Admission requirements
Admission to this course is restricted to:
BA students in Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives.
International pre-master’s students in Philosophy who are in possession of an admission statement, and for whom this course is part of their programme.
Description
Logic is a keystone subject for philosophers, but also for other scholars. Scientists test their theories by deducing that if their theory is true, some experimental observations must be just so. Politicians produce sound or logically fallacious reasons for their latest policy. By studying logic, you will learn to analyse any argument or deduction systematically. The course emphasizes propositional logic, but will also introduce the core principles of first order predicate logic.
Course objectives
This course aims to teach students how to formalise natural language arguments using both propositional and predicate logic, to test such arguments for their validity with formal methods of proof, and to recognize and avoid logical fallacies.
Students who successfully complete the course will have a good understanding of:
key concepts in logic (such as validity, soundness, and consistency), the syntax and semantics of propositional and predicate logic, formalisations, and natural deduction;
common logical fallacies;
Students who successfully complete the course will be able to:
translate natural language into propositional and/or predicate form and vice versa;
use formal methods of proving validity (such as truth tables and semantic trees), both for sentences and for whole arguments;
apply the above to reading philosophical texts.
Timetable
The timetable is available on the following website:
BA Philosophy: Global and Comparative Perspectives BA1
Mode of instruction
Lectures and seminars (2 hours per week)
Tutorials (2 hours per week)
Class attendance is required for lectures/seminars as well as for tutorials.
Course load
Total course load 5 EC x 28 hours 140 hours.
Attending lectures: 13 x 2 hours per week = 26 hours
Attending tutorials: 13 x 2 hours per week = 26 hours
Sitting exams: 6 hours
Preparation lectures and/or seminars, including weekly exercises: 13 x 4 = 52 hours
Exam preparation: 30 hours
Assessment method
Assessment
Weekly assignments on Blackboard, with closed questions (10%)
Midterm written examination (30%)
Final written examination (60%)
Note that satisfactory completion of the weekly assignments is a prerequisite for sitting the exams.
Weighing
The final mark for the course is established by determining the weighted average of the several subtests (see above).
Resit
The resit consists of one examination for both the mid-term and final examination, consisting of a written exam covering the entire course content. The mark for the resit will replace all previously earned marks for the mid-term and final exam (not the weekly assignments). No separate resits will be offered for mid-term tests.
Satisfactory completion of weekly assignments is a prerequisite for taking the resit.
Introspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
announcements;
completing weekly assignments;
general communication of resources (e.g. lecture slides);
Reading list
- Volker Halbach (2010), The Logic Manual, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199587841.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Students are strongly advised to register in uSis through the activity number which can be found in the timetables for courses and exams.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
Remarks
Not applicable.