PHIL 155: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
IntroductionWelcome to Philosophy 155, "Introduction to Symbolic Logic." This is a first course in formal logic, and no background is required. Formal logic has had a tremendous success and influence since it was developed in its present form about 125 years ago. It is the inspiration for many artificial languages, including programming languages, and it has been successfully used in mathematics, leading to results that could not be achieved without it. Formal logic is also very important in the study of natural languages and in the analysis of valid or invalid forms of argument and reasoning. We won't discuss all these issues in any detail in this course, but we will cover a fairly substantial introduction to these issues. In particular, we will cover, in depth, "propositional" and "quantificational" logic, with applications. We won't be able to cover much of the "metatheory" of these systems. That will have to be left for a more advanced course. Required TextbookThis course is based on the text and software package Language, Proof and Logic. It contains our textbook as well as several computer programs that will be essential for this course. Important: The software contained in this package comes with an ID number that only works for one student. That means that you need to buy a new copy of the textbook. This ID will be required when you submit your assignments. There is no way to get around this, and the authors, of course, specifically set things up this way so that they can sell more of their software. It is fair, though, since the whole package doesn't cost more than any other textbook. The book contained in this package is our main text, and the software that comes with it is essential for doing exercises and submitting your homework. We will cover Parts I and II of this book. Part III is more advanced and can't be covered in an introductory course on the subject. The software should run on most computers. To be precise, it is known to run on any computer that runs any of these operating systems:
There is presently no supported Linux version, but there is an unsupported option available, to be used at your own risk, if you would like to use Linux. More can be found at Using LPL under Linux with help of Wine. TIP: The whole 600-page book is contained as a .pdf file on the disc that came with it, and so is the software manual. It will be put on your computer when you install the software. Thus, if you wish, you can access the book via your computer. The text can be obtained from the Higher Grounds bookstore at the Friday Center in person, by ordering online, or by printing and mailing the book order form. Course RequirementsProblem Sets You will be asked to do weekly problem sets. Solving these problems can only be done with a good understanding of the material from that week. Solutions to the problems must be submitted by 11:30 pm on Sunday of the week they are assigned, unless stated otherwise. We will go over the details of how all this is done in the first week's lecture. There will be no final exam. Your grade is based on how many of these problems you are able to solve. Grades will not be curved, but assigned according to the percentage of correct solutions to homework problems:
This might seem strict, but you can get preliminary feedback on your assignments before you have to turn them in. This makes getting a correct answer easier. However, it is also important that you turn your assignments in on time. Late assignments will be penalized. If an emergency arises, and you won't be able to turn in your assignment on time, you must contact me before the assignment is due. Unexcused late assignments will get a penalty of at least one point per day. More information will be provided when the first assignments are discussed. Every problem will be worth one point unless stated otherwise. Some more involved problems can earn you more than one point. If you get it right, you will get the point; if not, you will get no points. Many problems we do are fairly easy, but some are hard. Discussion Forums Active participation in the discussion forums is required. Discussion is a central part of this class, and through the forums we will communicate with each other. There are two kinds of forums. One is the Open discussion forum. This forum is the one for any topic you would like to discuss with each other, ideally related to this class, of course. It is for you, the students, to talk to each other without my interference. I will not participate on this forum, it is for you to communicate with each other. I encourage you to take advantage of this forum, since it can be a very valuable part of this class. A second kind of discussion forum is the Lesson discussion forum. This forum is particularly for questions and comments on the material of the week. This is the forum in which I will participate in and answer questions. However, you are encouraged to address questions that were posted by other students and to have discussions with each other on the material from the lesson. I hope that there will be quite a bit of activity in this forum. Honor CodeYou are bound by the UNC-Chapel Hill Honor Code, which says:
The Honor Code applies to all of your work in this course. For more on the Honor Code, see the Honor System Web site. For our course, the Honor Code means that you must solve all the problems that you are assigned yourself. You may not turn in solutions done by others. Being in violation of the Honor Code is a serious matter, and I very much hope that no issues will arise here. Course MechanicsBlackboardSome of your class components (discussion forums and exams) are accessed through a software package called Blackboard, and you will need to login to Blackboard using a unique identifier known as your UNC Onyen (Only Name You'll Ever Need) and Onyen password. If you do not already have a UNC Onyen, go to the Onyen Web site and follow the instructions for creating an Onyen. If you have an Onyen but have forgotten it (or the password), you will find help on the Onyen Web site. Use your Onyen to login to Blackboard, then click on the "PHIL 155 CCO" link. You will see navigation buttons on the left taking you to the Discussion Forums, Gradebook, and so on. If you experience problems accessing Blackboard, this is what you should do:
Library Services and E-reservesStudents enrolled in Carolina Courses Online can access online library resources from the UNC Library System by linking to Library Services for Distance Education Students. This site includes information on using general online reference works as well as accessing e-reserves. If you are using an off-campus computer, you will need to consult this page for instructions on how to access the resources. The UNC library staff is available to assist any students who have difficulties accessing online library resources. All communication from your instructor will go to your UNC Onyen e-mail
address (the one that appears when you post to the discussion forum).
Off-campus users can access their UNC e-mail using Webmail.
You can have your e-mail forwarded to a different e-mail address by
clicking “Forward e-mail” at the Onyen
Web site. Submitting AssignmentsIt is extremely important for you to save copies of any work you send to me via e-mail. If I don't receive your work, you must have a duplicate copy, indicating the date sent, to prove that you submitted the assignment on time. It is your responsibility to maintain copies of your sent e-mails, as there is no way to guarantee that any e-mail message will be delivered. Please check your e-mail software to see how it manages sent and saved messages. Some software automatically deletes messages one month after they have been sent; others only save messages if they are filed in folders; others save messages received but not those sent. You may need to send yourself a copy of your e-mailed assignment at the same time you send it to me, or you may need to print a copy of the e-mail message and any attachments to keep in your paper files. No matter how your system works, make sure you know how to save a copy of all work that you submit to me and that you save the copy for several months beyond the end of the course. Warning: This is not a self-paced study course!This course requires you to submit weekly assignments, and that is all you are officially required to do. You have to submit these assignments with the rest of the class on certain days. Please keep in mind that you can not do the assignments on your own time, sometime during the semester. Late assignments will get a penalty. If you have problems accessing the course pages, or installing the software, you will have to take care of them right away. Contact the staff at the Friday Center, if any technical problems come up (see below). There are no assignments due until the second full week of the course. By then everything should be working. Other QuestionsIf you have questions regarding
Course PlanImportant: We will go through this material at a good pace, and you will have to spend some time learning it all and doing the assigned exercises. This course is not as easy as you might think from reading the first chapter. The material will quickly get more and more complicated, and it is important that you stay on top of it. Do not fall behind. All the later material depends on the previous lessons, so falling behind could be deadly. You should expect to spend at least ten hours per week on this course.
Lesson 1Course Author: Thomas Hofweber, PhD © University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
