Introduction to Symbolic Logic (PHIL 102)

Monday, Aug. 28

• Course introduction, including student questions about the syllabus
• Basic concepts: Deductive arguments, validity, and soundness

Wednesday, Aug. 30

Before today’s class, please read LPL Ch 1.1-1.2

• Tarski’s World Constants and Predicates
• Atomic Sentences
• Software Introduction: Tarski’s World

Friday, Sept. 1

Please read LPL, Ch 3 up through section 3.4 (Don’t worry about reading anything from Chapter 2 at this point; we really are skipping over it for now.)

• The Boolean Connectives: ¬, ∧, ∨
• Basic truth table semantics
• (Why are they called Boolean connectives?)

Monday, Sept. 4

NO CLASS: LABOR DAY

Wednesday, Sept. 6

Please Read LPL Ch 3.5-3.7

• Handout 2: Find the Main Connective (part of PS 1, due Sept. 16)
• Translation from English into FOL (we started Exercise 3.20 in class)
• Tarski’s World: The Game

Friday, Sept. 8

Please Re-read LPL Ch 3.5-3.7

• Handout 3: Submitting Assignments
• Software Introduction: SUBMIT
• Counterexamples: Demonstrating non-consequence

Monday, Sept. 11

Please read LPL, Ch 4-4.3.

Software Introduction: Boole

• Larger truth tables with Boole.
• Necessity, Possibility, Equivalence, and Consequence (NPEC) on the truth table
• Check out Handout 4

Wednesday, Sept. 13

No Class Meeting

Work on PS 1! Mark has extra office hours in CLA 163 that day from 9 to 11 a.m.

Friday, Sept. 15

LPL, Ch. 4-4.3 continued

• Problem Set 1 due by the beginning of class.
• PS 2 posted today and due on Monday, Sept. 25
• Arguments Again: more practice with validity and invalidity on the truth table.

Monday, Sept. 18

LPL, Ch. 4-4.3 continued

• Other types of Necessity, Possibility, Equivalence, and Consequence

• Still a little confused about the notion of consequence? Check out this page that summarizes what we have learned so far.
• Handout 5: NPEC

• Handout 6: Euler Diagram of Necessity: Use this for Exercise 4.8 on PS 2.

Wednesday, Sept. 20

Please read LPL, Ch 2-2.1, 6-6.3

• Slides from today’s class (about the three different techniques for demonstrating validity/invalidity) are here
• Formal Proofs
• Truth-Preserving Rules
• Boolean -Intro and -Elim Rules

Friday, Sept. 22

Please read LPL Ch 2.2-2.3 and 6.4-6.5

• More Boolean -Intro and -Elim Rules
• Software Introduction (Fitch)
• Practice with Formal Proofs

Monday, Sept. 25

Please re-read LPL Ch 6.4-6.5

• PS 2 due at the beginning of class
• PS 3 posted today and due on Monday, Oct. 2
• New Rules: “Ana Con”
• More Practice with Proofs
• Handout 7: Proof Rule Summary and Hints/Strategies for Proofs
• Click here to download the two “In Class Proofs” we did on Friday and today.

Wednesday, Sept. 27

• Theorems

This is the end of the material on which you will be tested for Exam 1! That exam only covers material up through Chapter 6.

• Workshop and Practice on Proofs. We’ll spend time working on PS 3.
• Click here to see what Exam 1 will be like.
• How are Proofs Graded?

Friday, Sept. 29

Please read LPL Ch 7-7.3

• More practice with proofs for Exam 1. We’re starting in today on material from Chapter 7, which won’t be covered on Exam 1. It will be covered on Exam 2.
• Two new connectives: → and ↔
• Extra handout summarizing conditionals and biconditionals.

Monday, Oct. 2

• More practice with proofs for Exam 1

Wednesday, Oct. 4

PS 3 due at the beginning of class

• Review for In Class portion of Exam 1, based on student questions.
• Take Home portion of Exam 1 is circulated via email at 5p.

Friday, Oct. 6

EXAM 1

• Take-Home portion due at the beginning of class period
• In-Class portion during our regularly scheduled class period.

Monday, Oct. 9

Please Read LPL Chapter 8.2

• Remind yourself of the basic facts about → and ↔ from this two-page summary of Chapter 7.
• Proofs Rules with → and ↔
• Handout 8: Updated Proof Rules
• PS 4 is posted. It’s due on Wednesday, Oct. 18.
• Practice with proofs and translations involving → and ↔

Wednesday, Oct. 11

• More practice with proofs and translations involving → and ↔

Friday, Oct. 13

NO CLASS OR OFFICE HOURS: Mark is out of town. David still has his Friday tutoring hours.

Read these slides on translating unless and these on implicature, and work on PS 4! Note: you won’t be asked any questions about implicature on homework or on a test; it’s just a useful idea for getting translations right!

• Midsemester Grade Reports for students earning C- or lower are due

Monday, Oct. 16

Please read LPL Ch 9–9.4

• Variables and “wffs”
• Quantifiers: ∃ and  ∀
• The scope of a quantifier

Wednesday, Oct. 18

Please re-read LPL Ch 9.4 and read 9.5

• Categorical sentences

• PS 4 due at the beginning of class

• PS 5 is posted, and it’s due on Friday, Oct. 27.

Friday, Oct. 20

No Class: Fall Break Day

Monday, Oct. 23

Please read LPL, Ch 9.6

• Translating complex noun phrases
• Handout 9: The Step By Step Method
• Handout 10: Extra Sentences for 9.18
• Download the sentence file with the extra sentences for 9.18

Wednesday, Oct. 25

Please read LPL Ch. 10.1

• Truth Table Necessity and Validity
• Download a copy of the slides from today.

Friday, Oct. 27

Please read LPL Ch 10.2

PS 5 is due. PS 6 is posted, and it’s due on Friday, Nov. 3.

• A new type of NPEC: First-Order Necessity, Possibility, Equivalence, and Conseqence
• Download a copy of the slides from today.

Monday, Oct. 30

Please review 10.1–10.2

• More Work With NPEC, especially First-Order Counterexamples
• Handout 11: NPEC Part II (with First Order NPEC)
• Handout 12: First Order Counterexamples

Wednesday, Nov. 1

Please read LPL Chapter 10.3

• What Will Exam 2 Be Like?
• Quantifier equivalences
• Catch up and review on quantifiers (Workshop on PS 6)

Friday, Nov. 3

PS 6 is due today.

Please read LPL 11.1 and 11.2

• Nested Quantifiers

Monday, Nov. 6

• Mixed Nested Quantifiers

Wednesday, Nov. 8

• Please read LPL Chapter 11.2-3
• Nested and Mixed Quantifiers: The Step By Step Method
• Reminder: There will be no “nested” quantifiers on Exam 2
• Handout 13 (working through some sentences from Exercises 11.16 and 11.17) handed out in class today. This goes through the sentences we translated in class today. Since it contains answers to Exercises, the handout can’t be posted to the web. Email Mark for another copy if you’ve lost yours.
• PS 7 is posted. It will be due on Monday, Nov 20.

Friday, Nov. 10

• Review for Exam 2, based on student questions.
• Reminder: There will be no “nested” quantifiers on Exam 2
• Take-Home portion of Exam 2 circulated via email

Monday, Nov. 13

EXAM 2

• Take-Home portion due at the beginning of class period
• In-Class portion administered during our regularly scheduled class period.

Wednesday, Nov. 15

Please read LPL Ch 11.4

• Sentences Requiring Paraphrasing: Donkey Sentences

• After today, we have now covered all the material you need for PS 7. It’s hard, so get cracking!

Friday, Nov. 17

Re-read LPL Ch 11.4

• Work with complicated translations
• Workshop on Exercises 11.20 and 11.40

Monday, Nov. 20

Please read LPL Ch 13.1-3, 13.5

• Proofs with quantifiers: the four new proof rules you had to know were coming:
  • ∃-Intro
  • ∀-Elim
  • ∃-Elim
  • ∀-Intro

Wednesday, Nov. 22

NO CLASS: Head home for Thanksgiving break

Friday, Nov. 24

NO CLASS: Recover from Thanksgiving. Shop, if you dare.

Monday, Nov. 27

Please re-read LPL, Chapter 13.1–3, 13.5

• Quantifier proofs in Fitch
• Handout 14: Proof Rules
• Handout 15: Strategies for Quantifier Proofs

PS 7 due

PS 8 is posted, and it’s due Friday, 12/02

Wednesday, Nov. 28

• More work with quantifier proofs
• Counterexamples with quantifiers

Friday, Dec. 1

• Theorems and Paradoxes
• Workshop on PS 8 PS 8 due by 5 p.m. today.

PS 9 is posted, and it’s due on Friday, 12/8.

Monday, Dec. 4

• Workshop on PS 8 and PS 9

Wednesday, Dec. 6

• Workshop on PS 9.
• A Practice Exam 3 is posted.

Friday, Dec. 8

PS 9 due at the beginning of class today.

• Review for Exam 3 based on student questions, especially about the Practice Exam. Remember: there is no Take Home portion for Exam 3.