Symbolic Logic (Phil 130, Math 130, CS 130)  (Fall 2004)

Marya Bower 

 E-mail: bowerma   Office phone: ext. 1438  Home Phone: 939-1998

 

 

Office Hours:  All of my office hours are by appointment.  Please see me before or after class or call me in my office or send an e-mail, if you’d like to schedule an appointment.  You may also call me at home, but please don’t call after 9:00 p.m. unless it is an emergency.  

 

Course Objective:  This is an introductory formal logic course, and our primary objective will be to master the content and methods of formal deductive logic.  Specifically, you will learn how to

 

·         recognize and reconstruct arguments in ordinary language

·         translate propositions and arguments from English into logical notation

·         test propositions for equivalency, consistency, tautology, contradiction, and contingency

·         test arguments for validity

·         generate valid conclusions from assumed premises under stipulated rules of inference.

·         use the notation and the techniques of propositional (sentential) logic and predicate (quantificational) logic.

 

General Education: This course fulfills the Analytic Reasoning requirement.  To get this credit, it doesn't matter whether you registered for this course as Philosophy 130, Mathematics 130, or Computer Science 130.

 

Readings:  The required texts for the class are the Course Packet and Copi’s Symbolic Logic 5th Edition.  Klenk’s Understanding Symbolic Logic 4th Edition is an optional text; reading and homework for all of these are noted in the schedule below.  There is at least one copy of Copi and of Klenk on reserve at Lilly Library. 

 

For each class meeting, I will assume that you have read the reading assignments for the day.  Generally, I will refer to the Course Packet and Copi’s methodologies in class; Klenk provides an alternative that some students may find helpful.  Please note, there will be slight differences in the methodologies presented in each of these venues.  When in doubt, use this guide to determine which format to use to solve the problems we are working on: follow my directions presented in class first, the guidelines presented in the course packet second, Copi’s third, and Klenk’s fourth. 

 

Proposed Schedule: 

 

Date

 

Readings

 

Homework / Other Important Info

Aug 25

Introduction to Class

 

 

Aug 27

Packet: Basic Terms of Logic; Truths of Statements, Validity of Reasoning

Copi: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4       Klenk: Unit 1

 

 

K: pp. 16-17, 1,2

 

Aug 30

Sept 1

Sept 3

Packet: Propositional Logic Terms and Symbols; Translation Tips; Paradoxes of Material Implication

Copi: 2.1, 2.2     Klenk:  Units 2, 3, 4

 

 

C: pp. 14-15, I, II, III

K: pp. 28-29, 1, 2; pp. 45-46, 1, 2, 3

 

C: pp. 18-19, I, II, III

K: pp. 63-65, 1, 2, 3, 4

 

Sept 6

Sept 8

Sept 10

Copi:  2.3, 2.4     Klenk:  Units 5, 6

 

C: pp. 25-26, I, II, III;

K: pp. 83-85, 1, 4;

 

C: pp. 30-31, I, II

K: pp. 98-101, 2, 3, 6

 

Sept 13

Sept 15

 

Packet: Short Cut Truth Table Method

Copi: 3.3       Klenk: Unit 5, section 3

 

C: p. 49, All

K: pp. 83-85, 3

Sept 17

Test  #1 on Truth Tables

 

This will be an in class test.

Sept 20

Sept 22

Sept 24

Sept 27

Sept 29

 

Packet:  Intro to Derivations; Justifying the Rule of Rigor; Rules of Inference; Rules of Replacement

Copi:  3.1, 3.2   Klenk:  Unit 7 (but add in rule) and Unit 8

 

C: pp. 34-38, All

K: pp. 128-135, All

 

C: pp. 43-48, I, II, III 1-18, IV

K: pp. 156-162, All

Oct 1

Test  #2 on Sentential Logic Derivations –

 

This will be an in class test.

Oct 4

Oct 6

Oct 11

Copi 3.5, 3.7  Klenk:  Unit 9

 

 

 

C: p. 52, All; p. 54, All

K: pp. 183-186, 1, 2, 4, 5

 

C: p. 56, All; p. 61, 1-5

 

Oct 14

Midterm Exam on Sentential Logic

 

Take home exam

Oct 13

Oct 15

Oct 18

Packet: Translations Tips, Predicate Logic Terms and Symbols, Predicate Logic Review Sheet, Translation Guide for Predicate Logic

Copi:  4.1      Klenk: Units 10, 11, 12

 

C: pp. 69-70, I

K: pp. 195-196, All; pp. 208-209, 1, 3, 4; pp. 230-233, all but group 2

 

Oct 20

Oct 22

Oct 25

 

Copi: 4.4   Klenk:  Units 13, 14

C: pp. 88-89, All

K: pp. 244-246, 1-5; p. 252-255, 2-5

 

Oct 27

 

Test #3 on Predicate Logic Translations

This will be an in class test.

 

Oct 29

Nov 1

Nov 3

Nov 5

Nov 8

Nov 10

 

Packet: UI, EG, EI, and UG Strengthened Version; Derivations in Predicate Logic

Copi: 4.5        Klenk:  Unit 15

 

C: pp. 100-101, All; pp. 103-105, All

K: p. 277-279, All

Nov 12

Test #4 on Derivations in Predicate Logic

This is an in-class test.

 

Nov 15

Nov 17

Nov 19

Nov 29

 

 

Copi:  5.1,  Klenk: Unit 17

 

 

 

C: pp. 127-130, I, II

K: pp. 317-322, All

 

Dec 1

Dec 3

Dec 6

Dec 8

 

Copi:  5.2

Klenk:  Unit 18, Section 1

C: pp. 132-133, All;   K: p. 335, 1,

Dec 14

8:00 a.m.

Final Exam

The final exam will be given only at this time.  Please make your travel plans accordingly.

 

 

 

Summary of Work

Quizzes                                                                      10%

Midterm Exam on sentential logic.                                        20%

Four Tests (10% each)                                                         40%

Final Exam on sentential and predicate logic.                                  30%

 

Important Notes:

·         Quizzes or tests that are missed or handed in late will count as zeros.

·         You must take both the midterm and the final to pass the course.

·         You must pass the final in order to pass the course; in order to pass the final, you must pass each section of the final exam. 

 

 

Class participation:  You are expected to arrive on time and to attend class every day that class is scheduled.   Class periods will include a mixture of lecture and “lab work” on problems. 

 

Homework:  Homework is assigned in the schedule above.  Although I do not collect homework, we will refer to it in class and you should be prepared to share your answers with your colleagues.   I recommend that you do all of the exercises assigned each week.  In general, Klenk’s exercises are easier, so they are a good place to begin.  You must, however, be able to complete the level of difficulty found in the exercises in Copi.  Do not be lulled into complacency by the first few exercises that Copi presents. The level of difficulty increases, and you will be expected to be able to solve the more difficult problems.  Most of the problems on the quizzes, tests, and exams will be just like the exercises in Copi, so practicing on them is the best way to learn the material.

 

Quizzes:  On most Mondays there will be a quiz during the first 10 minutes of class.  If you come late to class or are absent for this quiz, you will not be able to take the quiz at another time.

 

Tests / Exams:  There will be four tests given during the semester, in addition to the mid-term exam and the final exam. Some of the tests / exams in the class may be in a take-home format.  Directions for take-home tests will be given in class, but you should know that they will need to be done within a relatively short period of time (on a specific day, if assigned).  You will need to make plans to accommodate this, if a take home test is assigned.  Please follow these instructions for all of the tests and exams:

 

1.     Assume that all tests and exams are closed-book, closed-notes, and closed-computers, unless I make an explicit exception. Tests and exams must be completed in one sitting, that is, you cannot start and stop and start your tests again.

 

2.     Always show your work. A correct answer with no work shown will receive no credit. A correct answer with only partial work shown will receive only partial credit.

 

3.     If you don't like the way you've begun an answer, cross it out unmistakably and start again. If you leave more than one attempted answer to the same question, I will grade them all and count the worst one. Similarly, if you have a choice of doing, for example, two out of three questions, feel free to try all three, but eventually cross out all but two; otherwise I will grade them all and count the worst two. I assume that if you could tell which ones were best, then you would cross out all the others.

 

4.     If you finish early, proofread your answers. Once you turn in your test or exam, you may not make any changes to your answers. If there is some reason why you should not take the test or exam (such as severe illness), tell me beforehand, not once it has begun.

 

5.     Missed tests and exams cannot be made up unless you have a medical or other substantial excuse for your absence.

 

6.     Finally, if you don't finish a test or exam in the time allotted, draw a line across your page, label it somehow ("time's up"), and keep writing. I'll decide later how much to count from below the line.

 

Absences:  Prompt and regular class attendance is an essential part of this and every course.  If you chose to miss a class, you are responsible for getting notes from other students in order to learn what was presented on the day that you missed. 

 

Disabilities:  Any student with a documented disability who needs to arrange appropriate accommodations must contact Donna Keesling in the Center for Academic Enrichment. If you have any questions about this process, please ask me.

 

Plagiarism:  If a student is discovered to have committed plagiarism, whether deliberately or inadvertently, the student will fail the course and the situation will be addressed according to the guidelines set forth in the Student Handbook.

 

Additional Assistance:  Teaching Assistants and Tutors:  Nathan Eckstrand will serve as a Teaching Assistant for this class.  In addition to helping out during class, he also will hold study sessions regularly during the semester.  There also are tutors registered for this class at the Center for Academic Enrichment.  Additional information regarding these opportunities will be given in class.

 

Hey, what department is this course REALLY in?  Sometimes students are confused because this course is cross-listed under three departments.  Here’s a quick explanation for this: Symbolic Logic is a philosophy course and is required for the philosophy major partially because logic was one of the original five branches of philosophy.  (The five are: epistemology, logic, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics).  In addition, and more important, since doing philosophy well requires one to be able to construct valid arguments, the techniques learned in this course are essential for philosophers.  This course also is a mathematics course because it involves the study of fundamental mathematical and analytic symbolization as well as the construction of formal proofs.  You will probably hear echos of your algebra and geometry classes in this course.  Finally, this course is an introductory computer science course because it teaches some of the basic logical relationships that undergird computer operations and programming; it also helps students to develop attention to detail that is required for successful programming.  All in all, this course accomplishes a lot.  In addition, if you work hard, you should find it to be fun, too!

 

Final Word: I would like to thank Peter Suber for his generosity in sharing his website, handouts, and advice for this course.  If you appreciate the help you get from his materials, let him know at peters@earlham.edu !