This week, Dr. John Wingard was here at Impact teaching “Intro to Critical Thinking and Logic”. He came down from Covenant College to share his knowledge with us.
He started the class by giving a brief introduction of himself and then began to explain critical thinking. Most people know what critical thinking is, but we got a more in-depth look at critical thinking during this class time. We learned that the aim of critical thinking is to aid us in making good judgments and help us discern what is true and false. Critical thinking is really just a combination of epistemology (the study of knowledge), rhetoric, and logic. After spending some more time elucidating upon critical thinking, Dr. Wingard started to teach about rhetoric.
During this segment of the class, we learned about the different “slanters” that can be used in argument to help one prove his or her point. We also learned about what an argument actually is and its basic components.
On our last day with Dr. Wingard, we discussed the basics of logic. He taught us about finding the validity in premises and how to prove whether or not a conclusion is sound. Afterward, we further examined rhetorical argument and then class was over and we had to say goodbye.
This was a learning time for the whole class and I think that we will all be putting what we learned into practice. Critical thinking skills are essential to life. We students are privileged enough to now have a better grasp of the core concepts.
Mattison Chandler
Class of 2011