Introduction to Logic

PHIL& 106 (formerly PHIL 120)

Bellevue College (formerly Bellevue Community College)

Bellevue, Washington

Winter 2011; Item #1616; Section B

Mon-Fri 8:30a-9:20a, Room L124

Instructor: Mark Storey

(425) 564-2118, B200-C, mark.storey@bellevuecollege.edu

Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9:30a-10:20a

Course Description:

The good news: this is not a math class.

The bad news: much of it is just like a math class.

In this course you will be responsible for learning (1) the nature and structure of arguments, (2) how to translate deductive arguments found in English into the language of propositional and predicate logic, and (3) how to assess the validity of arguments presented in formal logic using truth tables and natural deduction. Most students who have taken this course (and have since been released from psychiatric care) claim that it “is hard,” “requires a lot of time and effort,” or simply “is a pain in the neck.” For the most part they are right. Some of you are going to have no problem at all with this course; you will view each practice and test problem as a fun puzzle to work out. The instructor wishes that he could have had your attitude when he was in your shoes. Most of you, however, will want to throw your book across the room at some point when doing problems at home. To you the instructor says, “Hang in there”; he will do what he can to get you through this labor of logic. Remember, though, the responsibility is on your shoulders to learn the material. To succeed at this course all students should steel themselves to do at least two things: (1) attend all classes—if you fall behind even one day, the remainder of the course will probably be a mysterious blur that can only be compared to a mystical experience with Nothingness—and (2) every day do many of the problems pertaining to the material covered that day in class. Do the problems even if the material seemed straightforward in class. The instructor has a knack of making the impenetrable appear pellucid (he also has a taste for alliteration), so you need to make sure that you can do the problems on your own. Daily practice is the only way that you will absorb all of the intricate techniques presented in this course. Relax, enjoy the challenge, and good luck.

Reasons to Take This Course:

* It provides the skills needed to analyze the strength of deductive arguments and is thus vital to advanced work in philosophy.

* It provides a basis for further study in computer programming and in computer languages.

* It serves as preparation for pre-law students.

* It fulfills a Quantitative Skills or non-lab Science requirement at BC.

Course Text:

There is no required published course text. For this section of PHIL& 106 for Winter 2011, students have free access to new (and very basic) online materials produced by the instructor and Paul Herrick. Students may—if they wish—purchase a hard copy of Paul Herrick’s The Many Worlds of Logic, 2^nd ed. (Oxford 2000) available at the BC Bookstore to use at home to compliment the in-class lectures and basic online materials.

Course Requirements:

* 3 in-class tests: 1/3 of course grade each

* Appropriate behavior in class (e.g., not walking out early, no cell phones, no chatting, no cheating during tests)

* Read www.bellevuecollege.edu/ArtsHum/policy.html

Grading Policy:

Late tests will be penalized as follows. Tests taken late, but on the day they are given, will have their grades reduced by 0.2 GPA points. Tests taken one day late will be penalized 0.5 GPA points. Tests taken more than one day late will be penalized an additional 0.2 GPA points for each additional day late—weekends and holidays included. (For example, if a test is taken two days late, it will be penalized 0.7 GPA points.) No late tests will be given after graded tests are returned to the class, which is often in one or two days. The last test may not be taken late. Do not expect that your excuse will enable you to avoid this policy. If you are sick, come to class anyway and take the test; if your car breaks down, take a taxi to school. There is no extra credit, so take the tests seriously.

The instructor does not give “Incompletes” or “Hardship Withdrawals” unless clear documentation of serious concerns (as determined by the instructor) can be provided at the time of the serious concerns (i.e., not at the end of the quarter) and the student is at the time of the request passing the course with a C- or better; nor does he give Is or HWs to salvage students’ GPAs or to help them fraudulently maintain financial aid. Philosophy 106 is designed so that all students may do well, but if for some reason (and there are many good reasons in our busy lives) you stop coming to class, then you should quickly go to the Registration Office and officially withdraw from the class, otherwise you will receive a course grade based on the course work you did and did not complete. This often results in a failing grade (i.e., an F). It is your responsibility to find out the last day in which you may withdraw from the class. All that said, the vast majority of the students who take this course and study regularly end up doing fine.

Students with disabilities who have accommodation needs are required to meet with the Director of the Disability Resource Center (room B132-G; 425-564-2498 or TTY 425-564-4110) to establish their eligibility for accommodation. The DRC office will provide each eligible student with an accommodation letter. Students who require accommodation in class should review the DRC accommodation letter with the instructor.

Student conduct: Cheating, stealing, and plagiarizing (using the ideas or words of another as one’s own without crediting the source) and inappropriate/disruptive classroom behavior are violations of the Student Code of Conduct at Bellevue College. Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to: talking out of turn, arriving late or leaving early without a valid reason, allowing cell phones/pagers to ring, and inappropriate behavior toward the instructor or classmates. The instructor can refer any violation of the Student Code of Conduct to the Dean of Student Services for possible probation or suspension from Bellevue College. Specific student rights, responsibilities, and appeal procedures are listed in the Student Code of Conduct, available in the office of the Dean of Student Services.

For information on BC’s Philosophy Tutorial Program, and other Philosophy courses, visit the Philosophy Department’s website at www.bellevuecollege.edu/philosophy.

Course Schedule

Winter 2011

This course schedule tells roughly what topics we’ll be covering each day. It is not necessary to read the material before coming to class; it may be best to hear the instructor’s presentation first, and then go home and read the material as part of your regular study routine. If there are any changes to the schedule, you will be told about them in class. You are responsible for being in class on time to hear of any changes. Due to the newness of the materials this quarter, it is highly likely that this schedule will change often.

Date	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Jan 3-7	Intro	Fundamentals	Deduction and Induction		Assessing Arguments
Jan 10-14			Categorical Statements	Venn Diagrams
Jan 17-21	Holiday			Translation in TL
Jan 24-28			TEST	Truth Tables	No class
Jan 31- Feb 4				Translation Review	Inference Rules
Feb 7-11				Replacement Rules
Feb 14-18			Indirect Proof	Conditional Proof	Nested Proofs
Feb 21-25	Holiday	Proving Tautologies		TEST	Translation in QL
Feb 28 - Mar 4		QL Rules			QE
Mar 7-11		No class	IP and CP		Logical Truths
Mar 14-18		Overlapping Quantifiers…	and Dyadic Predicates		TEST
Mar 21-23	BC finals	BC finals	8:30 a.m.

Test dates: Jan 26, Feb 24, and Mar 18

You may—if you wish—pick up your last test (taken March 18) in our classroom at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 23. You may also leave the instructor a SASE to have your test mailed to you, or you may pick it up at his office (B200-C) the following quarter. There is no test on March 23.