CR02CT/Introduction

The course has been designed to give you the opportunity to explore the basic tools of critical reasoning and to empower you to think for yourself. The ability to think critically is of great value in helping you deal competently with ethical, social and political problems in the work situation and everyday life. In most humanities courses at universities lecturers expect students to understand cultural diversity, to critically evaluate information and knowledge claims and to make responsible decisions. However, students are rarely given the opportunity to acquire these abilities in a systematic way.

In this course you will be asked to use a “hands-on” approach. This means that you will have to actively participate in the learning process by answering questions, participating in activities and even by contributing to the curriculum. In this way, you will develop the competencies needed by an initiate into the community of critical thinkers. Such competencies will help you not only to understand what critical reasoning is about, but also to apply your knowledge and skills to make and to justify choices in difficult situations you may encounter in your work environment, your home life and in interaction with your community. Remember that the skills and knowledge you obtain in the course, Critical reasoning, can also assist you with your studies of other disciplines, such as Psychology, History, English, Political Science, Communication Science, Health Care, Development Studies, Sociology and Public Administration.