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Clarity comes before criticism
You cannot evaluate an argument fairly until its claims and support are reconstructed clearly.
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01:730:101 · Philosophy · School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
Logic, Reasoning, and Persuasion develops reasoning skills by examining what arguments are, how they go wrong, what makes them valid, and how to clarify, evaluate, and construct arguments.
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Rutgers Schedule of Classes
How hard?
Students rate teaching
SIRS · 2,531 responses · 2014–2025
Spring 2027
7 open in snapshot · 4 instructors
When it meets
College Avenue, Livingston
Checked-in sections · current seat counts are unavailable.
MTh 8:30 AM · College Avenue · 2 sections · 2 open
MW 3:50 PM · College Avenue · 1 section · 1 open
AI-generated overview
Higher means more demanding · AI summary
4 units · topic sequence may vary by instructor
Students learn to distinguish arguments from explanations, assertions, and other kinds of language.
The course asks what makes an argument valid and how structure affects whether premises support a conclusion.
Students identify ways arguments go wrong, including ambiguity, unsupported assumptions, and misleading rhetorical moves.
The final skill is constructing and clarifying arguments that are both logically responsible and persuasive to an audience.
You cannot evaluate an argument fairly until its claims and support are reconstructed clearly.
An argument can have a false premise yet be valid, so structure and truth must be evaluated separately.
Rhetorical force can help communication, but it does not replace adequate reasons.
The goal is to make better judgments by repeatedly applying analysis to real arguments.
Common pitfall
Instead
Check whether the premises logically entail the conclusion before judging truth.
Common pitfall
Instead
Explain exactly how the reasoning fails in the specific argument.
Common pitfall
Instead
Separate how forcefully a claim is presented from the quality of its reasons.
7 open · College Avenue, Livingston
| Section | Status | Instructor | Meeting | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0116037 | Open | Yoonhee Kang | Monday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at HH A1; Thursday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at HH A1HH A1 | College Avenue |
| 0216038 | Open | Yoonhee Kang | Monday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at HH A1; Thursday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at HH A1HH A1 | College Avenue |
| 0316039 | Open | Hutchens | Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at BE 003; Friday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at BE 003BE 003 | Livingston |
| 0416040 | Open | Hutchens | Tuesday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at BE 003; Thursday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at BE 003BE 003 | Livingston |
| 0516041 | Open | Derstine | Tuesday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at FH B6; Thursday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at FH B6FH B6 | College Avenue |
| 0616042 | Open | Derstine | Tuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at FH A1; Thursday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at FH A1FH A1 | College Avenue |
| 0716043 | Open | Birolli Abrahao | Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at FH B4; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at FH B4FH B4 | College Avenue |
Historical student surveys
Teaching
3.92
Course quality
3.84
Response rate
40.5%
Coverage
109 offerings · 2014–2025
| Instructor | Offerings | Teaching | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janelle Derstine | 15 | 3.71 | 3.75 |
| Yoonhee Kang | 11 | 4.29 | 4.10 |
| Wes Skolits | 11 | 3.66 | 3.57 |
| Benjamin Hutchens | 8 | 4.05 | 3.95 |
| Justin Kalef | 6 | 3.82 | 3.82 |
| Peter Kalef | 5 | 3.54 | 3.50 |
Catalog and planning context
Credits
3
Current campuses
College Avenue, Livingston
Current availability
7 open of 7
Catalog terms
Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter
Core codes
AHo, SOEHS
Loaded terms
8
No prerequisite note appears in the checked-in Rutgers catalog snapshots.
No direct degree-list membership appears in the checked-in requirement index.