|
WELCOME TO PHILOSOPHY 2! INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC SANDRA LA FAVE FALL 2006 COURSE OBJECTIVESPeople
often claim that their conclusions “follow from” their premises; but that claim
is not always true. When you have acquired the skills taught in this class, you
will be able to confidently assess whether or not, or to what extent,
conclusions really are supported by premises. Thus, all tasks and assignments
in this class have the same end in view: to enable you to evaluate reasoning, both your own and that of others. Your own
arguments will become more precise and persuasive, and you will develop greater
resistance to invalid arguments. You will
learn to recognize correct and incorrect forms of reasoning and to apply the
principles of correct reasoning. These principles are embodied in several
formal techniques (like arithmetic techniques) for determining whether or not
conclusions follow. You are expected to become proficient at these techniques.
About 60% of the class time will be spent perfecting these techniques. About 20%
of the class will be devoted to the informal analysis of arguments. You will
learn to diagnose common informal fallacies in both deductive and inductive
reasoning, and to identify vagueness and clarify meanings. You will learn to
distinguish scientific reasoning from other types of reasoning, and become
familiar with techniques of scientific reasoning. Disabled students: REQUIRED TEXTPatrick J.
Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic,
7th or 8th or 9th
editions, paperback or hardcover, with Logic Coach CD (Wadsworth). The WVC bookstore will stock
only the latest (i.e., most expensive hardcover) 9th edition of this
text; the price for the new hardcover will be at least $110. You can get the 9th
edition cheaper if you shop online.
Search for the ISBN. The
hardcover ISBN for the 9th edition is 0534585051; the paperback of
the 9th edition is 0495000264.
If you want the 9th edition Study Guide bundled with the text
(not required), the ISBN is 0495033456. The 7th and 8th
editions of the text work as well as the 9th edition. These editions
are out of print, but there are lots of used ones for sale, for ridiculously
low prices (starting under $3.00). Just
be sure the CD with Logic Coach software is included; some of the cheapest used
books do NOT include the CD. Search for
any of the following: ISBN 0534584918 8th edition hardcover ISBN 0534584845 8th edition paperback ISBN 0534584829 8th edition hardcover ISBN 0534520073 7th edition ISBN 0534520065 7th edition ISBN 0534713416 7th edition and bundled Study
Guide It is not necessary to
purchase "InfoTrac" (a search engine for research papers) with the
book. You need only the CD with the practice and homework exercises. Copies of
the text (7th edition) and the Instructor's
Manual are on reserve in the library. The instructor's manual contains
answers to all problems in the text, as well as sample exams, with answers. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
YOUR FINAL: Monday Dec 11 9:40 – 11:40 AM GENERAL INFORMATIONMy office
hours are Monday and Wednesday 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM. No appointment is needed
for office hours. If you want to see me at some other time, please make an
appointment. My office is
Music 4 (in the Music Department, near the campus theater). My phone number is
741-2549. This number has phone-mail. If you want me to get back to you, be
sure to indicate how and when I can contact you. If you do not specify a time
(within regular business hours, please), I will return your call during my next
office hour. My e-mail
address is It is not necessary to call to tell me you
are going to be absent for class, unless the absence will be prolonged (3 or more
consecutive classes). I will not
return calls for information that is available on this syllabus, e.g., what was
or will be covered in any class you may miss. Tape
recording of lectures is not
permitted, except for DSPS students with documented learning disability. EXPECTATIONS REGARDING STUDENT CONDUCTAttendance
is required. If you are counted absent for more than five class meetings, the
maximum grade you can receive is D, regardless of your grades on exams.
Exceptions to this policy require documentation of extreme emergency. I make
important announcements and give handouts at the beginning of the class session. Announcements are not repeated —
either in or out of class — for the benefit of latecomers. Persistent
lateness, talking in class, sleeping in class, leaving early, etc., show
disrespect for me and also for your classmates. Your grade is also likely to be
affected. For example, I am far less inclined to award the higher grade on a
“borderline” answer if the student has been frequently late, absent, or
disruptive, on grounds that such a student is simply less likely to have
produced the better answer. Any
student who violates the academic code (e.g., by cheating or plagiarism) will,
at minimum, receive a final course grade of F. This rule is rigidly enforced. According
to the catalog, instructors may drop students “... when accumulated hours of
absences exceed ten percent of the total number of hours the class meets during
the semester.” I may exercise this option. But the main responsibility lies
with you. If you want to drop the class, it is YOUR responsibility to do so.
GRADINGThere will
be five exams — four midterms and the final exam. The exams consist of
true-false, multiple choice, etc., questions. They mainly consist of problems comparable to homework problems. Each of
the first four tests counts 16% of the final grade. The final exam counts 30%.
Homework counts 6% of the grade. SUMMARY:
Tests must
be taken on the appointed day. Except in cases of extreme, documented
emergency, no make-up tests will be
given. HomeworkWhat are the homework assignments? When is homework due? If you use
the Logic Coach software, you can do much of your homework on a computer and
print the results using the Logic Coach Print command. This saves you having to write out the
answers. I will check homework for
completeness. Since you will be able to get the answer to any homework problem
in class or from the instructor’s manual in the library or (for many exercises)
from the Logic Coach CD, we will not go over all homework problems in class,
and I will assume everyone's homework is perfect, that is, all problems done
correctly. I highly
recommend that you keep current on
homework. Many students fall behind assuming they can catch up at any
time. My experience is that while a few students can succeed in the class
without doing much homework, most students need to do homework regularly.
Learning logic is like learning math or a language; regular practice really
helps. The most common recommendation made by your fellow students in previous
years’ evaluations for this course is “Do the homework and don’t get behind”. You are responsible for keeping current
on homework; I will not be reminding you. Exemption from Handing in Homework After the
first three tests, students whose average of all test grades so far is 95 or
higher (no rounding up) are exempt from handing in homework, and will receive
all homework points automatically. You become exempt as soon as your average
test score goes above 95, and you may become exempt as early as after Test 3.
You remain exempt even if your average subsequently drops below 95. Credit/No Credit Option This class
can be taken for credit/no credit. This means that if you get an A, B, or C,
you get a final grade of “CR” and 3 units; otherwise, you get “NCR” and no
units. Please let me know in writing no
later than one week after return of the first exam. No special notification
is required if you want to take the class for a letter grade. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTSSection Group Do these 1.1 I 1-20 III all IV all 1.2 I 1-10 III 2, 9 IV all V all 1.3 I 1-20 II,
III all 1.4 I,
II all III 1-10 IV,
V all 1.5 I 1-5 2.1 III all 2.2 I Groups 1, 3, 4 II all 2.3 I
- III all 2.4 I all II Groups 1, 2, 7, 8 III all 2.5 N/A 1-20 3.1 N/A 1-10 3.2 I
- II all 3.3 I
– III all 3.4 I
– III all 4.1 N/A all 4.2 I
- IV all 4.3 I
- III all 4.4 I
- III all IV 1-10 4.5 I
– II all IV all 4.6 I
– II all 4.7 I all 5.1 I
- V all 5.2 I 1-10 5.3 I
– II all 5.4 N/A 1-6 5.5 N/A all 6.1 I
– III all 6.2 I
– IV all 6.3 I-II all III 1-5 6.4 I all II 1-10 6.5 I 1-5 6.6 I all II 1-10 III 1-3 7.1 I all II 1-5 III 1-5 7.2 I all II 1-5 III 1-5 7.3 I all II 1-5 III 1-5 7.4 I all II 1-5 III 1-5
|