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Back to Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments by Duke University

4.6
stars
2,905 ratings

About the Course

In this course, you will learn what an argument is. The definition of argument will enable you to identify when speakers are giving arguments and when they are not. Next, you will learn how to break an argument into its essential parts, how to put them in order to reveal their connections, and how to fill in gaps in an argument by adding suppressed premises. By the end of this course, you will be better able to understand and appreciate arguments that you and other people present. 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 1-5, 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

AA

Oct 10, 2016

Very good course, made me really think again. The professor is very clear on his explanations and he also made the course smooth and funny, which helped on the learning process. Highly recommended!

SM

Jun 10, 2020

I found this course very challenging as I find critical thinking very difficult. However this course was extremely rewarding and I will be taking the other three modules in the Think Again series.

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51 - 75 of 767 Reviews for Think Again I: How to Understand Arguments

By Bảo N L H

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Aug 25, 2021

A great introduction at the beginning, but it gets more complex real quick in my opinion. The course is a great preparation for those who are learning towards critical reading and writing at university.

By Rahul M P

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Jul 14, 2019

This course is very helpful in everyday life, as not everyone pays attention to what everyone else is talking, but those who have taken this course can really understand what they mean.

By huangzehua

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Oct 3, 2021

This course is a Basic Reasoning and Argument, it's funny, but more suit to English Users

By Marne L P

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Apr 17, 2020

The course material is broadly applicable: anyone who wants to persuade or explain, or anyone who needs to decide whether to agree with someone else about a particular point. The best courses include access to real-time feedback, at least from teaching aides, if not from the course leaders. Unfortunately in this course students are not able to contact the course leaders directly, and I did not see responses to any teaching aides, despite asking for answers. Thus I was unable to truly understand all of the material in depth, because some of my questions went unanswered. Nor do the course leaders make more examples with suggested answers and explanations available. These major flaws in the course pushed my rating down to 3 stars, despite the otherwise excellent content. I would have been even more disappointed had I not been able to get the certificate for free (Thank you Course Central!)

By Carl T

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Nov 21, 2016

An excellent course for students that require, or want intricate detail on the subject. Not really designed for casual interest, more likely for the philosophy major. Presented very clearly and the discussions and material were interesting. Would have been four stars but the final quiz was excessively difficult.

By Paola S

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Jul 6, 2020

In my view, this Course is meaningless. I could pass the final test after completing 1,5 weeks instead of 4. I still can't understand which is the aim of this program. Nevertheless, the teacher is very smart.

By Manisha K

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Jul 11, 2020

So difficult. why it has been developed, when persons are not getting achieving it? the course should be not so difficult either not too easy.

By Janet T

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Mar 29, 2017

Could not finish the course. I found the course to be boring.

By Leo S

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Apr 4, 2022

Too many concepts, not easy to learn, not practical to apply

By Amany e i s

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Nov 10, 2017

It was really boring

By Andrew S

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Jul 30, 2020

This course was a great introduction to the language of argument and critical thinking. It was a great workout for my brain; I literally felt my brain getting stronger. I found myself reading op-eds and listening to conversations from a whole new perspective which was great. I can't wait to take the other courses in this series. After taking this course, I can see now that if people were able to understand arguments better and also construct strong arguments of their own, we would be able to to engage in dialogues that really do lead to understanding and compromise in the world. So much of "argument" today is about making others look bad or coming up with the coolest put-down. In the end, this causes more harm than good and prevents us from progressing as a species.

Definitely purchase the accompanying textbook if you can. I found reading the chapters after completing the weekly lectures and quizzes helped to reinforce the material.

By Marius R

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Jul 13, 2020

Excellent course indeed. It was informative and instructive from beginning to the very end. There were many good practices I learned in this course I naturally use or follow on a daily basis. The course described not only how to use the learned concepts and methods but also provided the concise explanations through series of examples of why a better understanding of arguments is important. Special thanks go to the two professors who diligently put together the materials of this course. Clear, crisp and straight-forward explanations from Prof. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. It is delightful to listen. It juts is. Although I am facing every day very tight schedule, it was a pleasure to listen almost every evening this course for the last couple of weeks.

I am really looking forward to get more insights on this field by taking next courses on Think Again series.

By Aedrian A

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Jan 20, 2021

I have been looking for a college-level education in logic (since I never had one during my college days), and this course perfectly quenched the thirst at least for a moment. This is an excellent material for those who want to learn informal logic in a low-stakes setting (without the pressure of doing well in and paying for a college course) but with a respectable measure of academic rigor. The mentioned reference is an impressive resource, and I recommend reading its contents after the corresponding lecture videos. Lastly, the final exam is enjoyable if you aim to get a perfect score, since every attempt (at a certain point) provides non-identical questions. I am looking forward to finish the entire Coursera Specialization.

By Naufal S

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May 18, 2020

I enjoyed this course. The content of the lectures is thought-provoking. The quizzes also reflect the topics covered in the lecture. The usage of discussion forums is also apt as it allows the students to learn from each other and seek insight from other perspectives.

This course has also helped me to be more critical of the arguments that I come across and not to easily believe anything that I read without proper thought. I can apply the materials that I have learnt in my daily life, as a researcher, when I analyse the arguments brought forth in academic papers. Overall, I look forward to the subsequent courses in this series. I would definitely recommend this course to my friends.

By Sandra Z C

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Oct 16, 2020

It was so good!! Although some of the lectures were pretty dense and I needed to take small breaks to process every piece of new information, it all was very digestible. The teacher takes your hand and guides you through all the topics and the tasks, putting attention in every detail we need to successfully understand the content. And you can even go back to the videos to reassure your understanding about things you still might have doubts about. I personally did not use the tool to save notes (not much, at least) during the lectures because I take my notes manually, but that's a great option for those who don't have much time to take notes traditionally. a 10/10.

By AMALIA B

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Nov 22, 2020

I always thought critical thinking was a dangerous trip to mysterious dark paths of the brain and only brilliant scientists and criminal or corporate lawyers could master. To my surprise, this course was designed for me! I actually had fun having this course! It was understandable, had a clear structure and a smooth gradual climax in difficulty. Even though English as a foreign language was an obstacle I had to overcome, and it's been more than 13 years since I did some serious studying for my master's degree, I found it challenging enough both for my English comprehension and my logic. I 'll certainly go for all 4 courses.

By Gene D B S

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Apr 19, 2021

I love this course because the instructor gives an important tool for life in learning a material subject that will affect not only the work-related project but also life decision making base on our understanding of how important the arguments present themselves. Wisdom will make you rich because you understood the situation and know how to tackle the suppressed premises including all the nooks and crannies for these courses. Understand, uncover, decisions,s and avoid falacies. Totally appreciate these courses and will take all the courses based on my financial stability. From where I start, I still know nothing.

By Zacarias A d A N

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Nov 23, 2020

It was a difficult course because it was in English. The examples were in English and it was sometimes challenging to understand the logic, although the captions were very useful. But it was wonderful, I learned a lot and I hope to continue the other modules: Think Again II, III and IV.

Foi um curso difícil por ser em inglês. Os exemplos foram em inglês e algumas vezes foi desafiador compreender a lógica, apesar das legendas terem sido muito úteis. Mas foi maravilhoso, aprendi muito e espero continuar os outros módulos: Think Again II, III e IV.

By Ramasuwame M

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Jun 19, 2020

Helped me learn the otherwise impossible subject . The explanations to the quizes at the end of each lesson were very educative and made me understand the lesson better. Nudged me to continue and complete the course in a simple and careful way. I should have done this course when I was working in a Bid Management Team in a IT company 10 years back. I am able to do this at the age of 65 is sufficient proof of the efficiency of Coursera, the subject, and the masters. Thanks a lot to all of you.

M.Ramasuwame, Chennai, India.

By Gladis I P D

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Jul 22, 2017

Not to dominate the language was a little confusing to understand the subjects, as they are guarding and standard term, for that reason the test I realized them to understand better the subjects, since it has been very useful for me that many points had the written answer. I am aware that I must review each lesson. Obviously has been much knowledge captured, I now have more bases and clarity to be more assertive in understanding what comes to me and what I transmit. Thanks very much teacher Waltter Sinnott

By parwez a

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Jul 1, 2020

This course is for them who are very particular when they say something or they literally understand what they are saying. Say you want to analyse why someone told that sentence, what did he/she mean when uttered that words, why said "she may" meet and not "she will" meet etc. In simple you can break any sentence said to you, to know what was he/she thinking when said that sentence. It needs focus and determination and patience the most BUT it is worth it. :)

By Ningyan D

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Apr 29, 2021

Just finished this great course by Duke University about how to decompose and untangle logical arguments in order to understand, assess, and learn from them. This course really shed a light on explaining a lot of the things I intuitively felt wrong about many logical arguments before but didn't know why and taught me how to catch those "wrongs" in the future. I would definitely recommend this course and I think everyone can benefit by learning from it.

By LoLa

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Mar 10, 2018

This course does help me a lot in the logical way of thinking, understanding and reasoning. Especially with the reconstruction of an argument, by providing three methods of organizing an argument, It not only helps me to understand arguments better, but also help me express my ideas and opinions explicitly. This course blows me away with the amazing examples, especially the professor is so so adorable and humorous. Thank you so much Dr. Armstrong!

By Deepak S

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Jun 17, 2019

The course was awesome. I never knew we can look at discussions and conversations from this kind of a perspective which is not only scientific but also beautifully mesmerizing. The way it was taught by Prof. Sinnott-Armstrong was simply amazing. He has a simple lucid style which is not only friendly and articulate but also entertaining at the same time allowing me to love the course even more. Thank you so much!!

By Santiago M

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Oct 27, 2016

I think the professor is clear an concise (I know, the word "clear" is not easy to define). The content is very interesting, and definitely relevant. It might be so that I won't use EVERYTHING I learned here in my daily life, but I definitely have tools to provide better arguments, and debate other people's arguments.

Some parts of the course are heavy, but with a little bit of effort and dedication, one can follow.