A Course in Advance Thinking for Sixth Formers

Abstract

Good thinking is routinely taught in applied form as part of mastering a subject or subjects, but it can profitably be taught separately as an efficiency-raising supplement to a given programme of study. What follows describes an experimental course in advanced thinking devised for a group of exceptionally able British Lower Sixth Formers from across the subject range. It comprised one thirty-five minute period a week for thirty weeks spread over three terms.

The course is logic-intensive but extensive in reference. The principal source book is Irving Copi and Carl Cohen's Introduction to Logic (used and adapted passim in this article). Its premise that logic is not “the science of the laws of thought” but the science of correct reasoning is accepted axiomatically. Nevertheless, Bertrand Russell's claim that logic is “concerned with the real world just as truly as zoology” (Monk, p. 505) is respected; and the neo-Kantian position that there is no knowledge except formulated knowledge is explored in depth.