Critical Thinking (Level 4)
Course dates: Tuesday 27 April - Tuesday 06 July 2027
Class timetable: 10 sessions (View class timetable for Tuesday 27 April 2027 to Tuesday 06 July 2027)
Timetable data for Tuesday 27 April 2027 to Tuesday 06 July 2027
| Day of class | Date of class | Time | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 27-Apr-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 04-May-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 11-May-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 18-May-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 25-May-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 08-Jun-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 15-Jun-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 22-Jun-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 29-Jun-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
| Tuesday | 06-Jul-2027 | 5:00pm - 8:00pm | Birkbeck Campus, Central London |
Location: Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Fees: £1810.00
RegisterCourse Overview
Our Critical Thinking short course will introduce you to key elements of critical thinking and reasoning, along with the tools to analyse and construct arguments, not just in philosophy but in everyday life. You will learn such skills as how to identify argumentative steps, recognise good and bad reasoning and evaluate evidence of different kinds. Although the focus of this course is on arguments in ordinary language, you will also be introduced to some basic concepts in formal logic that are deployed across philosophical discussions. By the end of the course you will have learned how to think and argue more effectively.
We will cover:
- the structure of arguments
- inferential and deductive arguments
- different forms of inductive inference
- the use of evidence, examples, visual images
- different types of definition
- fallacies in both inferential and deductive argumentation
- validity and soundness
- finding missing or implied premises
- cognitive biases
- propaganda
- imagined scenarios and thought experiments in philosophical arguments
- target audiences and implied knowledge
- working with ideas for coursework essays
- research skills such as evaluating sources, recognising experts.
Assessment is via four short analyses/construction of arguments (15%, 15%, 30% and 40%).
This can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of:
Fees
Students are charged a tuition fee for each short course on registering. Please view details for this course, including dates, location and fees at the top of this page. Short course fees may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see our Fees Policy.
Birkbeck's Lifelong Learning Guarantee
If you've studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a reduction on the tuition fee of this course.
Entry Requirements
Most of our short courses have no formal entry requirements and are open to all students.
This short course has no prerequisites.
As part of the registration process, you may be required to submit a copy of a suitable form of ID.
International students who wish to come to the UK to study a short course can apply for a Visitor visa. Please note that it is not possible to obtain a Student visa to study a short course.
How to Register
You register directly onto the classes you would like to take. Classes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis - so register early.
If you want to take more than one short course, you can select each one separately and then register onto them together via our online application portal. There is usually no formal selection process, although some modules may have prerequisites and/or other requirements, which will be specified where relevant.