PHI 215: Introduction to Deductive Logic
Spring 2006
Instructor: James Beebe, Ph.D.
Office hours: T 3:00-4:30pm, Th 1:00-2:30pm in 118 Park Hall; or by appointment
Office phone: 645-2444, ext. 118
Mailbox: 138 Park Hall
Email address: beebejames@yahoo.com
Text:
Option 1: Buy C. Stephen Layman’s The Power of Logic, 3rd edition (approx. $100
Option 2: Shop online for a new or used copy of the 1st or 2nd edition of The Power of Logic.
Option 3: Buy a new or used copy of ANY edition of ANY of the following logic books:
Patrick Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic
Irving Copi & Carl Cohen, Introduction to Logic
Option 4: Borrow from a friend or check out from the library a copy of any logic textbook that contains explanations of the following items: (a) categorical propositions, (b) Venn diagrams, (c) truth tables (both full and abbreviated), and (d) 13 basic rules for constructing proofs in propositional logic.
Important Note: Different logic books have different rules, different symbols and sometimes operate with different assumptions. You must complete your homework and exams in accordance with the rules, symbols and assumptions of The Power of Logic (3rd edition).
Course Requirements:
Homework Assignments 15%
Exams I & II 50% (25% each)
Final Exam 25%
Class Participation 10%
Grading scale:
93-100 A 78-79 C+
90-92 A- 73-77 C
88-89 B+ 70-72 C-
83-87 B 68-69 D+
80-82 B- 60-67 D
59 and below F
Attendance policy:
You must attend at least 70% of the class meetings in order to pass this course.
Course Objectives:
1. To introduce students to the basic concepts and rules of elementary or traditional logic.
2. To develop students’ analytic reasoning skills.
Facts About Homework Assignments:
1. You will submit homework assignments online. You are required to have regular and reliable access to a computer that will allow you to turn in your homework online.
2. For each homework question you get right, you will receive one point. At the end of the semester, the person with the highest point total will receive a 100 for his/her homework average. Everyone else’s homework grade will be determined as follows: Your homework point total divided by the highest point total in the class, multiplied by 100 = your homework grade.
3. Before you will be able to receive credit for completing your homework online, you must register yourself on my course website. How to register:
a. Go to http://jbeebe.pageout.net.
b. Click on “PHI 215: Introduction to Deductive Logic.”
c. Click on “Student Registration.”
d. Click on “Create New Account.”
e. Enter the required information and click “Create” to create your PageOut Student account.
f. You only need to register yourself once.
4. How to receive credit for completing your homework assignments:
a. Enter my course website at http://jbeebe.pageout.net.
b. Click on “Power of Logic.”
c. Enter the User ID and Password you created when you registered yourself on the course website and click “Login.”
d. Click on “Enter—Power of Logic.”
e. A new window will open up that contains exercises for the Power of Logic.
f. Click on “Chapter 1” (or whatever chapter you want to work on).
g. Click on “A. Recognizing Statements” (or whatever subsection you want to do exercises for).
h. When you are prompted to choose a quiz type, ALWAYS select “User Choice” and click on “Show me the Problems!”
i. Highlight the boxes next to all problems whose numbers are divisible by three. I.e., click on the boxes next to #3, #6, #9, #12, #15, etc.
j. Click on “Generate My Quiz!” (Note: The work you do here will count toward your homework grade, not toward your quiz grade.)
k. Select your answers to the homework questions by using the drop-down menus to the left of each question.
l. Click on “Check Answers!”
m. The Logic Tutor will immediately grade your work and tell you how well you did. If you got a question wrong, it will offer an explanation of why your answer was wrong.
n. Your homework is automatically recorded by the Logic Tutor in my gradebook.
o. To complete a homework assignment for another section, click on “Main Menu” (located on the left of your screen) and repeat steps (f) through (l) above.
5. How to work on homework problems without being graded:
a. If you are already logged in at http://jbeebe.pageout.net, logout by clicking on “Logout” at the right-hand side of your screen.
b. If you are not logged in at http://jbeebe.pageout.net, you don’t need to go to http://jbeebe.pageout.net.
c. Point your web browser to http://www.poweroflogic.com/cgi/menu.cgi. This will take you to the Logic Tutor website.
d. This is the same Logic Tutor screen you would see if you were to follow the instructions for receiving credit for your homework problems. The crucial difference is that you will now be using the Logic Tutor without being logged in. As a result, the work that you do will not be graded.
e. The good thing about not being logged in is that you can find out all of the correct answers to the homework problems before turning them in.
6. You will not receive credit for any homework assignment that you complete without being properly logged in through my course website.
Facts About Exams:
1. You cannot drop your lowest exam grade for any reason.
2. You will not be able to retake an exam in order to improve your grade for any reason.
3. You must complete each exam in a blue book.
Facts About Class Participation:
Your class participation grade will be determined by the following factors: attendance, participation in class discussion, and willingness to work homework or sample problems on the board during class.
Course Guidelines:
1. Honesty: Students are expected to be honest in their academic work.
2. Rules of Conduct:
° Attend classes and pay attention.
° Do not come to class late or leave early. If you must enter a class late, do so quietly and do not disrupt the class by walking in between the class and the instructor. Do not leave class unless it is an absolute necessity.
° Do not talk with other classmates while the instructor or another student is speaking. If you have a question, please raise your hand and ask me.
° Turn off electronic devices, such as cell phones, pagers, and beeper watches.
° Avoid audible and visible signs of restlessness. These are both rude and disruptive.
° Do not pack book bags or backpacks to leave until the instructor has dismissed class.
COURSE SCHEDULE
(Schedule subject to change)
Week 1:
Jan. 17 Introduction to Course
Jan. 19 Argument, Validity, Soundness, Strength, Cogency
Layman 1.1 & 1.4 (HW due by 11:59pm, Jan. 23)
Week 2:
Jan. 24 Seven Famous Argument Forms
Layman 1.3 (HW due Jan. 25)
Jan. 26 Categorical Statements
Layman 5.1 (HW due Jan. 30); begin 5.2
Week 3:
Jan. 31 Traditional Square of Opposition
Layman 5.2 (HW due Feb. 1)
Feb. 2 Venn Diagrams, Categorical Syllogisms, Modern Square of Opposition
Layman 6.2 & 6.3 (HW due Feb. 6)
Week 4:
Feb. 7 Venn Diagrams (cont’d)
Layman 6.4 (HW due Feb. 8)
Feb. 9 Sorites
Layman 6.6 (HW due Feb. 13)
Week 5:
Feb. 14 Exam I
Feb. 16 R. M. Sainsbury, “Vagueness: The Paradox of the Heap” (on reserve)
Week 6:
Feb. 21 R. M. Sainsbury, “Vagueness: The Paradox of the Heap” (on reserve)
Feb. 23 Truth Tables, Negations, Conjunctions, Disjunctions, Conditionals, Biconditionals
Layman 7.1 & 7.2 (HW due Mar. 1; skip Parts A & B of 7.1)
Week 7:
Feb. 28 Evaluating Arguments with Truth Tables
Layman 7.3 (HW due Mar. 6; skip Part C)
Mar. 2 Abbreviated Truth Tables
Layman 7.4 (HW due Mar. 8; skip Parts C & D)
Week 8:
Mar. 7 Tautology, Contradiction, Contingency, Logical Equivalence
Layman 7.5 (HW due Mar. 20; skip Part C)
Mar. 9 LSAT Logic Puzzles
Week 9:
Mar. 14 Spring Break
Mar. 16 Spring Break
Week 10:
Mar. 21 LSAT Logic Puzzles
Mar. 23 Optional Class Attendance Day
[I recommend coming to class and working on logic puzzles together in groups.]
Week 11:
Mar. 28 Exam II
(Answers to Logic Puzzles due in class)
Mar. 30 Introducing Inference Rules for Propositional Logic
Week 12:
Apr. 4 Eight Rules of Inference
Layman 8.1 (HW due Apr. 5; skip Part E)
Apr. 6 Five Equivalence Rules
Layman 8.2 (HW due Apr. 10)
Week 13:
Apr. 11 Five More Equivalence Rules
Layman 8.3 (HW due Apr. 12; skip Part E)
Apr. 13 Conditional Proof
Layman 8.4 (HW due Apr. 17)
Week 14:
Apr. 18 Reductio ad Absurdum
Layman 8.5 (HW due Apr. 19)
Apr. 20 Finish up Rules of Inference
Week 15:
Apr. 25 Review for Exam III
Apr. 27 Study Day (i.e., no class)
Final Exam: TBA
