logic1

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH :: PHIL08004

course summary. This course is an introduction to what is known as formal or symbolic logic, requiring no prior knowledge of philosophy or mathematics. Logic is the science of reasoning—the systematic study of the principles of good and bad reasoning, and  has been a central and foundational part of philosophy, stretching back over 2000 years to the earliest investigations  of logic in Ancient Greece. Logic is both an historically important area of philosophy  and an indispensable  tool used in philosophy. Understanding philosophical texts without any knowledge of basic logic is typically very difficult and a general grasp of the meaning of various key concepts  is absolutely essential if one is to evaluate the strength of a philosophical position or philosophical claim. Virtually every area of philosophy—be it ethics, metaphysics, or epistemology—relies extensively on concepts from logic. The aim of this course is not to  communicate results about logical systems per se but instead to  impart a skill—the ability to recognize and construct correct derivations and countermodels. We will proceed via a graduated but unified development of logic from the basics of the sentential logic up to  predicate logic. Along the way we will take short diversions into the historical issues that led to various developments (e.g. the insights of Aristotle, the Stoics, Leibniz, Frege, Jaskowski, and Tarski, among others).

lecturer: Dr. Brian Rabern

 

office: 4.04c DSB (Tuesdays at 11)


info:


head tutor: Dr. Jamie Collin, James.Collin@ed.ac.uk

secretary: philinfo@ed.ac.uk


course text: An Exposition of Symbolic Logic, Terrence Parsons

 


logic labs

  • Fridays, 12:00-4:00pm

                   Sydney Smith Lecture Theatre

                   Doorway 1, Medical School, Teviot, Central

 

Weekly homework excersises will be assigned on the web application ∃LOGIC: this program is essential to the course. Instructions for getting started are here.

Handouts


Week 1  [ homework ]

 

 

Week 2  [ homework ]

 

 

Week 3  [ homework ]

 

  • Introduction to derivations (slides)  [Parsons 1: 13-18]
  • Direct, Conditional, and Indirect Derivations (slides) [Parsons 1: 18-30]
  • Sub-derivations (slides) [Parsons 1: 30-44]

 

Week 4  [ homework ]

 

  • L2 (The language of `if', `not', `and', `or', `iff') (slides) [Parsons 2: 1-11]
  • Inference rules (slides) [Parsons 2: 12-14]
  • Derivation strategies (slides) [Parsons 2: 15-18]

 

Week 5   [ homework;  study guide ]

 

  • Box and cancel (slides) [Parsons 2: 19-21]
  • Using derived rules (slides) [Parsons 2: 25-33]
  • Midterm Exam, (in lecture normal time), Feb. 13th [ exam, answers ]

 

________________________________________________________________

Flexible Learning Week -- no classes -- 17-21 February 2020

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Week 6  [ homework ]

 

  • Truth tables (slides) (exersices) [Parsons 2: 34; Wittgenstein's TLP]
  • Truth table analysis (slides) [Parsons 2: 34-37]
  • Validity and countermodels (slides) [Parsons 2: 37-39]

 

Week 7  [ homework ] [syntax playground for L3]

 

 

Week 8   [ homework ]

 

  • Quantifier inference rules (slides)  [Parsons 3: 8-19]
  • Derivations with quantifiers (slides) [Parsons 3: 19-24]
  • More derivations (slides) [Parsons 3: 25-28]

 

Week 9 [ homework ]


    • Quantifier negation rules (slides) Parsons 3: 28-39]
    • Models (slides) [Parsons 3: 40-42]
    • Invalidity and countermodels (slides) [Parsons 3: 42-44]

 

Week 10  [ homework ]

 

  • Countermodels (slides) [Parsons 3: 45-47]

  • Derivations and models (slides) [Parsons 3: 48]

  • Beyond monadic (slides) [Parsons 4, L4 exersices]

 

Week 11  [ Exam study guide ] [answers]

 

  • Review derivations
  • Review countermodels
  • The End (slides)

    

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