The focus of this essay on the psychological and pedagogical issues of the college introductory logic course includes a look at the roots of the informal logic movement, an analysis of logic and language, a statement of the need for evaluation of the informal logic course, and some suggested alternatives. (JN)

The use of the microcomputer shapes the student's way of thinking, it is argued, thereby reinforcing the patterns of social interaction, the legitimacy of what constitutes knowledge, and the ideology of the educational experience. The computer mediates the cultural transmission process. The role of the teacher as amplifier and clarifier becomes…

To shed light on whether reason or attitudes, the intellect or the emotions, should be the primary focus of educational efforts, the writings of Jean Paul Sartre on human motivation are digested. Educators should foster the conscious and deliberate acceptance of the human condition of freedom. (PP)

The competencies needed by a successful teacher in instruction are those needed to do whatever is required, within moral limits, to (1) change the truth value of the premises in the practical argument in the mind of the child, or to (2) complete those premises, or to (3) add to the range of premises accessible to the child in the formation of…

The relationship between moral thinking at the level of specific rules and precepts and at the abstract, universal level is discussed, and it is argued that the first-level virtues are as necessary as those based on abstraction. The demands of education for moral life in a pluralistic society are considered. (PP)

The validity of Lawrence Kohlberg's empirical findings and of his cognitive developmental approach to understanding moral development is questioned. An alternative theory of moral development which emphasizes moral sensibility as well as reasoned moral judgment is proposed. (PP)