THE COURSE

What is Critical Thinking with Rob Lovering?

Critical Thinking with Rob Lovering is an online course conducted live through Zoom in which students learn about and apply some of the many components of critical thinking: the systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs or statements by rational standards. Taught by Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department at CUNY - College of Staten, Rob Lovering (Ph.D.), Critical Thinking with Rob Lovering is the perfect course for those who seek independent instruction on reliable methods for distinguishing true and justified claims from false and unfounded claims.

Why take this course?

Critical thinking is relied upon in all areas of life, including all professions, all scholarly disciplines, all social interactions, all moral circumstances, all personal relationships, and much, much more. And it is so because it is the foremost way for human beings to acquire truths, avoid falsehoods, detect and assess justification, recognize unfoundedness, minimize mistakes, achieve goals (practical and theoretical), and ultimately flourish, both individually and collectively. (This is precisely why virtually every institution of higher education emphasizes the development of critical thinking skills.) Indeed—and at the risk of being overly clever—the very asking of the question “Why take this course?” is both an exercise of and evidence of the value of critical thinking.

What does the course cover?

Critical thinking involves three fundamental, interconnected components: knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This course covers core aspects of all three of these components, including but not limited to:

• Language (Concepts, Propositions, and Meaning)

• Knowledge (Belief, Justification, and Truth)

• Deductive Logic

• Inductive Logic

• Argument Construction

• Fallacies

• Rhetorical Ploys

• Intellectual Virtues and Vices

What are the sources of the course material?

The bulk of the material covered in the course is drawn from well-regarded critical thinking and logic textbooks, including but not limited to:

Tracy Bowell and Gary Kemp, Critical Thinking: A Concise Guide (Routledge)

Jonathan Haber, Critical Thinking (MIT Press)

Ian Hacking, An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic (Cambridge University Press)

Patrick J. Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic (Wadsworth)

David Kelly and Debby Hutchins, The Art of Reasoning: An Introduction to Logic (Norton)

Lewis Vaughn, Concise Guide to Critical Thinking (Oxford University Press)

Douglas Walton, Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach (Cambridge University Press)

Additional material is drawn from various works of philosophy (both books and articles). Due to its emphasis on analysis, argumentation, rigor, objectivity, and prolific use of thought experiments, philosophy is ideal for the application of critical thinking skills.

For whom is the course suitable?

This course is suitable for a wide range of people, ranging from high schoolers to retirees. Students are placed in courses consisting of their epistemic peers—high schoolers are placed in a course consisting entirely of high schoolers, college students are placed in a course consisting entirely of college students, and college graduates and other adults are are placed in a course consisting entirely of adults. Accordingly, though the subject matter remains the same in every course, the level of discourse about it varies.

How is the course taught?

As indicated above, the course is conducted live through Zoom. Professor Lovering leads discussions of the subject matter with the use of PowerPoint slides that are screen-shared with the students. (Access to all of the slides outside of class sessions is included with the course. For examples of the PowerPoints slides, click here.) Professor Lovering also seeks student participation during class sessions by encouraging each student to ask questions, make observations, provide insights, respond to comments made by their fellow students, share course-relevant anecdotes, and more. Such participation is crucial to developing and honing their ability to think critically about the issues. All of this is done within a context of mutual respect for each other.

When is the course taught?

The days and times of class sessions are agreed upon by Professor Lovering and the student(s) enrolled in the particular section of the course. Each class sessions lasts 1 hour and there are 12 class sessions.

Is the purchase of a textbook (or anything else) required?

No. All you need to do is read through each class session’s PowerPoint slides before it begins and participate in the class discussions.

How much does the course cost?

Individual (One-on-One) Rate: $3,000

Group (Two-to-Eight Students) Rate: $2,000 per student

Payment for the course may be made through PayPal (Rob Lovering) or Venmo (@RobLovering).