No special requirement in this regard

Basic competences This course addresses three basic competences that are common to the degree: (BC1) Evaluate policies and programs, their implementation, benefits, and results in both global and local contexts. (BC2) Deliver critical judgments shaped by information coming from several domains ¿ Social Sciences, History, Economy, etc. ¿ and integrate them in the political debate. (BC3) Use acquired analytical skills to confront postgraduate studies with a higher¿degree of autonomy. Specific competences By the end of this course students will have demonstrated the ability to: (SC1) Identify arguments and their basic components ¿ premises, conclusions, hidden premises, etc. (SC2) Evaluate arguments in terms of validity, cogency or soundness (SC3) Defend opinions and claims by taking into account the concepts and analytical skills introduced in the course. (SC4) Identify common fallacies incurred by politicians in public debates. (SC5) Enter some standard debates in Political Philosophy from the perspective (methods and concepts) developed in this course.

1. Knowledge and argumentation 1.1. Knowledge 1.1.1. The concept of knowledge 1.1.2. The value of knowledge 1.1.3. Knowledge and testimony 1.2. Knowledge and argumentation 1.2.1. Non-cognitive theories of argumentation 1.2.2. Cognitive theories of argumentation 1.2.3 Mixed theories 1.2.4. Connecting knowledge and argumentation 2. Arguments 2.1. Preliminary concepts 2.2. Arguments¿ structure and basic components 2.3. Types of arguments 2.3.1. Inductive arguments 2.3.2. Deductive arguments 2.3.3. Fallacies 3. Arguments and interaction 3.1. Preliminaries: reasoning in interaction 3.2. Scope and limits of interactive reasoning 3.2.1. Discursive dilemmas 3.2.2. Informational cascades 3.2.3. Disagreement 3.2.4. Polarization 3.2.5. Conspiracy Theories 3.3. The relevance of arguments in interactive reasoning 3.4. Arguments in the public domain

This course is designed around a set of lectures and seminars. Lectures will be delivered once a week and in them the key concepts of the course will be introduced. Students are required to participate in a weekly seminar where (i) relevant materials related to the course will be discussed and (ii) key concepts and distinction will be applied through cases studies and exercises. An ability to work autonomously and to keep up with reading and written assignments is required in this course. Regular attendance and participation is mandatory and both aspects will be taken into account for the global evaluation.