Heartland Community College
Master Course Syllabus
Division: Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Course Prefix and Number: PHIL 111
Course Title: Logic
CREDIT HOURS: 3
CONTACT HOURS: 3
LECTURE HOURS: 3 LABORATORY
HOURS:0
CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
This course is an introduction to the forms of inductive and deductive reasoning,
including the informal fallacies of reasoning, traditional formal logic, and modern
symbolic logic.
TEXTBOOKS:
Patrick Hurley, A Concise Introduction to Logic, 11th edition eBook
You will obtain an eBook from the Aplia website for this course. This costs $99.
Instructions for registering for the eBook and gaining access to the Aplia website are
supplied on a separate handout. If you wish to obtain a hard copy of the book, I
recommend purchasing a previous edition of the text.
RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND
TRANSFERABILITY:
PHIL 111 fulfills 3 of the semester hours of credit in Humanities/Fine Arts
required for the A.A. or A.S. degree. This course should transfer as part of the
General Education Core Curriculum described in the Illinois Articulation
Initiative to other Illinois colleges and universities participating in the IAI.
However, students should consult an academic advisor for transfer information
regarding particular institutions. Refer to the IAI web page for information as well
at www.itransfer.org.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Course Outcomes and General Education Outcomes:
After successfully completing the course students should be able to
1. Distinguish arguments from non-arguments and be able to reconstruct arguments by
designating their premises and conclusions (PS2).
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2. Identify deductive and inductive arguments and recognize the most common forms of
deductive and inductive arguments (PS3).
3. Classify arguments as to their validity and soundness (deductive arguments) and strength
and cogency (inductive arguments) (PS2).
4. Recognize and avoid using common informal fallacies of reason (CT2).
5. Utilize one or more of the main methods, including visual representation, in traditional
logic to determine validity, e.g., counterexamples, the square of oppositions, Venn diagrams,
and the rules of the syllogism. (PS4).
6. Translate statements and arguments into symbolic form in propositional logic.
7. Evaluate the validity of arguments in propositional logic by means of truth tables (PS2).
8. Exhibit responsibility for learning by interacting with others in class discussions and in
small groups to solve logical problems (C01, C02).
COURSE/LAB OUTLINE:
1. Introduction to Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
2. The Fallacies of Reasoning
3. Traditional Syllogistic Logic
4. Propositional Logic and Truth Tables
5. Propositional Logic Proofs
METHOD OF EVALUATION (Tests/Exams, Grading System):
The student’s grade will be determined on the basis of the following assignments:
Exam #1
20%
Exam #2
20%
Exam #3
20%
Exam #4
20%
Homework
20%
Grades will be determined by the following scale:
90-100%
A
80-89%
B
70-79%
C
60-69%
D
Below 60%
F
ASSIGNMENTS:
Exams
The will be four in-class examinations. Unlike the weekly homework, the exams will
not be submitted on Aplia but will be completed during our usual class period. The
exams are non-cumulative. However, I note that the subsequent material will be built
upon the previous material. This means that a poor performance on one exam can
pose difficulties with your performance on future exams. This is not to deny that you
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can always improve your performance with practice, patience, and work – but it is to
say that the course sections are interconnected to an important extent.
Homework
You will submit homework on roughly a weekly basis. Regular and careful
completion of the homework is vital to your success in the course! Logic requires
practice. You will find the weekly homework assignments on the Aplia website for
this course, and you will submit the homework via Aplia. The results will
automatically be scored on stored on the website. I have allowed you the “three
attempt option”: you have three attempts to submit a correct answer (but there will be
a different question for each attempt). The homework assignments are due by
midnight on the assigned due date. Please see schedule below.
Attendance/Participation
Heartland community college requires that all instructors take attendance on a daily
basis. Accordingly I will take daily attendance. Although attendance is not an official
portion of your grade, daily attendance will be essential for success in this course. As
said, logic requires practice.
REQUIRED WRITING AND READING:
The number of pages to be read per week will average between 15 and 30 pages, but because
of the difficulty of philosophical reading, most readings will need to be read at least twice.
The amount of writing done in this course will vary across instructors, but, in fact, the bulk of
students’ work will involve solving logical problems by recognizing, reconstructing,
categorizing, and evaluating arguments, determining their validity or strength, creating visual
or symbolic representations of them, etc. (Estimate is based on a 16 week course schedule.
Please note if your class is not a 16 week class your weekly reading assignment will be
increased.)
Blackboard Learning System
You can access the Blackboard website for this course through the Heartland Website. Log in
to My Heartland, and you will find a Blackboard tab on the upper left portion of the
webpage. By clicking the tab, you will be able to gain access to the course website. On the
website, I will post handouts and other information as the class progresses. I use Blackboard
for the purpose of providing a centralized place for posting course documents and grade
records. If you miss a class, you can acquire the handout used for that period on Blackboard.
Course Policies
Make-up of tests and assignments
Under no condition will make up quizzes and worksheets be provided. As stated
above, three quizzes and/or worksheets will be dropped in compensation. Exams
should not be missed. Late exams will be taken at a significant point penalty and
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require a significant reason for the absence.
Student Conduct: Cell phone policy
Do not text during class or use your cell phone for any purpose. You must turn off
your phones and store them away in your bag. Even if you cell phone is off, it should
not be on your desk or your lap. Repeated infractions may be subject to disciplinary
action. Cell phone use is distracting to me and others, and it contributes to a poor
classroom and learning environment.
Incompletes
The official college policy, as found in the College Catalog, states the following
information regarding the conditions for giving incompletes: “An incomplete grade
may be given to a student who, by the withdrawal date, can reasonably be expected to
pass the course. Incompletes may be granted only when justified by extreme
circumstances (e.g. serious illness, accident, death or serious illness in the immediate
family).”
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of collegial life at Heartland Community
College and is essential to the credibility of the College’s educational programs. Moreover,
because grading may be competitive, students who misrepresent their academic work violate
the right of their fellow students. The College, therefore, views any act of academic dishonest
as a serious offense requiring disciplinary measures, including course failure, suspension, and
even expulsion from the College. In addition, an act of academic dishonesty may have
unforeseen effects far beyond any officially imposed penalties.
Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to cheating, aiding or
suborning cheating or other acts of academic dishonesty, plagiarism, misrepresentation of
data, falsification of academic records or documents and unauthorized access to
computerized academic or administrative records or systems. Definitions of these violations
may be found in the college catalog.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a paper,
create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all the work,
except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
1
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
2
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
3
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own.
4
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source.
5
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as
if it were your own.
6
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project
as if it were your own.
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Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism.
The penalties for plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular
piece of work, failure in the course or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
[Adapted from the Modem Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers. New York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Support Services:
Heartland Library Information
The Library, located in the Students Commons Buildings at the Raab Road campus, provides
Heartland students with a full range of resources including books, online journal databases,
videos, newspapers, periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan. Librarians are available to
assist in locating information. For more information please call the Library (309) 268-8200
or (309) 268-8292
Tutoring Center
Heartland Community College offers tutoring in various forms at no cost to
Heartland students at the Academic Support Center (ASC) in Normal and at the
Pontiac and Lincoln Centers. Tutors are available at convenient times throughout the
week. Study groups, group tutoring facilitated by a specially-trained tutor, are also
available by request. For more information about services available at each location,
please call the ASC in Normal (309) 268-8231; the Pontiac Center (815) 842-6777;
the Lincoln Center (217) 735-1731.
Testing Center
The Testing Center provides a quiet environment for students to complete make-up
exams, online exams, and exams for students with special accommodations. Students
may be able to complete exams in the Testing Center if arrangements are made with
their instructor. For more information, contact the Testing Center at (309) 268-8231.
Course Calendar:
The class schedule is subject to change based on class response and instructor discretion. In
the case of modifications, I will supply an updated schedule. Readings should be completed
in their entirety by the date on which they are assigned. For example, a reading assignment is
scheduled for 8/21. The reading should be completed and ready to be discussed by the
beginning of class that day.
SCHEDULE
Unit 1: Evaluating Arguments
8/19
Distribute syllabus; introductions
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8/21
Topic:
Reading:
Introduction: What is philosophy? What is logic?
No reading
8/26
Topic:
Reading:
What is the difference between an argument and a non-argument?
Section 1.1, “Arguments, Premises, and Conclusions”
Section 1.2, “Recognizing Arguments”
8/28
Topic:
Reading:
What is the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning?
Section 1.3, “Deduction and Induction”
9/2 Homework 1 Due (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)
9/2
Topic:
Reading:
How can arguments be evaluated?
Section 1.4, “Validity, Truth, Soundness, Strength, and Cogency”
9/4
Topic:
Reading:
How does one prove invalidity?
Section 1.5, “Argument Forms: Proving Invalidity”
9/9 Homework 2 Due (1.4, 1.5)
9/9
Topic:
How can arguments be diagrammed?
Section 1.6, “Diagramming Arguments”
9/11
Topic:
Review for exam one
9/16
EXAM 1 ON UNIT 1
Unit 2: Argument Fallacies
9/18
Topic:
Reading:
What is a fallacy?
Section 3.1, “Fallacies in General”
9/23
Topic:
Reading:
What types of reasoning are fallacious?
Section 3.2, “Fallacies of Relevance”
9/25
Topic:
Reading:
What types of reasoning are fallacious?
Section 3.3, “Fallacies of Weak Induction”
9/28 Homework 3 Due (3.1, 3.2)
9/30
Topic:
Reading:
What types of reasoning are fallacious?
Section 3.4, “Fallacies of Presumption, Ambiguity, and Grammatical
Analogy”
10/2
Topic:
Reading:
Review for exam two
No reading
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10/5 Homework 4 Due (3.3, 3.4)
10/7
EXAM 2 ON UNIT 2
Unit 3: Propositional Logic
10/9
Topic:
Reading:
Introducing modern propositional logic
Section 6.1, “Symbols and Translation”
10/14 Topic:
Reading:
Same as above
Same as above
10/16 Topic:
Reading:
Introducing modern propositional logic
Section 6.2, “Truth Functions”
10/19 Homework 5 Due (6.1)
10/21 Topic:
Reading:
Introducing modern propositional logic
Section 6.3, “Truth Tables for Propositions”
10/23 Topic:
Reading:
Introducing modern propositional logic
Section 6.4, “Truth Tables for Arguments”
10/26 Homework 6 Due (6.2, 6.3)
10/28 Topic:
Reading:
Introducing modern propositional logic
Section 6.5, “Indirect Truth Tables”
10/30 Topic:
Review for third exam
11/2 Homework 7 Due (6.4, 6.5)
11/4
EXAM 3 ON UNIT 3
Unit 4: Natural Deduction in Propositional Logic
11/6
Topic:
Reading:
Constructing logical proofs
Section 7.1, “Rules of Implication I”
11/11 Topic:
Reading:
Constructing logical proofs
Section 7.2, “Rules of Implication II”
11/13 Topic:
Reading:
Constructing logical proofs
Section 7.3, “Rules of Replacement I”
11/16 Homework 8 Due (7.1, 7.2)
11/18 Topic:
Constructing logical proofs
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Reading:
11/20 Topic:
Reading:
Section 7.4, “Rules of Replacement II”
Constructing logical proofs
Section 7.5, “Conditional Proof”
11/23 Homework 9 Due (7.3, 7.4)
11/25 Topic:
Reading:
Constructing logical proofs
Section 7.6, “Indirect Proofs”
11/27 Thanksgiving – University Closed
12/2
Topic:
Reading:
A History: Syllogistic Propositional, and Predicate Logic
No reading
12/2 Homework 10 Due (7.5, 7.6)
12/4
Topic: Review for Exam
12/7 Extra Credit Homework
EXAM 4 ON UNIT 4 will take place during the scheduled final exam period.
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