thinking

Topic 2

Argument standardisation (I)

Topic 3

Argument standardisation (II)

Week 2

(beginning 16/12)

Critical thinking and the Human Mind; Types of arguments

Topic 4

Critical Thinking and the Human Mind (and Standardisation Task help)

Topic 5

Types of arguments (I)

Topic 6

Types of arguments (II)

Mid-semester break (23/12/24 -1/1/25)

[Standardisation Task due Monday 23/12]

Week 3

(2 - 3/1 )

The Impact of Cognitive Biases

[Peer Review task opens Thursday  2/1]

[Online Engagment Tasks for Topics 1-6 due Sunday 5/1]

Topic 7

 

The Impact of Cognitive Biases; Causal reasoning

Week 4 (beginning 6/1)

Language and Rhetoric

[Peer Review task due Sunday 12/1]

Topic 8

The Language We Use: the power to persuade

Topic 9

The Language We Use: When words lead us astray

Week 5 (beginning 13/1)

Pseudo-reasoning and fallacies

Topic 10

The Rules of Engagement

Topic 11

What happens when the rules are abandoned: fallacies and pseudo-reasoning

Topic 12

Putting it all together: An extended example

Week beginning 20/1: Final Scenario Report due Monday 20/1; Online engagement tasks for Topics 7-12 due Wednesday 22/1

 

 

 

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2024.02 of the Handbook