Course Description

This course introduces you to the tools used by the world’s best thinkers and will exemplify the activities and practice you can use to emulate them. With enough practice, you too will become the best thinker you can be.

Your coursework introduces you to the tools of mind that will help you reason through any of the problems and issues you face, whether in the classroom, in your personal life, or in your professional life. If you take these ideas seriously, and practice using them, you will be able to take command of the thinking that drives your quality of life.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of fair-minded critical thinking in the cultivation of fair-minded critical societies
• Understand universal intellectual standards and their importance in human reasoning
• Articulate and exemplify the primary concepts in critical thinking and how they can be used as tools for understanding and improving human reasoning
• Articulate understanding of the problem of media bias and propaganda as a barrier to critical thought in human societies
• Understand ethical reasoning and the differences between ethics and other modes of thought, including religion, social ideologies, politics, and the law

Your Instructor

Dr. Linda Elder is an educational psychologist and a prominent authority on critical thinking. She is President of the Foundation for Critical Thinking and Executive Director of the Center for Critical Thinking. Dr. Elder has taught psychology and critical thinking at the college level and has presented to more than 50,000 educators at all levels. She has co-authored four books, including Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life, Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life, and 30 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living. She has co-authored 24 Thinker’s Guides on critical thinking.