Every day, people put forth their ideas or points of view. After all, at the heart of every great change, lies a great argument someone has used to influence others. The basis of an argument is expressing a point of view and supporting it with enough evidence to persuade someone to accept a conclusion. How can you determine what’s fact, what’s opinion, and how to get to the truth of a matter? Part of critical thinking is being able to identify, construct, and evaluate arguments, because only then will you be able to reach logical conclusions and solve problems. In this course, you'll learn how to use arguments in the right situations and explore what makes up an effective argument. You’ll also learn to recognize the common types of logical fallacies that can derail an argument, and how to employ reasoning skills against arguments that use tactics of manipulation.
Critical Thinking: Investigating Arguments