A Division of Patten University
LDR 669
Critical Thinking and Decision Analysis
Semester Units
3
Prerequisite
BUS 602
Course Description
The overall objective of this course is to improve the student’s abilities in both critical thinking and decision-making. Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking and argument with the purpose of improving it. Decision-making can be defined as the process of identifying alternatives, evaluating the alternatives, and choosing between the alternatives. Critical thinking and decision-making processes are intertwined. The critical thinking segment of this course provides a guide to the analysis, reconstruction, and evaluation of arguments designed to help students distinguish good reasoning from bad. The decision-making segment shows how decision analysis can be applied so that decisions are more effective by providing numerous usable decision analysis approaches.
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Analyze and evaluate arguments in various forms of writing, distinguishing good reasoning from bad.
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Construct coherent arguments and identify their logical structures.
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Assess assumptions and unstated premises in argumentative writing.
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Recognize and avoid common logical fallacies.
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Apply quantitative tools and analysis to enhance decision-making.
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Implement decision analysis techniques, including SMART and decision trees, to solve problems under uncertainty.