Logic B 3501-WISIP-L1B
I. Introduction to set theory: 1. Basic concepts - set, membership relation, subset relation (inclusion), power set; 2. Algebra of sets - operations, laws, proofs; 3. Arbitrary unions and intersections; 4. Ordered pairs, Cartesian product; 5. Relations, functions, equivalence relations and ordering relations.
II. Informal methods of evaluating arguments: sentences and propositions; speech acts and conversational acts; the basic structure of arguments; a general method of argument analysis; truth, validity and soundness; usefulness of arguments; discussion of real-life examples of reasoning.
Inductive reasoning: induction, inductive generalizations; sources of bias (prejudice and stereotypes, slanted questions, informal judgmental heuristics); statistical syllogisms, reasoning about causes; necessary and sufficient conditions; problems in distinguishing sufficient conditions from necessary conditions; inferences to the best explanation, arguments from analogy.
Fallacies: the notion of fallacy; fallacies of clarity (vagueness, sorites, conceptual slippery-slope arguments, fairness slippery-slope arguments, causal slippery-slope arguments, fallacies of ambiguity, the role of definitions); fallacies of relevance (arguments ad hominem, appeals to authority); fallacies of vacuity (circular reasoning, begging the question).
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
The student will be made familiar with the basic concepts of set theory and will be acquainted with the informal methods of evaluating arguments. (KW05, KW06, KW09, KW10, KW11)
Skills:
The student will learn to do proofs involving set-theoretic constructs and will be warned against possible reasoning fallacies and biases. (KU05, KU07, KU10, KU16)
Social competence:
Clarity of thought and inquisitiveness. (KK02)
Assessment criteria
Class participation, two tests, and exam.
Permissible number of absences: 2
Bibliography
Barbara Partee, Mathematical Methods in Ligustics
Herbert B. Enderton, Elements of Set Theory.
Fogelin, Robert; Sinnott-Armstrong, Walter, Understanding Arguments. An Introduction to Informal Logic, Harcourt Brace College Publishers 1997.
Fisher, Alec, The Logic of Real Arguments, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1988.
Supplementary Reading:
Thomson, Anne: Critical Reasoning, Routledge.
Walton, Douglas: Informal Logic, Cambridge University Press
Additional information
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