Fall 2010 (#3342)

Philosophy 9 -- Symbolic Logic

Doug McFerran

email: dmcf34@yahoo.com
office hours are through email; I try to reply within 24 hours
phone: 818-364-7710

Course description:

With symbolic logic we learn how to take factual statements and represent them in such a way that we may develop deductively valid arguments. We also learn how to test arguments for validity and how to demonstrate step by step that a particular conclusion follows from a set of premises

Expected student learning outcomes:

By the end of the course you should be able to

--symbolize statements in both propositional and quantifier logic (including relationships expressed with dyadic predicates),
--use a truth table method to test propositional arguments and other methods to test arguments involving quantifiers, and
--use a natural deduction system to present derivations in both propositional and quantifier logic.

You should also be able to

--recognize the difference between an argument intended to be deductively valid and other types of reasoning, and
--see when a mistake in reasoning involves a formal fallacy rather than an informal one.

Something you should know:

While this course is typically required for philosophy majors and also for computer science majors, please remember that it does not satisfy the critical reasoning requirement for the UC campuses and so is not part of the IGETC program. It does satisfy the critical reasoning requirement for graduation at Pierce and it also satisfies the critical reasoning requirement for the Cal State campuses. Make sure to look carefully at your catalog, and ask a counselor if you are in doubt.

Text: The material for the course is available online both at the Internetlogic.org site and at the Pierce Moodle site. It is divided into three sections. Each chapter includes some brief exercises with answer keys, and there are several review pages.

Assignments for the class are available only on the Moodle site for the class.

Additional resources worth purchasing (available through Amazon.com as well as your local bookstores) are Logic for Dummies by Mark Zegarelli and the Quickstudy guide for logic. (There will be some differences between the Zegarelli book and what we do in this course, but it may still prove very useful.)

What is expected of you:

Symbolic logic requires going step by step in order to develop the specific skills necessary for symbolization, testing, and proofs. Rarely is a student able to cram for an exam and survive.

Each chapter presents an explanation and examples for one of the things you need to be able to work with. There is then a brief set of exercises with an answer key available (to get the full benefit you should attempt these exercises on your own and not just skip to the answer key). On the page with the answer key there is a banner link to a form that will let you ask me about anything you may not see clearly (the same banner link you see above).

Grading:

A=90, B=80, C=70, D=60

Each student begins the semester with 50 points. Weekly logs are expected and failing to submit them by the Monday of the following week will lead to a 1 point deduction. However, there are also exercises and review tests indicated on the Moodle schedule, and each of these will be a 1 point bonus.

GO TO THE WEEKLY SCHEDULE at Internetlogic.org

GO TO THE WEEKLY SCHEDULE at the Moodle site