M. Andrew Holowchak, Ph.D. is a professor of philosophy and history, and editor of 'The Journal of Thomas Jefferson's Life and Times.' He is author/editor of over 65 books and over 270 published essays on topics such as ethics, ancient philosophy, science, psychoanalysis, and critical thinking. His current research is on Thomas Jefferson-he is acknowledged by many scholars to be the world's foremost authority on the thinking of Jefferson-and has published 27 books and over 200 essays on Jefferson. Like Jefferson, he has a passion for "putting up and pulling down," but his putting up and pulling down is not architectural, but done on a landscape or in a garden. He also enjoys lifting weights, bike riding, conferencing, and talking about Thomas Jefferson.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I: Introductory Concerns
Module 1: What is Philosophy?
Module 2: Philosophy & Critical Reasoning
Part II: Reading Philosophy
Module 3: General Form of a Philosophical Work
Module 4: Four Helpful Steps
Part III: Evaluating Philosophy
Section A: Argument Recognition & Reconstruction
Module 5: Elements of Argument Recognition
Module 6: Standard Argument Form
Section B: Argument Evaluation
Module 7: Setting the Logical Boundaries
Module 8: Conditions of Acceptance & Rejection
Module 9: Three Common Deductive Arguments
Module 10: Common Inductive Arguments
Module 11: Common Fallacies
Section C: Reconstruction through Diagramming
Module 12: Fundamentals of Diagramming
Module 13: 10 Diagrammatical Tips
Part IV: Writing Philosophy
Section A: Preliminaries for Philosophical Essays
Module 14: 13 General Tips for Writing
Module 15: Tips of Avoidance
Module 16: Common Mistakes
Section B: Writing Philosophical Essays
Module 17: Preparing an Outline
Module 18: Writing a Philosophical Thesis
Module 19: Simple Critical Essay
Module 20: Synthetic Critical Essay
Section C: Revising & Rewriting Philosophical Essays
Module 21: Motivating a Rewrite
Module 22: Suggestions for Revising and Rewriting Essays
Appendices
Appendix A: Some Exercises for Diagramming
Appendix B: Teacher/Student Comment Sheet
Appendix C: Plan-for-Revision Sheet
List of Sources Cited