List of Video Tutorial Courses
(See Video Previews)

Available

• Basic Concepts in Logic and Argumentation
• Basic Concepts in Propositional Logic
• Common Valid and Invalid Argument Forms
• Fallacies
• How to Write a Good Argumentative Essay

• Writing Essays: How to Cite Sources and Avoid Plagiarism (in progress)
• Reasoning with Generalizations and Causes (up next)
• More to come!

Four Reasons to Learn
Logic and Critical Thinking

1. Self-Defense
In our society there are powerful industries devoted to influencing your beliefs and your actions (think of commercial advertising, government and political lobbying, and so on). It goes without saying that such industries may not always have your best interest at heart. A background in logic and critical thinking can help to protect you against such influences by raising your awareness of the many bad arguments and persuasive techniques that are commonly used by such industries.

2. Self-Determination
A person is self-determined when they can think and make choices for themselves. A good background in critical thinking and argumentation can help you to become an independent critical thinker and a better advocate for your own values and beliefs.

3. Civic Duty
In Western democracies, political power is (ideally) invested in the people — a government “by the people, for the people”. Such a government works best when its citizens are informed and able to make reasoned critical judgments about what is best for themselves and their fellow citizens. The skills taught in these tutorials can help you become a more effective participant in this democratic process.

4. Philosophy
Logic and argumentation are primary tools by which philosophers have pursued wisdom. Philosophers have had a profound influence on the ethical, political and scientific worldview of Western culture. The study of logic and argumentation can help you to understand (and critically assess) the contributions of these thinkers and their influence on the world in which we live.

Those are pretty lofty reasons! Can you give me something more practical?

If you’re looking for more immediate practical benefits of studying logic, consider this:

Learning logic and critical reasoning skills can help you get better grades in high school and college/university, and better scores on admission tests for graduate school (the GRE), law school (the LSAT), business administration programs (the GMAT), and medical school (the MCAT). All of these tests have sections devoted to analytical or critical reasoning, and some (most notably the LSAT) require you to solve logic puzzles. The material in these tutorials will give you a more comprehensive background in logic than you will ever get in any of the (often very expensive) prep courses for these tests.

And even if you’re not applying to programs like this, knowing some logic can also help you perform better at any job that requires good thinking and communication skills.

So who can benefit from these
video tutorials?

The tutorials were made with the following audiences in mind:

High School Students
Many high school students never master the basic writing and reasoning skills necessary for academic success. But there is nothing in these tutorials that can't be learned by a motivated 14-year-old. Early exposure to this material can help high school students succeed in their courses and prepare them for college or university.

College and University Students
Basic essay-writing and critical thinking skills are even more important for college and university students, yet only a fraction of students ever take a critical thinking class. I've had many students say that they wished they had learned this material in their freshman year.

Philosophy Students
Logic and argumentation is vital to the study of philosophy, and most philosophy students are required to take at least one course in logic. These tutorials can function as both a refresher and a complement to these logic courses.

Anyone Preparing for Law School
All students wanting to get into law school must take the LSAT test. This test has sections on essay comprehension, argument analysis and "logic games", and mastery of basic concepts of logic and argument analysis is necessary for success on this test. These video courses aren't specifically tailored to the LSAT, and are no substitute for a good LSAT prep guide, but they teach a number of important logical concepts that are necessary for solving many kinds of LSAT problems.

Anyone Who Values Rationality and Critical Thinking
I met a 60-year-old man in a coffee shop a couple years back. We got to talking and he mentioned how much he valued the one philosophy course he took back in college 40 years earlier. He recalled with approval a quote from the philosopher Bertrand Russell:

"I wish to propose a doctrine .... The doctrine in question is this: that it is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatever for supposing it true. I must, of course, admit that if such an opinion became common it would completely transform our social life and our political system."