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Back to Think Again IV: How to Avoid Fallacies

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Think Again IV: How to Avoid Fallacies by Duke University

4.7
stars
321 ratings

About the Course

We encounter fallacies almost everywhere we look. Politicians, salespeople, and children commonly use fallacies in order to get you to think whatever they want you to think. It’s important to learn to recognize fallacies so that you can avoid being fooled by them. It’s also important to learn about fallacies so that you avoid making fallacious arguments yourself. This course will show you how to identify and avoid many of the fallacies that lead people astray. In this course, you will learn about fallacies. Fallacies are arguments that suffer from one or more common but avoidable defects: equivocation, circularity, vagueness, etc. It’s important to learn about fallacies so that you can recognize them when you see them, and not be fooled by them. It’s also important to learn about fallacies so that you avoid making fallacious arguments yourself. Suggested Readings Students who want more detailed explanations or additional exercises or who want to explore these topics in more depth should consult Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal Logic, Ninth Edition, Concise, Chapters 13-17, by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Robert Fogelin. Course Format Each week will be divided into multiple video segments that can be viewed separately or in groups. There will be short ungraded quizzes after each segment (to check comprehension) and a longer graded quiz at the end of the course....

Top reviews

LB

Sep 24, 2017

This course has been incredible and more than anything because of the energy put by the instructors, I truly thank you for helping the world to become a better place to live.

from Colombia, Luis.

SK

Jul 25, 2020

Challenging material presented by two engaging and sharp instructors. Highly recommend this course to any seeking to hone their logic and reasoning skills! The course will make you think!

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1 - 25 of 58 Reviews for Think Again IV: How to Avoid Fallacies

By Mostafa E

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Aug 28, 2017

amazing course and amazing way of teaching it. it was a very important knowledge to have especially in this time of life where fallacies surround us everywhere

By KRISHNA C B

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Jan 15, 2019

Excellent course on a deep dive into the world of arguments and their analysis, albeit this particular course deals with a part of it called fallacies. I really liked the course content, lecture delivery style, the quiz questions and the explanation provided to support the answers of the questions. However, for some of the questions that you encounter in the quiz, there is little supporting material in the lecture itself. I guess one can get a very good learning by going through the suggested text book in parallel. But since they suggested that the textbook is optional, I haven't gone through it yet. And without the text book, this course is probably a little bit incomplete.

This course can be made better by suggesting relevant sections in the book to go through as and when required. Probably that would better equip us in answering the quiz correctly.

By Candice K

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May 29, 2017

This course will be immensely helpful in structuring my thoughts in a logical and manner by addressing pertinent material and avoiding fallacy traps. Thank you so much!!!

By Jerry C

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Oct 29, 2019

Really enjoyed the presentations although I thought a few of the videos needed to go slightly deeper into the specific point. Also, I noticed that other participants had gamed the discussions by just entering "n/a" as their contribution (on virtually every topic). I think that should be a disqualifying factor for completion. I find courses to be much more engaging if other participants/student actually engage. But, the course itself was very good. I'd love to take it "live."

By Najih

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May 1, 2017

This was a nice course. Covers many fallacies in detail. Practice exercises are good. More fallacies could have been covered though. Overall, I did love the course.

By Alexandre R

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Oct 12, 2023

Não perca seu tempo com esse curso. Ele é desnecessariamente extenso, desvia para outros assuntos totalmente alheios ao tema. O exercício final, além de também desnecessariamente extenso, extremamente maçante e cansativo, é impossível de ser atingida a nota mínima, pois as simbologias dos enunciados são extremamente confusas, de maneira que apenas decifrar o que cada enunciado está solicitando já é um trabalho hercúleo. São 30 questões, cada uma com um enunciado mais confuso que a outra e que se alteram a cada tentativa, de modo que você não consegue nem reaproveitar o que já havia acertado. Enfim, é um curso extremamente chato, entediante, que poderia custar 10% do tempo que custa se fosse objetivo e que, a não ser por muita sorte, de tão mal elaboradas que são as questões. Um curso feito para você desistir. Abandonei.

By G T

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Jul 18, 2020

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Some of the material was conceptually difficult for me (the subtleties in difference in definitions for various fallacious argument types) but I really appreciate being given the tools to dismantle arguments in order to decide whether or not they are sound as well as to formulate my own arguments in such a way as to align my expressions of my beliefs with my values (or at least to question the basis for my beliefs). Excellent course!

By Lovina N

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Sep 21, 2020

The entire course was so well planned and explained! I'm so grateful to have come across the opportunity to learn from Prof. Walter and Prof. Ram. Apart from the compelling course content that I plan to exercise in all kinds of situations to come, I would like to applaud the efforts that were taken to make this course so engaging and amicable. Totally recommend taking all 4 courses.

This will be one of my best learning experiences!

By Richie P

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Jan 29, 2020

The course was challenging and interesting. I think I may have lost my job in the pursuit of higher education. A simple "not a fit" was the end of my few month career as a third grade teacher and the beginning of my full-time pursuit of higher education. I'm not really sure but the principal ensured me that I should be in higher education. Those kids kind of sucked anyway. Thank you.

By Evelina R

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Feb 4, 2021

Thank you for this course! I am studying various ways to improve my negotiation and communication skills. This course showed me, that it is possible to approach discussion as a logical structure, thus avoiding getting into emotional or personal negotiation track. Even if this is obvious, it never have occurred to me to point out invalid arguments and call them!

By Ibrahim N

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Feb 3, 2023

This was a nice last part for this specialization. I enjoyed the whole course and learned a lot of new things about logic and critical thinking. I am still a little confused about general logical thinking, but I think it will take some time to develop practical skills.

By Tãrún K

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Dec 12, 2017

This series has been quite brilliant. These lectures totally changed the way I formulate my arguments and also help me identify fallacies of arguments of others and mine as well. Overall I strongly recommend this course as well as the entire Think Again series.

By Chris v R

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Jun 11, 2019

Loved it. The jokes in the videos, the great examples and the [spoilers] at the end was amazing! It made learning about fallacies and arguments a breeze and very interesting. I wish more people a lot of fun with this course and keep up the amazing work!

By R n

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Nov 4, 2022

Love this course! been highly motivated by 2 professors, and even I took all the classes to the end but still need more time to practice how to apply it in real life, hopefully I would convince other more after learning.

By Luis E B

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Sep 24, 2017

This course has been incredible and more than anything because of the energy put by the instructors, I truly thank you for helping the world to become a better place to live.

from Colombia, Luis.

By Stephen K

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Jul 25, 2020

Challenging material presented by two engaging and sharp instructors. Highly recommend this course to any seeking to hone their logic and reasoning skills! The course will make you think!

By Jack G

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Mar 22, 2020

Really Great course. I got knowledge about fallacies and I hope I'll be more careful in the future. Thanks so much, Professors.

By MARIE S

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Nov 20, 2020

This was one of the most engaging courses I have taken and both professors were a joy as I listened and learned!

By Susan M

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Jun 22, 2017

This entire series was informative, engaging, and fun, and the thinking skills taught are so valuable.

By Cristian N

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May 8, 2018

Incredible, such passion and dedication shown by the professors. I'm really grateful for this course.

By NAYELLI L S

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Nov 18, 2023

Such an interesting subject, I am pretty sure I will analyzing every argument in a very critical way

By Jorge V C

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Jun 29, 2017

It's an excellent course, please, don't hesitate and take it, you will find a lot of fun!

By Pablo S L B

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Sep 29, 2016

I had a lot of fun with it and learned a lot. It was a nice experience for me.

By Nina L

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Jun 27, 2017

This course is interesting, there are some concepts useful I can use on life.

By VALERIA M R G

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Mar 15, 2024

No entiendo para qué sirve todo esto en la materia de argumentación jurídica