Understand what cognitive biases are and why they’re so important for critical thinking.
Understand the concept of “mindware” as a component of improving critical thinking and reasoning.
Understand how ignoring cognitive biases can open the door to disastrous decisions, reduced performance and social injustice.
Understand why many businesses and industries are offering cognitive bias training to their managers and employees.
Be able to describe several important cognitive biases — such as confirmation bias, pattern-seeking, anchoring, and hindsight bias — and give examples that illustrate how they operate.
Understand what “debiasing” is, and be able to describe several effective strategies for reducing the harmful effects of cognitive biases.
Explain why many businesses and organizations resist implementing debiasing strategies.
introduce students to fundamental concepts of critical thinking (logic, argument analysis, rhetoric, reasoning with probabilities, the importance of background knowledge, etc.)
explore the importance of critical thinking for personal development, participation in democratic society, and the pursuit of wisdom
explore the role that critical thinking principles play in good essay writing
