Listed in: Philosophy, as PHIL-213
Alexander George (Sections 01, 01F and 02F)
"All philosophers are wise and Socrates is a philosopher; therefore, Socrates is wise." Our topic is this mysterious "therefore." We shall expose the hidden structure of everyday statements on which the correctness of our reasoning turns. To aid us, we shall develop a logical language that makes this underlying structure more perspicuous. We shall also examine fundamental concepts of logic and use them to explore the logical properties of statements and the logical relations between them. This is a first course in formal logic, the study of correct reasoning; no previous philosophical, mathematical, or logical training needed.
One communal lecture and two small-group practice meetings each week. There will be two practice sections, each limited to 15 students. Each section will have 5 spots reserved for entering first-years.
Fall semester. Professor Alexander George. (L)
How to handle overenrollment: Registrar will close the course when the cap is reached.
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Problem sets, in-class group work, in-class quizzes, and exams.
Course Materials