Phil 130: Logic
Cuyamaca College
Spring 2013
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Courtney Hammond
E-mail: courtney.hammond@gcccd.edu
Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 8:30-9:30am, 12:15-2:15pm
Phone: (619) 259-0592
Course Description:
Logic is the study of correct thinking. In this course, we’ll study both formal and
informal logic, focusing mostly on the former. We will begin by learning about
argument forms and fallacies, and proceed on to propositional logic and natural
deduction.
Required Text:
Hurley, Patrick J. A Concise Introduction to Logic. 11th edition. Wadsworth
Publishing Co., 2011, with Aplia access code. ISBN: 9781133163831 The Aplia code
will allow you to access the online program we will be using to take and submit
all assignments. Please make sure to buy the textbook with the Aplia access code,
or else you will not be able to participate in this course. The total cost for the
hard copy and access code is $154.99. The e-book and access code is $97.00 and
can be purchased at www.cengagebrain.com.
Once you have purchased the book and code, go to Aplia.com to create an
account by following these directions:
Registration
Aplia is part of CengageBrain, which allows you to sign in to a single site to
access your Cengage materials and courses.
1. Connect to http://login.cengagebrain.com/
2. If you already have an account, sign in. From your Dashboard, enter
your course key (KUUB-LDFD-7TZ8) in the box provided, and click the
Register button.
If you don't have an account, click the Create a New Account button, and
enter your course key when prompted: KUUB-LDFD-7TZ8. Continue to
follow the on-screen instructions.
Payment
Online: Purchase access to your course (including the digital textbook) from the
CengageBrain website.
Bookstore: Purchase access to Aplia from your bookstore. Check with the
bookstore to find out what they offer for your course.
After paying, you will have the option to purchase a physical book at a
discounted price. If you choose to pay later, you can use Aplia without paying
until 11:59 PM on 02/17/2013.
Course Objectives
Students will be able to:
1) Identify and differentiate between inductive and deductive reasoning.
2) Identify and describe the correct forms of reasoning for both inductive and
deductive arguments.
3) Identify and explain fallacious reasoning in both inductive and deductive
arguments.
4) Formalize ordinary language propositions and arguments into symbolic
terms.
5) Detect fallacies and evaluate the forms of argument used in newspaper
articles, advertisements, scientific articles, etc. as regards their validity.
6) Use the rules of deduction to prove the invalidity of various arguments.
Course Requirements
6 Chapter Exams (10% each), Homework and Participation (50%). I will drop
your lowest test score at the end of the semester.
Grading Policy
A 93-100%
A- 90-92%
B+ 87-89%
B 84-86%
B- 80-83%
C+ 77-79%
C 70-76%
D 60-69%
F 0-59%
**In general, late homework and make up exams will not be permitted. However,
with proper documentation of illness or other extenuating circumstances, I will
consider late assignments. Things like forgetfulness, stress at work and/or
home, etc., do NOT count as extenuating—they count as life. Please don’t ask for
exceptions in these cases. Most likely I will not respond since it only serves to
make me feel guilty when I have to say no.
Extra Help:
Any student needing extra assistance is urged to utilize the tutoring services
available at Cuyamaca College. Therefore, to support your efforts to succeed in
this class, I refer you to the Supervised Tutoring services that are available.
Please refer to the schedule listing in the fall class schedule. All Supervised
Tutoring sections are FREE to you. You need only enroll to receive services—no
units or grades are given.
Course Mechanics
The course outline below details the content for each week of class. We will be
covering one chapter every two weeks (on average). At the beginning of each
chapter, you should:
1) Log on to Aplia, or open your hard copy book and briefly peruse the
chapter to get a feel for what we will be doing.
2) Next, you can look at the video tutorials and other study aids associated
with the chapter sections found on Blackboard. (Note: we will only be
using Blackboard to utilize these study aids—all of our assignments will
be completed and submitted on Aplia.com.) Sometimes, in the case of
particularly difficult sections, I will post additional lectures, either audio
or written, to help. I will alert you when I have posted these, and they will
be found on Blackboard as well. After you have gone over the material,
you should begin the homework assignments for the sections we are
covering that week. These assignments will be available on Monday of
each week, and you will have until Sunday at 11:55pm to finish them.
(The same is true for the Chapter tests given throughout the semester.)
Course Outline
Date
Topics To Be Covered
1/28-2/-04
Chapter 1: Basic Concepts
1.1 and 1.2, 1.3 Deduction and Induction
1.4 Validity, Truth, Soundness, Strength, Cogency,
2/05-2/11
1.5 Proving Invalidity
Chapter 1 Test
2/12-2/18
Chapter 3: Fallacies
3.1 and 3.2, 3.3 Fallacies of Weak Induction
2/19-2/25
3.4 Fallacies of Presumption, Ambiguity, and Grammatical
Analogy, 3.5 Fallacies in Ordinary Language
2/26-3/03
Chapter 3 Test
Chapter 4: Categorical Propositions
4.1 and 4.2 Quality, Quantity and Distribution
3/04-3/10
4.3 Venn Diagrams and the Modern Square of Opposition,
4.4 Conversion, Obversion, and Contraposition
3/11-3/17
4.5 Traditional Square of Opposition, 4.6 Venn Diagrams
and the Traditional Square
3/18-3/24
4.7 Translating Ordinary Language
Chapter 4 Test
Spring Break
3/25-3/31
4/01-4/07
Chapter 5: Categorical Syllogisms
5.1 and 5.2
4/08-4/14
5.3 Rules and Fallacies, 5.4 Reducing the Number of Terms
4/15-4/21
5.5 Ordinary Language,
Chapter 5 Test
4/22-4/28
Chapter 6: Propositional Logic
6.1 Symbols and Translation, 6.2 Truth Functions
4/29-5/05
6.3 Truth Tables for Propositions, 6.4 Truth Tables for
Arguments
5/06-5/12
6.5 Indirect Truth Tables, 6.6 Argument Forms and Fallacies
5/13-5/19
Chapter 6 Test
Chapter 7 Natural Deduction
7.1 and 7.2 Rules of Implication
5/20-5/26
7.3 and 7.4 Rules of Replacement
Chapter 7 Test
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to this syllabus if necessary.
This course adheres to the academic policies outlined in the 2012-2013 Cuyamaca
College catalog.