Syllabus
PHIL 201 INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC (ONLINE)
Instructor: A. Cortens
Office: Rm. 206 Lincoln Hall. (Lincoln Hall is on Lincoln Avenue. To find my office, go to the left side of the building and walk in or knock on the leftmost door. My office is upstairs, the last door on the left.)
Telephone: 426-1726
E-mail: acorten@boisestate.edu
Required Text: C. Stephen Layman, The Power of Logic, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill, 2004. Power of Logic web address: http://www.poweroflogic.com
Course Website(s):
PageOut Website (must log in here before doing online homework assignments) : http://dracortens.pageout.net.
Blackboard Websites (for all announcements, discussion, live online lectures, and instructions for homework assignments): http://blackboard.boisestate.edu
Other requirements: Every student enrolled in these sections of PHIL 201 will need the use of a computer with regular access to the internet, an e-mail address, a Blackboard account and Blackboard user ID and password. (For information and assistance on Blackboard go to http://itc.boisestate.edu and click on "Blackboard.")
What this course is all about: Logic may be defined as the study of correct reasoning. In a sense, it is a normative enterprise, since it is concerned with how one ought to reason, not with how people do in fact reason. In spite of its normative character, at least some branches of logic unquestionably possess the status of being a science. There is a systematic body of information about good reasoning, and the concepts and techniques studied in logic have close affinities with those studied in mathematics and computer science. This course will introduce students to the most fundamental of these concepts and techniques. Our approach will be largely "formal", in the sense that we will spend much of the semester working with "artificial languages," ones that have been specifically designed to clarify logical relations among statements. But the study of these artificial languages is not intended as an end in itself; such study facilitates a deeper understanding of the English language - its logical structure, it enormous expressive potential, and the subtle ways in which meaning depends upon sentence construction. Achieving such an understanding of your own language goes hand in hand with acquiring a more refined ability to distinguish good reasoning from bad.
Learning Objectives: PHIL 201 is designed to enable students to
- understand the basic logical concepts (e.g., arguments, premises, conclusions, validity, soundness, and consistency);
- analyze discourse containing demonstrative arguments;
- evaluate arguments using the basic techniques of propositional logic (e.g., truth tables);
- construct formal proofs of validity in accordance with fundamental principles of logical inference;
- develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Means of Assessment: examinations, homework assignments, and class participation
Grading: Class participation: 5%
Homework Assignments (almost weekly): 20%
Exam 1: 25%
Exam 2: 25%
Final Examination: 25%
SCALE FOR CALCULATING FINAL LETTER GRADE:
100% or more = A+
95-99% = A
90-94% = A-
85-89% = B+
80-84% = B
75-79% = B-
70-74% = C+
65-69% = C
60-64% = C-
55-59% = D+
50-54% = D
45-59% = D-
0-44% = F
Work Load Estimates: In a typical week, you should expect to devote about 8-10 hours to doing the reading and homework for this course. You should also expect o spend an additional 1-3 hours at the Blackboard Course site checking announcements, asking or answering questions on the Discussion Board. (There will also be opportunities to ask questions during live online Q&A sessions in Blackboard’s Virtual Classroom. The frequency and timing of Virtual Classroom sessions will depend on student demand.)
Regarding Class Participation: Students can earn points for participation by asking and answering questions on the Blackboard course site. (Normally this will be done by posting your question or comment in the appropriate forum in the Discussion Board. But you may also earn credit by asking questions during live Virtual Classroom sessions.) Open discussion of homework assignments before the due date is encouraged. When it comes to quality of comments, all I really care about it that your comments not be in any way rude or abusive, and that they be relevant to the subject of the course. A student who contributes two or more online questions or comments almost every week (skipping no more than two weeks over the course of the semester) will receive full points for participation. A student who contributes half as often as that will receive half the possible points for participation; similarly for other levels of participation.
Regarding Homework Assignments: Homework will be assigned on a weekly basis, or very nearly so. The specifics for each assignment will be posted in the Assignments Area of the Blackboard course site at least one week prior to the due date for that assignment. All assignments are to be completed online at the Power of Logic Web Tutor (http://www.poweroflogic.com) after logging into the PageOut course web site (http://dracortens.pageout.net). If you are not logged into the PageOut site while doing the online Web Tutor exercises, your homework scores will not be recorded and you will receive no credit for the assignments you complete. As you do the online exercises, it is your responsibility to periodically check (e.g. after completing each question) to make sure that you are still logged into PageOut.
Regarding Exams: All three exams are to be completed either (a) in the presence of the instructor on BSU campus at a time to be announced in advance, or (b) in the presence of a proctor chosen by the student but approved by the instructor, at a time and place approved by the instructor in advance. If option (b) is chosen, the student will have at least a 4 day “window” in which to take the exam and it is the student’s responsibility to find a proctor who is willing to oversee the exam at a time that falls within that interval. The student must then send me an email explaining the proposed arrangements (including the name, position, telephone number, and email address of the proctor, as well as the exact time and location of the exam) at least 10 days prior to proposed date of the exam. Whether students choose option (a) or option (b), they are required to post the time and location at which they intend take each exam in the appropriate Discussion Board forum at least 1 week prior to taking the exam in question. Exams are to be completed with pen or pencil; no computers are permitted while taking exams. No make-up exams will be administered unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor. Unless otherwise announced, examinations are strictly "closed book."