Introduction to Critical Thinking

Description

The aim of this doctoral training is twofold. On the one hand, to provide an introduction to basic epistemological issues – that is, questioning the nature of (scientific) knowledge, its production and justification, as well as the way we form beliefs on a daily basis. We will specifically focus on classical pitfalls and biases linked to statistics and the use of formal and mathematical tools in scientific and daily life contexts. On the other hand, the aim is also to be able to apply these epistemological reflections to provide practical intellectual tools to sharpen our critical thinking skills and dispositions: when faced with information, how should we position and what method should we use to form the most reliable idea, given the information available, so as to make as few mistakes/be manipulated as possible ? In which cases we’d better not to take position and acknowledge the limits of our competence domain ? And so on.

Pedagogical method

The training will be based on active interactions between the teacher and the participants, as well as on small-group discussions between participants themselves. With the aim of maintaining didactic clarity and interest on the part of participants, the topics covered during the training will all be illustrated by a wide variety of concrete examples drawn from scientific fields and everyday life.

Trainer: Jérémy Attard

Schedule:

One face-to-face session*: on Monday 30th March from 9.30 am to 4 pm.

Followed by 2 online sessions : 

1 – Thursday 2nd April from 10.30 am to 12.30 am

2 – Friday 3rd April 2025 from 10.30 am to 12.30 am

*Place: UMONS venue. Exact location will be provided upon registration.