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Critical Reasoning and Logic

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As a scientist, you have to argue persuasively in many different contexts: in your publications, in grant applications, and in discussions at conferences. Yet the logical bases for strong and correct arguments are not always explicitly part of scientific education. This seminar gives an introduction to the most important concepts of logic: the premises and conclusions of arguments, the validity and soundness of arguments, deductive versus inductive reasoning, and common types of inferences and fallacies. The idea of the workshop is to use these concepts as a toolbox that provides very useful techniques for everyday scientific work. You will learn how to reconstruct arguments from scientific texts, how to give well-structured and logically valid arguments, and how to avoid misunderstandings. On different occasions during the course, you will get the chance to work with your own texts and to apply the course contents directly to topics from your own research. There are two main sets of exercises: one for written argumentation and one for oral argumentation.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

After the course, you

• will be able to state your arguments in a precise and logically coherent way (trainer input and exercises),
• will be able to break down arguments into their logical structure (exercise with participants’ texts), and
• will know how to quickly identify strengths and weaknesses of arguments (trainer input and exercises).

Requirements:
Please note that this is not an English language course. Proficiency in English at the B2 level of competency is required.

Dates:
October 19, 2017, 9 am–5 pm, and
October 20, 2017, 9 am–5 pm

Please note that your registration is binding. You may cancel your registration up to twelve days before the beginning of the course without providing specific reasons.Thereafter, you will be required to pay the attendance fee even if you do not attend the course.