Logical and Critical Reasoning
PH 1900G
Department of Philosophy EIU
Section 600-601
This course is “technology delivered.” Allof your weekly coursework will be onlinethrough D2L.
Professor Information
Dr. Teresa Britton
Use D2L mail for communication: tbritton
Available every day via webct mail.
Skype, phone, online meeting appointments available by appointment.
Course Core Objectives:
Students will learn:
* To analyze the structure of arguments (and their constituent sentences)
* To evaluate the support evidence provides for claims
* To develop and understand Boolean algebra and to use it in order to represent the formal structure of English language sentences and arguments
* To understand the extra-logical conversational principles of natural language and how these interact with logical factors in natural language argumentation.
This course does not have a designation in the writing component.
Grading:
Students will be evaluated on the basis of:
Homework: 60% Deadlines: Check Cengage site.
Midterm: 20% Date & Time: Check d2l calendar (scheduler)
Final exam: 20% Date & Time: Check d2l calendar (scheduler)
Midterm and Final exam are online on d2l. The midterm and final exam are scheduled for one and a half hours with a specific start time and a specific start time.
These dates and times are posted at the end of this syllabus.
If you cannot make the particular date and time for the final or midterm, you must consult with the instructor to reschedule. Do so at least one week prior to the exam. Due to constraints with technology, rescheduled times for midterm or final exam must be for a day and time within 48 hoursafter the exam is scheduled for the class.
Cengage assignments are on a hard deadline each week.The normal deadline is Monday6pm CST as per the calendar on Cengage site. All specific deadlines for all assignments are posted on Cengageand d2l calendar (scheduler) on the first day of class.
What happens if you miss a deadline?
If you miss the deadline, the server will not accept your answers and your grade will be a zero. It is imperative that you start early and save your work day by day. Submit assignments through the week. If you regularly wait until Monday (or Sunday) deadline to do your homework, you will miss deadlines and this will negatively affect your grade quickly.
Can I get an extension? Extensions are only granted if there is a problem that effects the whole class: i.e. problems with the cengage website. Technical problems such as no wifi access, browser or cookie issues that don’t allow you to submit answers, or simply running out of time do not merit an extension.
What can I do to improve my grade?
Beyond getting good grades and meeting the deadline, there are a couple of things you can do to improve your grade.
Free Passes
Every student has FIFTEEN FREE PASSES for missed online assignments or assignments that you wish to redo for a better grade. A free pass covers one section, for example. 3.2 or 1.1. In order to request a free pass please include which pass, which section and missed date, i.e. Pass#3 section 3.1 2/15. Once the pass is requested, the grades will be reset (this cannot be undone!) and the due date will be extended. You have two weeks to complete the section after you request a free pass.
Extra Credit
If you do not like your grade on the aplia assignment, you can get extra credit by completing the other exercises in that section and getting a 90% or above. Unfortunately, due to technical setup, they do not appear as extra credit in the grade book.Be completely confident that I will figure in extra credit to your grade at the end of the semester. If you complete any one exercises set your aplia grade will go up by 10%, so a 60% goes to a 70%. There are usually several exercise sets. Each one gets you an extra 10% on your aplia grade. Maximum to 100% on that section. Extra credit only applies to that section. (For instance, you can’t use exercises in 3.1 to help your aplia grade in 3.2) All of these exercises are designed so that you can repeat them numerous times to get a 90%. If you get less than a 90% it will not count against you, it will not improve your grade. So, don’t worry about starting an exercise set and not completing it. Extra credit can be done at any time during the semester until the last day of class.
Chapter 14 aplia is extra credit. In addition to extra credit policy above, if you complete chapter 14, you can use it to drop your lowest grade.
IMPORTANT GRADE NOTE:
If you complete all your Cengage.Aplia assignments and Midterm exam and have an overall average of 90% or above including extra credit, and do not need a free pass, you are exempt from the final exam and will receive an A in the course. (This is to encourage keeping you on schedule for assignments.)
Topics covered on the midterm and final correspond to textbook chapters and sections which are. Only those sections that have aplia assignments associated with them will be covered, the extra credit sections or chapters will not be covered on the midterm or final.
Midterm Topics
Chapter One Basic Concepts
Chapter TwoLanguage: Meaning and Definition
Chapter Three Informal Fallacies
Chapter Four Categorical Proposition
Chapter Five Categorical Syllogisms
Chapter Six Propositional Logic
Final Exam Topics
Chapter Basic Concepts (again)
Chapter Nine: Analogy and Legal and Moral Reasoning
Chapter Ten: Causality and Mill’s Method
Chapter Eleven: Probability
Chapter Twelve: Statistical Reasoning
Chapter Thirteen: Hypothetical/Scientific Reasoning
Chapter Fourteen: Science & Superstitition
Textbook:
A Concise Introduction Logic using Traditional Logic
Patrick J. Hurley, Twelfth Edition
Online access card. Available through Textbook Rental. (Small card wrapped in plastic.)
Both book and access code are available through Textbook Rental Service (TRS) Contact TRS if you have not received your book or access code.
Academic integrity - Students are expected to maintain principles of academic integrity and conduct as defined in EIU's Code of Conduct ( Violations will be reported to the Office of Student Standards.
Students with disabilities - If you are a student with a documented disability in need of accommodations to fully participate in this class, please contact the Office of Student Disability Services (OSDS). All accommodations must be approved through OSDS. Please stop by Ninth Street Hall, Room 2006, or call 217-581-6583.
The Student Success Center - Students who are having difficulty achieving their academic goals are encouraged to contact the Student Success Center ( for assistance with time management, test taking, note taking, avoiding procrastination, setting goals, and other skills to support academic achievement. The Student Success Center provides individualized consultations. To make an appointment, call 217-581-6696, or go to 9th Street Hall, Room 1302.
Academic integrity
Students are expected to maintain principles of academic integrity and conduct as defined in EIU's Code of Conduct ( Violations will be reported to the Office of Student Standards.
Technical Support
If you need assistance with D2L, call D2L Support toll free at1-877-325-7778. Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Email and Chat options are also availableon the "My Home" page after logging into D2L. Other D2Lresources including a D2L Orientation course for students are available onthe same page. For technical questions regarding othersoftware, hardware, network issues, EIU NetID/password, or Panthermail, contact the ITS Helpdesk at217-581-4357 during regular business hours or submit a help ticket at
Assignment and Exam Calendar Fall 2016
Chapter One: 1.1, 1.2, August 29th 6pm
Chapter One Continued: 1.3, 1.4. 1.5, 1.6 6pm September 6 (Tuesday after labor day) 6pm
(Chapter Two: Ommitted)
Chapter Three: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, September 12 6pm
Chapter Four: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, September 19 11pm
Chapter Four: 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7 6pm September 26 11pm
Chapter Five: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3 (omit 5.4, omit 5.5)October 311pm
Chapter Six: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 October 1011pm
Midterm Exam: October 17 Tuesday at 6pm
Chapter Nine: 9.1. 9.2, 9.3 October 24 11pm
Chapter Ten: !0.1, 10.2, 10.2 October 31 11pm
Chapter Eleven: 11.1, 11.2 November 7 11pm
Chapter Twelve: (there is no aplia 12.1) 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5 November 14 11pm
Chapter Thirteen: 13.1, (there is no 13.2 aplia) 13.3, 13.4 November 21 11pm
Chapter Fourteen: December 5th11pm
Final Exam
December 13 6pm Tuesday