Week 11: Ought Implies Can

1. Readings: Vranas, "I Ought, Therefore, I Can."

 http://www.jstor.org/stable/40208771

And, Gerol Petruzella's response:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sH0OLTNdZ789oU-zJrKC8g8_6x_wsfxS9nah263wGkg/edit

Week 10: Predicate Logic

Read: Chapter 8, Hurley

Week 9: ND, cont. & Predicate Logic

1. 7.4 - 7.6.  (Monday and Wednesday)

2. Begin Chapter 8.  (Friday)

3. Reminder: Paper topics due by Friday.

Week 7: Exam 1, Natural Deduction, and Essay Writing

1. Reminder: Exam 1 is scheduled for this coming Wednesday (Fallacy identification and all substantive methods of determining validity/invalidity covered to date).

2. We will continue to work through chapter 7 on Monday and Friday.

3. Give some thought to potential paper topics (critical essays, approximately 5-7 pages in length, taking up some issue in logic proper or (inclusively) employing some of the methods of logical argumentation we are reviewing/learning.  Topics are otherwise unrestricted.

Deadlines:

a. I will ask to see and approve individual proposals (a paragraph or two is adequate) on or before March 25th.
b. I will ask to see and subsequently comment on a draft on or before April 15th.
c. Papers are due on the final day we meet.

Week 5 and 6: Propositional Logic

Read Chapters 6-7.

Do all exercises as necessary; bring specific concerns/troublesome problems to class.

Week 4: Categorical Syllogisms

Read and review: 5.2-5.7.

Do exercises following each section as required; Use Venn diagramming to determine validity rather than (or in addition to) the various rules and types of fallacies (5.3).

Week 3: Categorical Logic

1. Review/read 4.1-4.7 (you may skip 4.5, since we'll use Venn diagrams to show validity/invalidity in all instances).  Try exercises as necessary. Eventual goal for the week: translate exercises 4.7 into standard form, then test for validity using Venn diagrams.  (See my note on the blog re existential import.)

Goals along the way:
1. Become familiar with the four standard form categorical propositions, their quality, quantity, and the distribution of their terms.
2. Identify and diagram the converse, obverse, and contrapositive of each of the four standard form categorical propositions.
3. Translate ordinary language statements into standard form categorical propositions.
4. Test the validity of categorical inferences using Venn diagrams.