Instructor: Dr. Steve Naragon, Office: Ad Bldg., #35b (Telephones —  office: 982-5041; home: 982-6033)

 

Required Texts: Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic, 8th ed. (Wadsworth Publ., 2003).

 

Course Objectives.  This course has the highly practical aim of improving your ability to think clearly.  Specifically, by the end of the semester you should have improved your abilities to: (1) identify arguments from other kinds of discourse, and separate what is relevant to an argument from what is not; (2) evaluate arguments in a reasoned and constructive way (as opposed to merely disagreeing with their conclusions); and (3) construct your own arguments such that they are clearly stated and free of fallacies.
     On the more theoretical side, you will become familiar with the nature of terminal (or syllogistic), propositional (or statement or sentential), and quantified predicate logics, and with various forms of inductive reasoning. 

         This will be, at times, a strenuous journey, but one not without rewards, perhaps the finest being the opportunity to contemplate beauty in its purest form.  It also helps boost your LSAT and GRE scores, for whatever that's worth.

 

Requirements

 

Homework and Class Participation.  The homework in boldtype with a C is meant to be done on the computer, using LogicWorks; you don't need to write these out, if you don't want to.  The rest should be done on paper.  If you neglect your homework, then you will find yourself unable to participate properly in class, you will be grossly under-prepared for the exams, and you will either fail the course, or else withdraw or wish you had.  It will not be pleasant.

      You will discover that most of the homework assigned is also part of the LogicCoach tutorial that is provided on the CD that came with your text.  Between the help available from this tutorial, the Learning Logic tutorial also on the CD, your classmates (please form study groups!), and myself, you should do quite well in this class, so long as you devote enough time to it.

 

Attendance.  The occasional student will be able to master this material simply by working through the text and, perhaps, consulting the computer tutorial, but most students will need some help from class in order to fully understand what's going on.  Apart from that, class will generally be amusing.  Those are two reasons for showing up, and no doubt there are more.  If you do miss a class, it will be up to you to check if homework has been collected that day and, if it has, to get your homework to me before the end of the day.

 

Quizzes.  There will be a quiz every day or almost every day drawn from the homework exercises for that day.  This set of quizzes will count as 10% of the course grade.

 

Exams.  Three in-class exams will each be worth 30% of the course grade.

 

 

 

Wed, Feb 2

Introduction to the course.

Fri, Feb 4

1.1-1.2... Arguments, Premises, Conclusions

1.1.I/C: 1-10.

1.1.II: 2, 5, 6.

1.1.III: 1-10 (define terms).

1.1.IV: 1-10.

1.2.I/C: 1-15.

1.2.IV: 1-11 (definitions).

1.2.V: 1-10.

1.2.VI: 1-10.

Mon, Feb 7

1.3... Deduction and Induction

1.3.I/C: 1-10.

1.3.III: 1-15.

Wed, Feb 9

1.4-1.5... Validity and Invalidity

1.4.I/C: 1-5.

1.4.II/C: 1-5.

1.4.III: 1-10.

1.4.V: 1-15.

1.5.I/C: 1-5.

Fri, Feb 11

1.6... Extended Arguments

1.6.1: 1-10.

Mon, Feb 14

1.6... Extended Arguments (cont.)

1.6.II: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11.

Wed, Feb 16

2.1-2.3... Meaning & Definitional Kinds

2.1.III: 2, 3, 6, 9.

2.2.I: 1-5.

2.2.II: 1-10.

2.3.I/C: 1-10.

2.3.III: 1-10.

Fri, Feb 18

2.4... Definitional Techniques

2.4.I/C: 1-15

2.4.III: 1-10.

Mon, Feb 21

3.1-3.2... of Relevance

3.1/C: 1-10

3.2.I/C: 1-15.

3.2.II: 1-10.

Wed, Feb 23

3.3... of Weak Induction

3.3.I/C: 1-15.

3.3.II: 1-10.

3.3.III/C: 1-15.

Fri, Feb 25

3.4... of Presumption, etc.

3.4.I/C: 1-15.

3.4.II: 1-15.

3.4.III/C: 1-20.

Mon, Feb 28      

3.5... Fallacies in Ordinary Language

3.5.I: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 32, 42, 48.

 

Fri, Mar 4

9.1... Analogical Reasoning

9.1.II/C: 2, 3, 5.

Mon, Mar 7

9.2... Determining Causality

9.2.I/C: 1-10.

9.2.II: 1-5.

9.2.III/C: 1-3.

Wed, Mar 9 [disc day]

Fri, Mar 11

9.3... Probability

9.3.I/C: 1-10.

9.3.II: 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 15, 17, 20.

Mon, Mar 14

9.4... Statistical Reasoning

9.4.I: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15, 17, 20.

9.4.II: 2

9.4.III: 1-20.

Wed, Mar 16

9.5-9.6... Scientific Reasoning

9.5.II

9.5.VI: 1-20.

Fri, Mar 18

4.1-4.2... Quality, Quantity, Distribution

4.1: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8.

4.2.I: 1-8.

4.2.II/C: 1-4.

4.2.III/C: 1-4

4.2.IV/C: 1-4.

Mon, Mar 21

4.3... Venn Diagrams

4.3.I: 1-8.

4.3II: 1-8.

4.3.III/C: 1-8.

Wed, Mar 23

4.4-4.5... Licit Inferences

4.4.I: 1-12.

4.4.II/C: 1-3.

4.4.III: 1-10.

4.5.I: 1-5.

4.5.II: 1-5.

4.5.III/C: 1-20.

4.5.IV/C: 1-10.

Mon, Apr 4

4.6-4.7... Translation

4.6: 1-10

4.7.I/C: 1-30.

Wed, Apr 6

5.1... Standard Form, Mood & Figure

5.1.I/C: 1-5.

5.1.II/C: 1-5.

5.1.III: 1-5.

5.1.V: 1-10.

Fri, Apr 8

5.2... Venn Diagrams

5.2.I: 1-10.

5.2.II/C: 1-5.

Mon, Apr 11

5.3-5.4... Rules

5.3.I/C: 1-5.

5.3.III: 1-10.

5.4.I: 2, 3, 5, 8.

Wed, Apr 13

5.5-5.6... Enthymemes

5.5: 2, 3, 6, 8, 9.

5.6.I: 2, 5, 8, 14.

5.6.II: 2, 5, 8, 14.

 

Mon, Apr 18

6.1-6.2... Symbols, Translations, & Truth Functions

6.1.I/C: 1-40.

6.1.III: 1-10.

6.2.I/C: 1-10.

6.2.III/C: 1-15.

6.2.IV/C: 1-10.

Wed, Apr 20

6.3-6.4... Truth-Tables

6.3.I/C:1-5.

6.3.II/C: 1-5.

6.4II/C: 1-5.

Fri, Apr 22

6.5... Indirect Truth-Tables

6.5.I/C: 1-5.

6.5.II/C: 1-5.

Mon, Apr 25

6.6... Argument Forms

6.6.I/C: 1-20.

6.6.II: 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 17.

6.6.III: 2, 6, 9.

Wed, Apr 27

7.1... Implication Rules #1

7.1.I/C: 1-5.

7.1.II/C: 1-10.

7.1.III: 2, 3, 5, 6, 14.

7.2... Implication Rules #2

7.2.I/C: 1-5.

7.2.II/C: 1-10.

7.2.III: 2, 3, 5, 6, 9.

Fri, Apr 29

7.3... Replacement Rules #1

7.3.I/C: 1-5.

7.3.II/C: 1-10.

7.3.III: 5.

7.4... Replacement Rules #2

7.4.I/C: 1-5.

7.4.II/C: 1-10.

7.4.III: 9.

Mon, May 2

7.5-7.6... Conditional & Indirect Proof

7.5.I/C: 1-5.

7.5.II: 2.

7.6.I/C: 1-5.

7.6.II.5.

Wed, May 4

7.7... Proving Logical Truths

7.7.I/C: 1-5.

Fri, May 6

8.1... Symbols & Translation

8.1/C: 1-30.

Mon, May 9

8.2-8.3... Quantifier Rules

8.2.I/C: 1-5.

8.3.I/C: 1-5.

8.4... Conditional & Indirect Proof

8.4.I/C: 1-10.

Wed, May 11

8.6... Relational Predicates

8.6.I/C: 1-10.

8.6.II/C: 1-5.

Fri, May 13

Review