Practical Certificate in Critical Thinking, Logic and Reasoning
This 2-Day workshop is designed to provide a foundational understanding of Critical Thinking for application in International Affairs policy development and decision-making settings. This environment can vary from analyzing on-going diplomatic and economic relations to drawing attention to specific security and intelligence threats.
This workshop will next run from October 22 and 23, 2018.
Registration: registration is now open. Please download the registration form here.
Dates: Monday October 22 and Tuesday October 23, 2018
Time: 9 AM to 4 PM daily
Location: Richcraft Hall, Carleton University
Fee: Special until August 31, 2018: $600 + HST
Then early registration: $ 750 + HST, until September 28, 2018. $ 900 + HST thereafter.
NPSIA and NPSIA-PT&D Alumni and Ottawa Diplomatic Association fee: $ 700 + HST.
About the Practical Certificate in Critical Thinking, Logic and Reasoning:
This program is designed to provide a foundational understanding of Critical Thinking for application in International Affairs policy development and decision-making settings. This environment can vary from analyzing on-going diplomatic and economic relations to drawing attention to specific security and intelligence threats.
Its purpose is to provide an understanding of basic Critical Thinking concepts and tools that can be used to counter the biases and filters that we use daily to reach decisions and assess the probability of outcomes. Recognizing these influences is the first-step towards developing Critical Thinking. The next step is learning how to avoid intuitive and non-rational thinking within organizations and institutions, such as the domain of Public and International Affairs, where the risk of failed reasoning can be considerable.
The techniques examined in this workshop can be applied to all professional disciplines, to develop and promote the practice of deliberative reasoning. The concepts and principles underlying these techniques are based on universal intellectual values such as sound evidence, accuracy, clarity, consistency and fairness. Acquiring and applying these techniques is a life-long endeavour but minimizing episodes of irrational thought and striving for intellectual integrity merits such investment by individuals and organisations alike.
What you will learn:
- Provide an historical understanding of how we ‘think’ including the Socratic proposition that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
- Review contemporary Social Science theories about Critical Thinking and its function in the workplace.
- Understand basic concepts and tools used to promote Critical Thinking in complex situations where the integrity of evidence, accuracy, clarity, consistency and fairness are essential.
- Scan the International Affairs environment to address the challenge of political controversy and ethical dilemmas.
- Guidance on the application of Critical Thinking concepts and tools in your workplace.
Your trainer:
Angela Gendron, Senior Fellow at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. She has an academic grounding in economics, philosophy and organizational behaviour and has published numerous articles in international journals on various aspects of intelligence and national security, including counter-terrorism and the ethics of domestic and foreign intelligence collection, which build on her former career in the United Kingdom as an intelligence practitioner.