Philosophy 105 - Practical Reasoning
Fall
2025
01
4.00
Jose Antonio Navarro Talavera
M W 4:00PM 5:15PM
UMass Amherst
66114
South College Room E241
jnavarrotala@umass.edu
This course covers methods for understanding and evaluating reasoning, arguments and inferences, of the sort found in daily life, political speeches, academic writing and beyond. We address such questions as: What is the structure of an argument? What considerations are relevant for determining its strength and cogency? What sorts of appeals to quantitative and scientific data are appropriate, and what sorts aren't? How can we understand and overcome cognitive biases?