The purpose of this course is to help you get good at reasoning critically in your everyday life. By the end of this course, you will have the tools to distinguish between good arguments and bad ones; determine the acceptability and adequacy of the reasons that people use to support their conclusions; recognize common errors in reasoning; and thoughtfully reconstruct the arguments of others. Topics include criteria for the critical assessment of arguments as logically strong or merely persuasive; different types of argument and techniques of refutation; and their use and abuse.