Introduction to Formal Logic

Course Description

Validity, consistency, implication, and the formal analysis of language. Propositional logic and quantification theory.

Syllabus

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Reasoning and discourse student learning outcomes (GRD SLOs)

  • critically evaluate (written/oral) arguments.
  • construct cogent, evidence-based arguments.

Course specific learning outcomes

  • You can translate suitable sentences and arguments in English into propositional logic and into first-order predicate logic.
  • You can judge whether sentences in these formal languages are tautologous, self-contradictions, equivalent to another sentence, implied by it, or logically consistent, contrary, or contradictory.
  • You can judge for validity arguments using these formal languages.

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure Percentage/Points
Course information quiz pass/fail
8 out of 9 check-in quizzes up to 100 points/10%
8 out of 11 homework assignments up to 100 points/10%
Unit I exam up to 250 points/25%
Unit II exam up to 250 points/25%
Final exam up to 300 points/30%

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance/participation will be taken but is not a graded component included in the student’s final grade for this course.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

No materials are required for purchase.

Scholarly Perspectives

This course engages diverse scholarly perspectives to develop critical thinking, analysis, and debate and inclusion of a reading does not imply endorsement.