LOGIC
Overview
Logic is the study of winning strategies in the
game of argument. In the broadest sense of the term, logic is concerned with the nature and
principles of good reasoning, or of sound argument. In a narrower sense, logic is concerned with
the principles of correct deductive inference and the methods of formal proof or demonstration.
Modern symbolic logic is the latest stage in the development of a discipline that owes its
founding to Aristotle. The goal in this course is for you to come away with a basic working
knowledge of modern symbolic, or formal, deductive logic.
As a course in formal logic, it will focus primarily on the inferential relations holding between
the statements of certain symbolic systems or languages. Roughly the first half of the course will
concentrate on the rudiments of sentential logic, that branch of symbolic deductive logic that
takes sentences as the fundamental unit of logical analysis. The second half of the course will
concentrate on first-order predicate logic, that branch of symbolic deductive logic that takes
predicates and individual terms to be the fundamental units of logical analysis.
Texts
Bergmann, Moor, and Nelson, The Logic Book with Student Solutions CD-ROM, 4th edition (McGraw-Hill, 2004).
Books on Reserve
I have also put a few ancillary works on reserve at the Central Library for those of you who are
especially interested in a topic.
Course Organization
Chapter 1 -- Basic Notions of Logic
Chapter 2 -- Sentential Logic: Symbolization and Syntax
Chapter 3 -- Sentential Logic: Semantics
Exam 1
Chapter 5 -- Sentential Logic: Derivations
Exam 2
Chapter 7 -- Predicate Logic: Symbolization and Syntax
Chapter 8 -- Predicate Logic: Semantics
Exam 3
Chapter 10 -- Predicate Logic: Derivations
Exam 4
Evaluation of Students' Performance
Semester grades will be determined on the basis of the average of your performance on the four
exams noted above. Specifically, letter grades (and not points) for each exam will be recorded
and averaged to obtain your overall semester grade. Each exam will be weighted equally (i.e.,
each exam grade will account for 25% of your overall semester grade).
No "homework" will be collected. However, you are encouraged to do exercises outside of class.
The exam questions will be similar in form to the exercises in the book. We will discuss the
exercises in class.
There is no final exam in this course, per se. That is, although there is a considerable cumulative effect in studying logic (i.e., one often has to use, later, what one has learned earlier), Exam 4 is not comprehensive. However, Exam 4 will be given during the regularly scheduled "final exam" period.