POLn4058 Critical Thinking and Public Affairs

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Jiří Baroš, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Martin Job (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Jiří Baroš, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Timetable
Thu 10:00–11:40 Studio 527
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the basics of critical thinking, to improve their argumentative skills, and to make them recognize different fallacies, which are present in many public debates. Introduction to critical thinking should enhance the ability of students to argue in contemporary controversies. Students will use the basic skills of critical thinking in debates concerning important moral and political issues of our time. The second part of our course will be dedicated to the discussion of several controversial issues (migration, state´s neutrality, hate speech, same-sex marriage, etc.). Argumentative skills will serve students when debating them. Critical thinking and the knowledge of main moral theories (consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics) will be utilized as an instrument for making societal debates more precise and rational rather than emotional.
Learning outcomes
Upon completing the course, students will thus have had a good grasp of the basics of critical thinking as well as the basics of moral theories underlying many public debates on important policy issues. Students thus sharpen their ability to orientate themselves in the current intellectual milieu, without succumbing to simplifications, strawman-like arguments, or general ignorance.
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • I. Základy kritického myšlení
  • 1. Úvod – organizace kurzu. Co je kritické myšlení? Překážky kritického myšlení Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Concise Guide to Critical Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1-15, 24-37, 46-60.
  • 2. Co jsou argumenty? Identifikace a hodnocení Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Concise Guide to Critical Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 46-60.
  • 3. Deduktivní a induktivní argumenty. Argumentační fauly Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Concise Guide to Critical Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 69-75, 81-97, 219-240.
  • 4. Příklady (problematických) argumentů: jak uvažovat o ústavě? Vermeule, Adrian 2011. The System of the Constitution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 38-64.
  • 5. Příklady (problematických) argumentů: jak uvažovat o výjimečných stavech a roli jednotlivých politických institucí v nich? – position papery I Ginsburg, Tom, Versteeg, Mila 2021. The Bound Executive: Emergency Powers During the Pandemic. International Journal of Constitutional Law, 19(1), 1-38. Posner, Eric A., Vermeule, Adrian 2007. Terror in the Balance. Security, Liberty, and the Courts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 59-86. (Position paper lze psát i na text ze 4. semináře)
  • II. Normativní teorie v pozadí veřejných problémů 6. Morální teorie a jejich hodnocení Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 41-82.
  • 7. Konsekvencialismus, deontologie a etika ctností Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 85-105, 132-146, 172-179.
  • III. Věci veřejné (vybraná témata) 8. Může stát vynucovat morálku? (JT) – position papery II George, Robert P. 2008. „The Central Tradition – Its Value and Limits“. In: Virtue Jurisprudence. Eds. Colin Farelly and, Larry B. Solum. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 24-50. Quong Jonathan 2004. The Scope of Public Reason. Political Studies, 52(2), 233-250
  • 9. Diskusní hodina I (JT) Splňuje podstatu manželství nezbytně jen pár muž a žena, anebo páry stejného pohlaví ji mohou naplňovat stejně jako páry různého pohlaví? Girgis, Sherif, George, Robert P. and Anderson, Paul 2011. What is Marriage? Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 34(1), 245-287. Macedo, Stephen 2015. Just Married. Same-Sex Couples, Monogamy, and the Future of Marriage. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 38-75.
  • 10. Čtecí týden
  • 11. Diskusní hodina II – nezpůsobuje přílišné bránění nenávistným projevům cenzuru aneb hate speech vs. cenzura svobody projevu Chemerinsky, Erwin, Gillman, Howard 2017. Free Speech on Campus. New Haven: Yale University Press, 82-110. Waldron, Jeremy 2012. The Harm in Hate Speech. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 65-104.
  • 12. Fenomén migrace a otevřejných hranic? Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 756-819.
  • 13. Vybrané otázky: skupinové prezentace (5 skupin po cca 3-4 lidech) Vaugh, Lewis 2018. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 221-235 (potraty), 334-342 (poskytování zdravotní péče), 371-381 (morální status zvířat), 429-439 (postoj k přírodě), 470-486 (rasová diskriminace), 536-546 (sexuální morálka), 621-632 (drogy, nebo zbraně), 666-677 (trest smrti), 705-723 (spravedlivá válka, nebo mučení).
Literature
    required literature
  • Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Concise Guide to Critical Thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Vaughn, Lewis 2018. Doing Ethics: Moral Reasoning, Theory, and Contemporary Issues. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Teaching methods
The teaching method will consist of short lectures followed by seminar discussions (the two parts will not be always strictly separated). Students are encouraged to actively participate by posing clarificatory questions and bringing up topics for discussion. They are expected to read the assigned literature for each seminar carefully and prepare their own comments and questions. The point of the two discussion sessions is to teach the students to summarize an issue, defend a particular interpretation, and critically evaluate arguments of their interlocutors in an open (in-class) exchange. Position papers are meant to hone critical thinking skills (among others) when analysing a given topic and making use of relevant knowledge. Group presentations are designed to improve the ability of students to critically examine the controversies about important public issues.
Assessment methods
The final grade will be calculated as a composite of the following criteria: • (1) Active participation in seminars • (2) Position papers • Students are required to write two short position papers on two different seminar topics. If there are two or more required readings, students should briefly summarise all of them and then proceed to discuss, criticize, etc. only selected issues (depending on one’s preferences). (3) Discussion sessions • There will be two debate sessions during the term; students are expected to take part in both of them. The sessions will resemble a mock court, providing the opportunity to exchange reasons about a controversial political topic which has a respectable philosophical background. • For each session, three groups will be created – two parties (affirmative, and negative) to the debate itself and a referee panel, which will moderate the discussion. Students shall create groups no later than the end of the third week of the term. • For details on the discussion session, please see the course syllabus in the Study Materials. • (4) Group presentations on selected public issues. Their purpose is to clarify the philosophical background of these debates and argue for one of the positions. Solid arguments are supposed to buttress their conclusion. Some clarificatory questions will follow. • For details on the discussion session, please see the course syllabus in the Study Materials.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Teacher's information
Most up-to-date information is always to be found in the course syllabus in the Study materials.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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