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Critical Thinker Academy: Learn to Think Like a Philosopher (Udemy.com)

How to improve your grades, advance in your job and expand your mind -- by learning how to think for yourself!

Created by: Kevin deLaplante

Last updated July 2020

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What you will learn

  • fundamental concepts of critical thinking (logic, argument analysis, rhetoric, reasoning with probabilities, the importance of background knowledge, etc.)
  • the importance of critical thinking for personal development, participation in democratic society, and the pursuit of wisdom
  • the role that critical thinking principles play in good essay writing
  • how cognitive biases make us prone to errors in how we form beliefs and make judgments
  • how our tribal psychology and political polarization affect our ability to think critically
  • how debates in science often turn on the meanings of key terms, like "theory", "fact", "hypothesis" and "law"
  • and much more!

How it compares

Against the other 1,107 rated Udemy courses in Personal Development on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.6 out of 5higher than 54% of them
  • Reviews6,378#60 of 1,108 by number of reviews
  • Length19.6 hourslonger than 97% of them
  • Last updatedJuly 2020earlier than 81% of them

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Course Description

  For long-term success in school, business and life, learning HOW to think is far more important than learning WHAT to think.  

          Yet rather than serve as the core of any education worthy of a rational human being, we have relegated the teaching of logic, argument analysis and critical reasoning to specialty courses in universities that reach too few students, too late in their education. 

  In this course I share my growing understanding of these topics, with a focus on what is practically important and useful for developing as independent critical thinkers. 

  Currently the course contains over 200 videos totalling over 19 hours of viewing time! 

         Among the topics you will learn: 

  • why critical thinking is important

  • the difference between logic and argumentation

  • what makes an argument good or bad

  • the importance of background knowledge for critical thinking

  • techniques of argument analysis and reconstruction

  • what our growing understanding of the human mind tells us about how we actually form beliefs and make decisions

  • how tribalism and political polarization affect our ability to think critically

  • how scientific debates often turn on the meanings of key terms, like "theory", "law", and "hypothesis"

  • how to reason about chance and uncertainty

  • how to write a good argumentative essay

  • how to cite sources and avoid plagiarism in your writing

         and much more! This content is drawn from a variety of teaching resources I've developed over the past few years, including a video podcast. 

        It's important for you to know that I am continuing to add videos and course modules on a regular basis. This course will continue to grow and grow -- I have a LOT OF GROUND that I want to cover! This is ONLY THE BEGINNING!  

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Instructor Details

Kevin deLaplante

I'm a philosopher of science by training, and I've taught philosophy and critical thinking at the university level for twenty years. 

From 2009-2013 I was Chair of the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies at Iowa State University. 

In 2015 I left my tenured academic job to pursue a career as an independent online educator. I produce video tutorial courses on topics in science, philosophy, critical thinking and communication skills.

I also do consulting and coaching, and run a membership community dedicated to improving our "Argument Ninja" skills!


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Reviews

4.6

6,378 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Allen Garner on 4/21/2026

Information is interesting but very dated. Even though the principles may apply now, there is no longer interaction for a student to see if the topics apply today - which, incidentally, I think they do. In today's political climate, this class could be very helpful if there were accompanying dialogue among students and the teacher.

By Danielle Lane on 3/31/2026

I really enjoyed this course. I like the questions, to check your knowledge (quiz) dotted about. It is in-depth and the teacher knows what he is talking about. I have sections that I am going to go over again to ensure that I understand parts I found more difficult. Really good course.

By Gregory J. McFann on 12/11/2025

I've seen all this stuff at various times and places, but nice to have it presented all together. What is interesting is that as a PhD, it is assumed I am an expert in critical thinking, yet there is no explicit training in the standard PhD program (in STEM at least). Nor are there explicit courses in scientific methodology, statistical inference, or scientific ethics (end of rant).

By Artur Mickiewicz on 1/26/2024

This course is very deep and interesting. For me as non-English speaker (well I am but not as first language) it was very hard to complete all the task and I admit I was guessing some of them. Some of quizes were very long and it was frustrating to get wrong answers. Shame there is no assigments or other ways to encourage students. The biggest shame is that author of the course abandoned it as well as his youtube channel and it may not be easy to get hold of him. There is no community behind this course anymore (it was, when the youtube channel was active). Overall, if you look for interesting course about logic, philosophy and you don't mind bend your brain a bit, it's good. Don't expect support from lecturer or social activities on discord or elsewhere.

By Jitin Jayant on 3/21/2022

Overall, this course is amazing, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Critical Thinking. But I do have one problem with it: there is no activity that could help us practice what is taught in the lectures. So we have no other choice but to be creative. Otherwise, it's a great course. GIVE IT A GO!!

By S G on 1/12/2021

This course definitely achieved its goal of turning its learner into a critical thinker through teaching a variety of topics that were both fascinating and relevant. The course material was very well-taught by the instructor and very clear and precise in matters where things could sometimes get quite blurry. A wonderful course indeed!

By Darnell Roberts on 12/20/2020

Prompted

By Janine O'Shea on 11/20/2020

It's bringing different topics together for me

By Samuel Kweku Narteh on 11/18/2020

very Inspiring lecture

By Camila Glock on 11/11/2020

It's a really interesting topic, very well explained and seen from other perspectives that are usually presented when discussing critical thinking

By Ethan Spann on 11/5/2020

Wonderful course. Given today's current internet, social media and political climates, I would say that critical thinking skills are an essential part of maneuvering through the many bits of information that are at our disposal.

By Mateusz Cuchra-Cukrowski on 11/3/2020

What you can say afer just one video? I see he has not much to say, but maybe it will change further on.

Showing 12 of 316 reviews

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Overall Score : 92 / 100