Philosophy 20100/30000
HIPS 20700, CHSS 33500
Elementary Logic
University of Chicago, autumn 2006
Course Instructor:
Office hours:
Mondays 3:30-5:00pm, Stuart 231C
Course Assistants:
Chris Ferro, cjferro@uchicago.edu
Ryan Long, ryan@uchicago.edu
Office hours of CA’s TBA
An introduction to the concepts and principles of sentential and predicate logic. Topics include: logical relationships among sentences, formal languages and their use in analyzing statements and arguments of ordinary discourse, and formal systems of deduction.
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites. The course presupposes no college-level math.
There is one required text for the course: Deductive Logic, by Warren Goldfarb, available for purchase at the Seminary Cooperative Bookstore (in the basement of 5757 University Ave).
Problem sets: There will be five problem sets, spaced roughly evenly over the quarter. Problem sets will be posted to the course’s chalk website as the quarter progresses (http://chalk.uchicago.edu).
Answers to a given problem set will be due in class a week after it is distributed. They will be graded promptly and returned in class.
Every problem set will include some practice problems, clearly marked as such. Answers to these problems will be available on the course’s chalk website.
Extensions may be granted at the discretion of the course instructor and course assistants, but a request for an extension must be made at least several days before the problem set is due. Late work will be docked a certain amount per day. As the course moves fairly quickly, it’s greatly in your interest not to fall behind. In the past, students who have fallen significantly behind have, without exception, found themselves having to withdraw from the class.
Discussion sections: Every student will be assigned a discussion session. Attendance is optional but strongly advised. In the past, students who attended section have done significantly better in the class than students who did not.
Final exam: There will be an in-class final exam Tuesday, December 5, 1:30-3:00, location TBA.
The problem sets are collectively worth 60% of the final grade, and the final exam is worth 40% of the final grade.