Symbolic Logic
Course Syllabus
Course Syllabus
PH 368: First Course in Symbolic Logic
CSUF Spring 2013
| Teacher: Dr. Gary Jason | Section: PH368(01) TuTh 1:00-2:15pm H-125 |
| Office: LH-524 | email: DrGaryJJason@gmail.com |
| Home office: 949-606-5576 | Home fax: 949-492-4531 |
Office Hours: TuTh 11:30am-12:30pm; Mon, Weds 1:00-2:00pm; Fridays 11:00am-Noon and by appointment.
Website: www.profgaryjason.com This site has your grades, my policy on cheating, all class handouts–including the bullet point lectures, bulletins, class code of conduct, text errata, and links to other sites of use. Log on ASAP to familiarize yourself with it.
Texts:
Required:
1. Symbolic Logic Fifth edition Irving Copi; This text is a classic treatment of the subject, which I will at certain points augment. The two biggest selling intro texts use Copi’s system.
2. Student Study Guide, Gary Jason-this contains course lecture notes, exam breakdowns, and other miscellaneous handouts.
**Texts available at The Little Professor bookstore, 725 North Placentia Ave, Fullerton 714-996-3133
Course Description: The aim of this course is twofold. First, I want to give you a good survey of first-order logic with identity (FOL), starting with sentential/statement/propositional logic (SL), then moving on to predicate logic (PL), starting with monadic predicate logic (PL1) and then on to relation/polyadic predicate logic (PL2). We will finish with identity/definite description logic (IL). We will briefly cover the truth table method (SL1), but my focus will be on helping you develop proficiency in proof/derivation construction (SL2, PL, and IL).
Second, I want to give you a broad understanding of FOL,: why it is an indispensable tool in mathematics, computer science and philosophy; how different versions of it can be compared; and how certain key questions about any version of FOL can be answered (that is, I want to give ou an idea of what meta-logic covers)
Grade scale: It is department policy that all courses be graded on a +/- basis. Cutoffs:
| A+ | A | A- | B+ | B | B- | C+ | C | C | D+ | D | D- |
| 97% | 94% | 90% | 87% | 84% | 80% | 77% | 74% | 70% | 67% | 64% | 60% |
NOTE: CSUF requires a grade of “C” or higher to meet the General Education requirement for this course-a grade of “C-” (or below) will not satisfy the GE requirement. If you get a 70% or better, that won’t happen!
Assessment Procedures: The student is expected to attend regularly, keep up with the reading, and do all the homework assignments. There will be two midterms and a final exam. Homework will be collected and graded, and a short writing project will be assigned. Participation: points will be given for each contribution (question, or attempted answers to problems).
Weighting:
| Test #1 (Covers Chaps 1-2) | 25% |
| Test #2 (Covers Chap 3) | 25% |
| Final exam (Cumulative, but mainly focuses on chaps 4,5) | 35% |
| Homework + participation
Participation points awarded as follows: 1 point for any question; 2 points for attempting to answer any question; 5 points for putting solutions to exercises on the board. |
10%
|
| Attendance
Attendance will be recorded after the first week, and you will be graded on it as follows: miss 0 classes = 100%; miss one class = 95%; miss 2 classes = 85%; miss 3 classes = 75%; miss 4 classes = 65%; miss more than 4 classes = (100-10x)%. |
5%
|
**There are no “extra credit” assignments, and no HW is accepted late. (You can fax HW to me, or drop it off at the Philosophy office (H-314) and have the secretary put a date and time on it. Do NOT email it!) I give make-up exams (which are graded to higher standards) only when there is a signed doctor’s note or other proof of illness or other emergency.
**GRADES WILL BE POSTED ON MY WEBSITE: www.profgaryjason.com
** Suggestion: We are working with a text I will follow closely (with some extra material added in). SO
1. Don’t attempt problems until you watch me work them first.
2. read the text lightly before lecture
3. listen to the lecture, watch me solve problems
4. reread the text carefully
5. do the homework
The HW is important because: (a) the material we cover is task- not fact- oriented; (b) the questions on exams are of the same type as HW questions.
Policy on Cheating: Any student who cheats at any time in my class will be given an “F” for the entire course, and I will turn the incident over to the Chairperson of the Department for whatever further action is required by the University. For further explanation, visit my website.
Class Conduct:
Students are expected to:
- Show up for class on time
- Leave early only when prior permission has been granted
- Talk only as part of class discussion
- Refrain from making disrespectful or harassing remarks
- Turn off all pagers, beepers, and cell phones before class.
- No iPods or laptops!
- You may bring coffee or other beverages, but please no food
Teacher is expected to:
- Start lecture on time
- Stop class on time
- Spare the student irrelevancies, such as his political opinions or details of his personal life
- Encourage questions and class participation
- Keep regular office hours and be otherwise accessible
- Keep students informed on grading
Approximate Lecture Schedule: (May omit lecture ** if cramped for time)
January:
| Day/Date | Topic | Reading |
| Tues, Jan 29 | Basic Terms | Chap 1 |
| Thurs, Jan 31 | SL1: The First Three Connectives | Chap 2.1 pp. 8-15 |
February:
| Day/Date | Topic | Reading |
| Tues, Feb 5 | SL1: The Conditional | Chap 2.2 pp. 16-19 + Handout |
| Thurs, Feb 7 | SL1: The Biconditional; summary of syntax and semantics of SL | Bottom of p. 28-top of p.29 |
| Tues, Feb 12 | SL1: Truth Table Testing of Arguments | Chap 2.3 pp. 19-26 |
| Thurs, Feb 14 | SL1: Truth Table Testing of Statements | Chap 2.4 pp. 27-31 |
| Tues, Feb 19 | SL1: The Short Truth Table Method | Chap 3.8 pp. 48-49, 61-61 + Handout |
| Thurs, Feb 21 | SL1: Finish Truth Tables | n/a |
| Tues, Feb 26 | Midterm #1 | n/a |
| Thurs, Feb 28 | SL2: The First Nine Rules | Chap 3.1 pp. 32-36 |
March:
| Day/Date | Topic | Reading |
| Tues, March 5 | SL2: Proof Strategies | n/a |
| Thurs, March 7 | SL2: The Next Ten Rules | Chap 3.2 pp. 39-44 |
| Tues, March 12 | SL2: More Proof Practice, allowable step savers | pp. 45-47 + Handout |
| Thurs, March 14 | SL2: Conditional Proof | Chap 3.4,pp.49-52; Chap 3.7 pp. 56-61 |
| Tues, March 19 | SL2: Indirect Proof | Chap 3.5 pp. 53-54 |
| Thurs, March 21 | SL2: Proof Strategies-top down vs. bottom up | Handout |
| Tues, March 26 | **SL2:Truth Trees | Handout |
| Thurs, March 28 | Midterm #2 | n/a |
April:
Day/Date |
Topic | Reading |
Tues, April 2 |
Spring Break | Campus closed |
Thurs, April 4 |
Spring Break | Campus closed |
| Tues, April 9 | PL1: New vocabulary and symbolization | Chap 4.1 pp. 63-71 |
| Thurs, April 11 | PL1: First Statement of UI, EI, UG, EG | 4.2 pp. 71-77 |
| Tues, April 16 | PL1: Expansions and Invalidity | 4.3 pp. 78-83 |
| Thurs, April 18 | PL1: Multiply general propositions–symbolization | 4.4 pp. 83-89 |
| Tues, April 23 | PL1: Tightened Versions of the new rules | 4.5 pp. 89-105 |
| Thurs, April 25 | PL1: Proof/derivation practice | n/a |
| Tues, April 30 | PL1: Quantifier exchange/negation rules | 4.7 pp. 108-115 |
May:
| Day/Date | Topic | Reading |
| Thurs, May 2 | PL2: The Logic of Relations-symbolization | 5.1 pp. 116-130 |
| Tues, May 7 | PL2: Arguments with relations | 5.2 pp. 130-134 |
| Thurs, May 9 | PL2: Attributes of Relations | 5.3 pp. 134-140 |
| Tues, May 14 | IL: Identity and Definite Description | 5.5 pp. 140-150 |
| Thurs, May 16 | Review | n/a |
| Tues, May 21 | Final Exam *noon-1:50 | n/a |