Critical Reasoning and Logic (Soft Skills Course)
IMPRS CoNI Transferable Skills
- Date: Oct 10, 2025
- Time: 09:00 AM - 05:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Dr Malte Engel
- Location: Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
- Room: Charlotte Buehler Room (C402)
- Host: IMPRS CoNI
- Contact: imprs-coni@cbs.mpg.de
Registration will open a few weeks before the event
Registration:
Doctoral researchers of IMPRS CoNI: via OpenCampus
Interested students from partner institutions of IMPRS CoNI: Please contact imprs-coni@cbs.mpg.de
Maximum number of participants: 23
Course credits: 0.25 ECTS CPs
Conditions: 80% attendance
Course description:
In science, thinking clearly and seeing the logical relationships between ideas is as important as are experiments and data. Nevertheless, the logical basics of correct reasoning are not part of the curricula for most university degrees. In this course we introduce basic concepts of logic such as validity and soundness and the distinction between inductive and deductive reasoning. The idea of the course is to use these concepts as a toolbox for various aspects of scientific work. Participants get to know techniques that help them identify strengths and weaknesses in arguments, structure texts optimally, and to state arguments clearly and precisely.
Content:
- basic concepts of logic (validity and soundness of arguments etc.)
- inductive vs. deductive reasoning
- common types of fallacies
- tips and exercises for oral argumentation