Philosophy 106: Introduction to Logic Instructor: Dr. Bill Harms
SCCC, Fall 2011: Daily 10:00-10:50, Rm. BE3109 Office: 4115a
Office Hours: M-F at 11:00-11:50 or by appointment. E-mail:
Text: Patrick J. Hurley: A Concise Introduction to Logic (Ninth, Tenth or Eleventh Edition). Wadsworth.
*Several copies are on reserve in the SCCC library. You can purchase used copies online for cheap.
*Additionally, .pdf files of individual chapters can be purchased online.
Go to www.cengagebrain.com, search for “hurley logic”, and look the 10th edition, “echapters” option. We will be using chapters 1,6 ,7, 8, and possibly 3. Note that the first chapter can be downloaded for FREE!
Course Requirements:
1) Homework due most class meetings, collectively worth 25% of your grade.
2) Two Midterm exams and a Final exam each worth 25%.
The Course: Logic is the study of normative, that is to say correct, patterns of human reasoning. Most of us have pretty good gut feelings about what makes sense and about what counts as evidence for what, but we often get lost in more complex arguments or let our feelings and wishful thinking carry us away.
Schedule / Week:1. Chapter 1: Basic Concepts. Propositions, Arguments, Indicators, Deduction and Induction; Validity and Truth.
2. Chapter 6: Propositional logic: Logical Symbols, Conditionals, Truth Tables, Classification, Validity.
3. Chapter 7: Rules of Implication.
4. Chapter 7: Rules of Replacement I.
5. Chapter7: Rules of Replacement II.
6. Chapter 7: Conditional Proof. Indirect Proof.
7. Chapter 8: Predicate Logic. Symbols and Translation. Quantification and the rules of inference.
8. Chapter 8: Change of Quantifier Rules.
9. Chapter 8: Indirect Proof, Invalidity.
10. Chapter 3:Informal Fallacies.
11. Wrap-up. Review.
12. Scheduled Final Examination:
Thursday Dec. 15th, 8:00-10:00.
A course in logic like this one tries to accomplish two things. First, it introduces you to a theory of correct reasoning. This is the result of many people over many years attempting to formalize “good common sense” into a set of explicit rules, which can then be used to systematically assess arguments, especially those which are too complicated for most of us to follow unaided. Looking at a system of logic helps us understand things about reasoning that are not immediately obvious, like the difference between inductive and deductive reason and the underlying structure of beliefs.
Second, and more important, is the strengthening of your own reasoning processes that comes from immersing yourself in logical rule-structures. You will learn to recognize certain “tricks” we use to persuade each other, called “informal fallacies.” You will also learn to recognize what it takes to actually prove something (deduction). This is fundamentally a skills-development class. The skills you learn will be a bit on the abstract side, but they really do help you to learn to think clearer. (They will also help you to be a better programmer, if that’s what you’re here for.)
Beware! This is a skills-oriented course, much like a Math class. If you do not come to class and do the homework, you will not be able to do well on the exams. (“Cramming” doesn’t work.) If you fall behind, you will have to work very hard to catch up. I understand that students have lives, families, and jobs. Accidents happen; viruses abound. I will do everything I can to help you if you fall behind. But it is better to keep up, and come talk to me sooner rather than later if you are having problems.
*ADA Statement: Students with documented disabilities requesting class accommodations, or require special arrangements in case of building evacuation should contact the instructor at the beginning of the quarter or set up an appointment with the Disability Support Counselor in room BE 1112.