critical thinking class college

Structure and Function of Argument: Introduction to Critical Thinking

Explore the underlying structures of everyday arguments and develop the tools to communicate effectively..

You will build a toolkit to engage in more constructive conversations and to actively listen to better understand others’ points of view.

What You'll Learn

Life is full of arguments—you encounter them everyday in your social and professional circles. From casually discussing what to have for dinner tonight with your family to passionately debating the best candidate to vote for in the upcoming election, arguments are a method to better educate ourselves and understand others.

All arguments share an underlying mapping structure that backs a main claim with supporting reasons, sometimes including counterpoints to anticipated objections. In order to present an argument that will clearly communicate your perspective, you must first understand the basic structure of any argument and develop your logic and critical thinking skills.

In Structure and Function of Argument: Introduction to Critical Thinking, you will engage in dynamic practice exercises to develop the ability to recognize, analyze, and construct arguments you encounter on a daily basis. You will consider the structure of an argument, focusing on the underlying organization of claims and reasoning. You will determine if the reasons support the author or speaker’s main claim, build well-constructed responses, and grow your overall English language skills. You will also test your listening skills by recognizing how things like logical fallacies, conflicting points of view, and controversial subjects can impact effective communication.

Using a tool called “argument mapping,” you will visually diagram the structure of an argument to identify how reasons connect and function in an argument. You will then apply your learnings and test your own arguments using this tool – allowing you to gauge the overall quality of your arguments and take steps to make them stronger.

By the end of the course, you will have built a toolkit to engage in more constructive conversations and to actively listen to better understand others’ points of view.

The course will be delivered via  edX  and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explore the shape and structures of arguments you encounter daily, helping improve your overall communication and English language skills.
• Learn how to visually map an argument, analyzing, evaluating, and optimizing the strength of your argument along the way.
• Become a better listener by seeking to understand others’ perspectives and engaging in respectful discussion and disagreement.
• Experiment with philosophical thought experiments to build your argumentation skills. 
• Build the tools to improve your logical reasoning and emotional intelligence by understanding how conflict and tension can impact communication.
• Improve your ability to think critically, seek to understand underlying assumptions, and identify biases – allowing you to create more compassionate, compelling, and convincing arguments.
• Learn how to regulate your emotional response to differing points of view, expressing genuine curiosity and inquisitiveness as a means to learn from the other party.

Your Instructor

Edward J. Hall is the Norman E. Vuilleumier Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University and works on a range of topics in metaphysics and epistemology that overlap with philosophy of science. He believes that philosophical discourse always goes better if the parties involved resolutely avoid any “burden-shifting” maneuvers, and that teaching always goes better if you bring cookies.

Aidan Kestigian, Ph.D. is an Associate of the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University and the Vice President for ThinkerAnalytix (TA), an education non-profit organization. TA programs are designed to help move learning and working communities from discord to discourse by building reasoning and communication skills. Aidan received her Ph.D. in Logic, Computation, and Methodology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018, and taught logic and ethics to college students for a decade before and during her time at TA.

Nate Otey is the Lead Curriculum Consultant for ThinkerAnalytix and received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Mathematics from Harvard College, where he fell in love with teaching. He then served as a Fellow in the Harvard Department of Philosophy, where he led the development of ThinkerAnalytix curriculum and partnerships. He currently teaches at Boston Trinity Academy.

Ways to take this course

When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.

A Verified Certificate costs $209 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate. 

Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums.  Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.

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Critical Thinking: Where to Begin

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If you are new to critical thinking or wish to deepen your conception of it, we recommend you review the content below and bookmark this page for future reference.

Our Conception of Critical Thinking...

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness..."

"Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fairminded way. People who think critically attempt, with consistent and conscious effort, to live rationally, reasonably, and empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies. They use the intellectual tools that critical thinking offers – concepts and principles that enable them to analyze, assess, and improve thinking. They work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason. They realize that no matter how skilled they are as thinkers, they can always improve their reasoning abilities and they will at times fall prey to mistakes in reasoning, human irrationality, prejudices, biases, distortions, uncritically accepted social rules and taboos, self-interest, and vested interest.

They strive to improve the world in whatever ways they can and contribute to a more rational, civilized society. At the same time, they recognize the complexities often inherent in doing so. They strive never to think simplistically about complicated issues and always to consider the rights and needs of relevant others. They recognize the complexities in developing as thinkers, and commit themselves to life-long practice toward self-improvement. They embody the Socratic principle: The unexamined life is not worth living , because they realize that many unexamined lives together result in an uncritical, unjust, dangerous world."

Why Critical Thinking?

The Problem:

Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed, or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our lives and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

A Brief Definition:

Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it. The Result: 

  A well-cultivated critical thinker:

• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
• thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, and a commitment to overcoming our native egocentrism and sociocentrism. Read more about our concept of critical thinking .

The Essential Dimensions of Critical Thinking

Our conception of critical thinking is based on the substantive approach developed by Dr. Richard Paul and his colleagues at the Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking over multiple decades. It is relevant to every subject, discipline, and profession, and to reasoning through the problems of everyday life. It entails five essential dimensions of critical thinking:

At the left is an overview of the first three dimensions. In sum, the elements or structures of thought enable us to "take our thinking apart" and analyze it. The intellectual standards are used to assess and evaluate the elements. The intellectual traits are dispositions of mind embodied by the fairminded critical thinker. To cultivate the mind, we need command of these essential dimensions, and we need to consistently apply them as we think through the many problems and issues in our lives.

The Elements of Reasoning and Intellectual Standards

To learn more about the elements of thought and how to apply the intellectual standards, check out our interactive model. Simply click on the link below, scroll to the bottom of the page, and explore the model with your mouse.

Why the Analysis of Thinking Is Important If you want to think well, you must understand at least the rudiments of thought, the most basic structures out of which all thinking is made. You must learn how to take thinking apart. Analyzing the Logic of a Subject When we understand the elements of reasoning, we realize that all subjects, all disciplines, have a fundamental logic defined by the structures of thought embedded within them. Therefore, to lay bare a subject’s most fundamental logic, we should begin with these questions:

Going Deeper...

The Critical Thinking Bookstore  

Our online bookstore houses numerous books and teacher's manuals , Thinker's Guides , videos , and other educational materials .  

Learn From Our Fellows and Scholars

Watch our Event Calendar , which provides an overview of all upcoming conferences and academies hosted by the Foundation for Critical Thinking. Clicking an entry on the Event Calendar will bring up that event's details, and the option to register. For those interested in online learning, the Foundation offers accredited online courses in critical thinking for both educators and the general public, as well as an online test for evaluating basic comprehension of critical thinking concepts . We are in the process of developing more online learning tools and tests to offer the community.  

Utilizing this Website

This website contains large amounts research and an online library of articles , both of which are freely available to the public. We also invite you to become a member of the Critical Thinking Community , where you will gain access to more tools and materials.  If you cannot locate a resource on a specific topic or concept, try searching for it using our Search Tool . The Search Tool is at the upper-right of every page on the website.

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Introduction to Critical Thinking

This introductory-level course is designed to help learners define and identify critical thinking and reasoning skills and develop those skills. Critical thinking is an intellectual model for reasoning through issues to reach well-founded conclusions. It may be the single most valuable skill that one can bring to any job, profession, or life challenge. Being able to ask the right questions, critique an argument, and logically dissect an issue occur constantly in the workplace and our lives.

Learning Outcomes:

• Define critical thinking, reasoning, and logic
• Understand the process of systemic problem-solving
• Identify and overcome barriers to critical thinking
• Articulate common reasoning fallacies
• Engage in critical thinking as it pertains to the workplace

Student Testimonial

"I will be able to implement some of the elements of reasoning questions that are relevant to critical thinking. I feel confident in identifying fallacies as well. The material was well presented."  -- Marie, Introduction to Critical Thinking

Course Dates and Times

Course hours: 7 hours  .

This workshop is offered through our continuing education online partner.

Register for Introduction to Critical Thinking