Critical Reasoning Notes (Comprehensive, Pages 2-28)
Syllabus and Resources
Syllabus Review mentions general course content and resources.
Useful resources listed:
Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD)
Purpose: verify eligibility and accommodations
Location: Room 203, Student Union Building (Bldg #207)
Contact:
Tel: 02-2123-3633, 3634
E-mail: ablecenter@yonsei.ac.kr (English service available)
Homepage: https://ablecenter.yonsei.ac.kr/ablecenter1 (Korean service only)
University Writing Center (UIC)
You can make a virtual appointment; hours/locations vary over time
More information: https://uic.yonsei.ac.kr/writingcenter/default.asp
Syllabus and Resources (continued) – Policies and Resources
Additional important resources include information on:
Disabilities accommodations and related contact information (OSD)
Writing Center services
Policies and Resources: Discrimination and Harassment
AVOIDING DISCRIMINATION AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
Yonsei UIC policy aims to maintain a working and learning environment free from sexual harassment and discrimination
Sexual harassment is illegal under:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972
For more information: https://uic.yonsei.ac.kr/main/news.asp?mid=m060103&act=view&idx=8146
Center for Gender Equity on campus (resource):
Office Location: Libertas Hall B (International Campus)
Phone: 02-2123-2137
E-mail: helper@yonsei.ac.kr, genderedu@yonsei.ac.kr
Policies and Resources: Additional Resources & Contacts
Additional policy resources to consult as needed (policy pages may update):
Office hours and attendance policies (see Page 5 notes below)
Academic integrity policies and mis conduct (see Page 5 notes below)
Contact points for disability services and writing support
Policies and Resources: Office Hours and Attendance (Page 5 content)
OFFICE HOURS: Attend office hours or make an appointment for help with reading, papers, or philosophy discussion.
PARTICIPATION/WORK:
If ill or under extenuating circumstances and you need assignment modifications, notify the instructor in advance with proper documentation
Proper documentation examples: Official Absence from Health Services, the Dean’s Office, or the Athletic Department
You are responsible for notifying in advance if you need to postpone an assignment
If you fail to notify in advance, your final grade may be lowered by points
You are responsible for all information distributed during your absence
If you are absent when assignment/exam information is distributed, you must obtain this information
MISSED PAPERS/EXAMS:
Extensions or make-ups require: (1) advance notification, (2) documented excused absence, (3) instructor permission in advance
Without advance extension/make-up, the missed assignment/exam earns a 0
AVOIDING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY AND PLAGIARISM:
Copying someone else’s paper/exam, or letting others copy yours, constitutes plagiarism
Students who plagiarize may earn an ‘F’ for the course
See Yonsei UIC Academic Misconduct policies: https://uic.yonsei.ac.kr/main/academic.asp?mid=m030205
What is Critical Reasoning? (Page 6)
Yonsei UIC formal description:
Critical Reasoning aims to educate students in basic skills for logical analysis, normative judgments, and moral reasoning
The course cultivates a rigorous analytical mind
Courses draw from: logic, epistemology, methodology, and the philosophy of science
Why Do We Need Critical Reasoning? (Page 7)
Counterexample to relying solely on gut instinct or established science:
Benefits include:
Skill to construct sound arguments and evaluate others’ arguments
Logic fosters sensitivity to formal components in language for clear, effective communication
Emphasizes the requirement for reasons/evidence to support views, defending against prejudice and uncivil attitudes that threaten democracy
Helps distinguish rational from irrational and sane from insane by focusing on consistency as a flaw in any theory
Quoted idea (Hurley, 2012; xiii) underscoring these benefits
Critical Thinking: Broader Purpose (Page 8)
Opinions aren’t always reliable; we need reasons/basis to evaluate beliefs
Critical thinking helps:
See both sides of an issue
Understand that the other side might have sturdier grounds for belief or that our grounds may be weaker than thought
Defend controversial positions across various settings
Cultivate a set of questions to examine big questions with a more fine-tuned lens (e.g., “am I doing the right thing?”)
Informal Fallacies and Real-World Examples (Page 9)
Bad arguments surround us; the toolkit helps identify and respond to them
Informal fallacies in advertising:
Slippery slope: one hypothetical scenario follows another, often culminating in an extreme final outcome
Appeal to authority: citing an authority as evidence without proper expertise (e.g., Daniel Henney as a coffee expert)
What is an Argument? (Page 10)
An argument is a set of statements intended to support a conclusion with reasons/evidence
Structure:
Premises + Conclusion
Premises are the claimed reasons/evidence
Conclusion is the main claim
Example:
P1: All humans are mammals.
P2: Dr. Gregg is a human.
C: Therefore, Dr. Gregg is a mammal.
Basic Components and Evaluation (Page 11–12)
What makes an argument good? Basic components include:
Clear premises (reasons/evidence)
A logically connected conclusion
Adequate support for the conclusion
Logic is the science that evaluates arguments; it focuses on how a claim is defended rather than which claim is true
Gravity example: even well-established claims can be defended with good or bad arguments
Lawyers’ perspective: defense of a conclusion (not just stating the conclusion)
Notation and Argument Reconstruction (Page 13)
When identifying/reconstructing arguments:
Premises are typically labeled P1, P2, P3, …
The conclusion is labeled C
Premises usually come first; the conclusion comes after
Refined example:
P1. All humans are mammals.
P2. Dr. Gregg is a human.
C. So, Dr. Gregg is a mammal.
Real-World Excerpts and Analysis (Page 14–15)
Excerpts from CNN concerning WhatsApp (Page 14):
WhatsApp announced features like leaving group chats without notifying members and controlling who sees activity status
These features illustrate how technology can influence user behavior and decision-making
George Mason University study (2014) on interruptions (Page 14):
Interruptions not only slow task completion but can degrade work quality
Conclusion: to get work done well, unplug from these apps
Your turn (Page 15): identify premises and conclusion in a news excerpt about online presence and response times; example prompts learners to analyze real-world text
Statements and Truth Values (Pages 16–19)
Definitions:
Statements: sentences that can be true or false (truth-value)
Also called declarative sentences
Examples:
“Yonsei UIC’s campus is in Songdo” is a True statement
“The Nile is a river in North America” is a False statement
Non-statements include questions, proposals, suggestions, commands, and exclamations
Examples of non-statements:
Question: “Where is Dr. Pedersen?”
Proposal: “Let’s try to stay awake in class.”
Suggestion: “I suggest you watch the road while you’re driving.”
Command: “Turn off your phone!”
Exclamation: “Awesome!”
Normative and evaluative statements:
“Teachers should get paid more than they do now.” (normative)
“Killing animals for fun is morally bad.” (moral/evaluative)
Some statements with “should/must/ought” may count as statements in some contexts; treat case-by-case for truth-value
Conclusion Indicators (Page 20)
How to identify the conclusion in an argument:
Look for conclusion indicators that typically precede the conclusion (words like):
Therefore, Thus, Hence, For this reason, It follows that, Consequently, Accordingly, entails that
Example (paraphrased): “Titanium combines readily with oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, all of which have an adverse effect on its mechanical properties. As a result, titanium must be processed in their absence.”
Premise Indicators (Page 21)
Premise indicators include:
Since, that, for the reason that, because, for, as indicated by, may be inferred from
They signal premises in an argument
Arguments Without Indicators (Page 22)
Some arguments lack explicit indicators:
To identify: determine the main point (conclusion) and the supporting reasons (premises)
Example (no indicators):
(1) The space program deserves increased expenditures in the years ahead.
(2) Not only does the national defense depend on it, (3) but the program will pay for itself in technological spin-offs.
(4) At current funding levels, the program cannot fulfill its anticipated potential.
Conclusion: The space program deserves increased expenditures in the years ahead
Reconstructing Arguments (Page 23)
Standard reconstruction with premises first, then conclusion:
P1) The national defense depends on the space program.
P2) The space program will more than pay for itself in terms of technological spin-offs.
P3) At current funding levels the space program cannot fulfill its anticipated potential.
C) The space program deserves increased expenditures in the years ahead.
Note that the conclusion may appear at the beginning or end; the exercise shows you how to identify premises and conclusions even when not linearly presented
Practice Problems: Exercise 1.1 (Page 24)
Directions: Each passage contains a single argument. Identify premises (P) and conclusion (C) in the correct order
Examples given:
Problem 17 (p. 9):
(1) An ant releases a chemical when it dies, and its fellows then carry it away to the compost heap.
(2) Apparently the communication is highly effective;
(3) a healthy ant painted with the death chemical will be dragged to the funeral heap again and again
Problem 25 (p. 10):
(1) Contrary to the tales of some scuba divers, the toothy, gaping grin on the mouth of an approaching shark is not necessarily anticipatory.
(2) It is generally accepted that by constantly swimming with its mouth open, the shark is simply avoiding suffocation.
(3) This assures a continuous flow of oxygen-laden water into their mouths, over their gills, and out through the gill slits.
Quick Review: True/False Exercises (Page 25–26)
Practice statements to classify as true or false (answers provided in this material):
The purpose of the premise or premises is to set forth the reasons or evidence given in support of the conclusion. → True
Some arguments have more than one conclusion. → False
All arguments must have more than one premise. → False
The words “therefore,” “hence,” “so,” “since,” and “thus” are all conclusion indicators. → True
The words “for,” “because,” “as,” and “for the reason that” are all premise indicators. → True
In the strict sense of the terms, inference and argument have exactly the same meaning. → False
In most (but not all) arguments that lack indicator words, the conclusion is the first statement. → True
Any sentence that is either true or false is a statement. → True
Every statement has a truth value. → True
Note: Some items in the original transcript show formatting inconsistencies; the above reflects the intended True/False answers present in the material
Exercises and Practice: Continued (Pages 27–28)
Page 27: Exercises from 1.1 continued: part 1
Reminder of odd cases where a conclusion contains normative language (e.g., “ought”) but counts as a statement
Page 28: Additional considerations for statements and arguments
Statements MUST have a truth value—always
Example: It’s sunny right now → True
Having a truth value does not imply the statement is true
Example: It’s raining right now → False
Statements can stand on their own or be part of arguments (as premises or conclusions) or non-argumentary statements (beliefs, explanations, etc.)
It is possible to have both arguments and non-arguments made up of all true statements or all false statements
E.g., an all-true explanatory non-argument about Hallasan; an all-false fictitious Mount Doom example (non-existent)
The same applies to arguments; you can have arguments with all true premises or all false premises
Analogy: NaCl (sodium chloride) is composed of two elements that can stand alone, but together form a compound
This emphasizes that truth values do not by themselves determine whether something is an argument or non-argument
Real-World Relevance and Connections
Critical Reasoning connects to foundational principles of logic, evidence evaluation, and ethical reasoning
Real-world examples (WhatsApp, interruptions study) illustrate how arguments are formed in everyday discourse and how evidence supports conclusions
Understanding indicators (conclusion vs premises) helps in evaluating persuasive writing, media claims, and policy discussions
Recognizing the possibility of arguments with no indicators improves critical listening and reading across disciplines