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COURSE SYLLABUS

1. TITLE OF COURSE: Logic
  PREFIX/NUMBER: PHI 113 CREDIT HOURS: 3
2. PREREQUISITE: REA 099 or equivalent. College entry-level reading and writing skills.
3.

RESOURCES NEEDED:

 
 

TEXT:

A Concise Introduction to Logic (with InfoTrac and CD-ROM), Patrick J. Hurley, Wadsworth, Current edition.

 
 

SUPPLIES:

 
4.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Studies effective thinking using language-oriented logic. Provides tools and develops skills for creative and critical thinking. Emphasizes the development of decision-making and problem-solving.
5.

COURSE GOAL:

  For students successfully completing this course to be able to apply their understanding and knowledge of logic to real world situations.
6. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
 

The Student Should Be Able To:

  (A)

Analyze and identify the elements and structure of argument.

  (B)

Distinguish and describe the claims and forms of inductive and deductive reasoning/argument.

  (C) Apply the principles of logic to the examination and evaluation of arguments.
  (D) Examine factors that influence and distort reasoning and decision making.
  (E) Apply the resources of logic to a practical problem solving situation.
  (F) Read, analyze and apply written material to new situations.
  (G) Write and speak clearly and logically in presentations and essays.
  (H) Demonstrate the ability to select and apply contemporary forms of technology to solve problems or compile information.
7. EVALUATION PROCEDURES:
  Grade for the course will be based on:  10 written and critical thinking exercises worth 2.5% each for a total of 25% of the final grade, 3 essay examinations 15% each for a total of 45% of the final grade, research paper and presentation of the paper is worth 15% of the final grade,  computer based logic quizzes are worth 10% of the final grade,  classroom discussion and argument are worth 5% of the overall grade..
    Grading Scale
Raw Score Range
Letter Grade
    90 to 100 A
    80 to 89 B
    70 to 79 C
    60 to 69 D
    0 to 59 F

Special Remarks:

1.

Cheating:  If cheating occurs, it will end in a zero for that exam.

2.

Attendance:  Students will be dropped when they have missed 20% of total class hours unless arrangements have been made.  Unless prior arrangements have been made, missed exams will result in a zero for that exam.

8.

COURSE OUTLINE

 

1.0

BASIC CONCEPTS.
Arguments, Premises, and Conclusions. Recognizing Arguments. Deduction and Induction. Validity, Truth, Soundness, Strength, Cogency. Argument Forms: Proving Invalidity. Extended Arguments.
 

LECTURE OVER BASIC CONCEPTS AND TERMS                                       WRITING ASSIGNMENTS EXPLAINED: An argument is a form of expression that is intended to prove something. The statement that is supposed to be proved is the conclusion, and the statements that accomplish the proving are the premises. These topics are covered in the first chapter of A Concise Introduction to Logic, and we will use many of the principles developed there in writing arguments.
The writing exercises that follow this section give practice in writing basic arguments. They consist of a brief description of a situation involving human interaction, a conclusion that your argument must support, and a set of facts that pertain to this situation. Only certain of these facts are relevant to the designated conclusion. In working the exercises, you should follow this four-step procedure:
1. Read the exercise and the accompanying facts.
2. Eliminate the facts that are irrelevant to the designated conclusion.
3. Supplement the remaining facts with additional facts drawn from your own experience and inferences that these facts imply.
4. Using these facts as premises, write an argument that supports the designated conclusion.
TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES FOR PRESENTATIONS - Internet, CD-ROM, and Powerpoint information. QUIZ over terms.

Logic and critical thinking - exercise one.                    
 

 

2.0

LANGUAGE: MEANING AND DEFINITION.
Varieties of Meaning. The Intension and Extension of Terms. Definitions and Purposes. Definitional Techniques. Criteria for Lexical Definitions.

Lecture over terms. Writing assignment 1 due. Critical thinking exercise 2.Discussion about written research paper and presentations. Writing assignment two issued on definitional techniques. Logic Quiz 2 .

 

3.0

INFORMAL FALLACIES.
Fallacies in General. Fallacies of Relevance. Fallacies of Weak Induction. Fallacies of Presumption, Ambiguity, and Grammatical Analogy. Fallacies in Ordinary Language.

 Lecture over Informal Fallacies. Critical thinking exercise 3.
Class to explore examples of fallacies in news media. Demonstrate how to create PowerPoint for project presentations.
Logic quiz 3.Essay Test One issued.

 

 

  4.0

CATEGORICAL PROPOSITIONS.
The Components of Categorical Propositions. Quality, Quantity, and Distribution. Venn Diagrams and the Modern Square of Opposition. Conversion, Obversion, and Contraposition. The Traditional Square of Opposition. Venn Diagrams and the Traditional Standpoint. Translating Ordinary Language Statements into Categorical Form.

Lecture over categorical propositions. Lecture over Venn diagrams using PowerPoint. Essay test one due. More PowerPoint tips for presentation. Lecture over internet research.  Logic quiz 4& 5.Writing assignment three issued.  Review of Essay test one. 

 

5.0

CATEGORICAL SYLLOGISMS.
Standard Form, Mood, and Figure. Venn Diagrams. Rules and Fallacies. Reducing the Number of Terms. Ordinary Language Arguments. Enthymemes. Sorties.

  Lectures over categorical syllogisms. Writing assignment four issued. Rough draft for research paper due. Critical thinking exercise 4.

 

  6.0

PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC.
Symbols and Translation. Truth Functions. Truth Tables for Propositions. Truth Tables for Arguments. Indirect Truth Tables. Argument Forms and Fallacies.
Lectures over propositional logic. Writing assignment five. Logic quiz 6&7. Research papers due. Essay test two issued.

 

  7.0

NATURAL DEDUCTION IN PROPOSITIONAL LOGIC.
Rules of Implication I. Rules of Implication II. Rules of Replacement I. Rules o f Replacement II. Conditional Proof. Indirect Proof. Proving Logical Truths.

   Lectures over natural deduction in propositional logic. Essay test two due. Logic quiz 8. Critical thinking exercise five. Student presentations over research papers start (students to use PowerPoint.)

 

  8.0

PREDICATE LOGIC.
Symbols and Translation. Using the Rules of Inference. Change of Quantifier Rule . Conditional and Indirect Proof. Proving Invalidity. Relational Predicates and Overlapping Quantifiers. Identity.
 
Lectures over predicate logic. Student presentations over research papers start (students to use PowerPoint.) Logic quiz 9&10. Final Essay test issued.
  9.0 INDUCTION.
Analogy and Legal and Moral Reasoning. Causality and Mill's Methods. Probability . Statistical Reasoning. Hypothetical/Scientific Reasoning. Science and Superstition.
Lecture and summary of course. Final essay due. Student presentations over research papers start (students to use PowerPoint.)
9. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION:
  To be successful in this course, students are expected to participate in discussions, readings, in-class writing, and peer review activities. The instructor may assign point values to such activities.
10. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
  The very nature of higher education requires that students adhere to accepted standards of academic integrity. Therefore, Pueblo Community College has adopted a policy of academic conduct as described in the Student Handbook. Violation of academic integrity may be defined to include the following: cheating, plagiarism, falsification and fabrication, abuse of academic materials, complicity in academic dishonesty, and personal misrepresentation. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of the behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty. Sanctions for violating the standards of academic integrity may include warning, probation, suspension, and/or failure of the course or assignment at the discretion of the instructor.
11. ADA NOTICE:
 

Students who have a documented disability may be eligible to receive accommodations for this class. Please contact the Disability Resources Center at 549-3446 for further information.