Symbolic Logic Syllabus

Whitman College - Spring 2004
Mitch Clearfield

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In this course you will learn a new language, "FOL," which makes plain certain fundamental aspects of human reasoning. Our goal will be to build a framework that can be used to assess and construct good arguments based on their form, or structure; the content is largely irrelevant. (Hence logic, like "Seinfeld," is about nothing.)

More specifically, this course is designed as an introduction to propositional and first-order quantificational logic. You will learn to evaluate the status of logical formulae and arguments, to create examples and counterexamples, and to construct both informal and formal proofs. If time permits, we will cover some of the basic ideas of set theory and mathematical induction. Throughout, we will also consider how the language and techniques of the formal systems relate to ordinary language and reasoning.

The tools and techniques of symbolic logic form the basis of much current work in philosophy, mathematics, computer science and programming, and some areas of linguistics and psychology. For everyone the study of logic is beneficial by enhancing general analytic and argumentative skills.

Although some of you may have encountered this kind of material before, no particular background is presupposed, and students of all levels should be able to excel. The most important thing is to keep up with the class. Each new step that we take will presuppose a thorough understanding of the previous steps, so if you fall behind, you are liable to find ourself in serious trouble.

Class time will primarily be spent clarifying and expanding on the reading and homework exercises. We will clear up any aspects of the reading or the homework that students found to be confusing, and then build on that to approach more complex problems and/or new concepts or techniques. It is thus imperative that you come to class prepared: make sure that you have read the assigned section(s) very carefully, and have made a serious effort to solve at least the assigned exercises.

We will sometimes meet in the Maxey computer lab, so that everyone can have access to the software during class. I will let you know about this as far in advance as I can - but it's also important for us to remain flexible to address any unexpected issues that arise.

Hardware: Jon Barwise & John Etchemendy, Language, Proof, and Logic (CSLI Publications, 2003).

Software: We will also use the software package that comes with the book. The software cannot be reused, so you must buy a new copy of the book. Also, make sure that you save the registration number that's printed on the CD envelope. (If you lose that number, you'll have to buy another copy of the book! - If you're nervous, I'd be happy to keep a copy of your registration numbers as a backup.)

On-Line: The authors of the textbook and software also have a very useful website. Among other things, the website contains hints and solutions to some of the exercises, and a download area where you can obtain the contents of the CD using your registration number. (Thus if you lose the CD itself, you can still get the software.)

Ella Braden - bradenek@whitman.edu - 525-9776
Andy Monahan - monahaag@whitman.edu - h: 522-9845 - c: (503)679-6717

We are blessed with an outstanding pair of student teaching assistants for this course. Ella and Andy took this course with Patrick Frierson 2 years ago, and have graciously agreed to make their wisdom and expertise available to you. They will hold weekly "office hours" in our regular classroom, Sunday 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. and Thursday 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. They may also be willing to meet at other times, if needed - just get in touch with them to see.

There are a few important points to keep in mind:

1. Please understand that they have classes and assignments of their own, which may limit when they're able to meet with you.
   
2. While they'll help in every way they can, they may not be able to answer absolutely every question or solve absolutely every problem immediately. (Of course, this applies to me too!)
   
3. Finally, note that they're here to supplement my own assistance, not replace it. You are still more than welcome to come by my office hours and/or arrange to meet me at another time.
   

• I will often distribute important announcements, reminders, and clarifications through e-mail. You should make sure that you check your account every day.
  
  
• There is also an e-mail list-server set up for the class. Messages sent to phil109a_04sp@whitman.edu will be forwarded to everyone.

Homework
I view these homework assignments as part of the learning process, and so they won’t be graded individually. Instead, you will receive credit simply for completing them:

You may miss up to 4 homework assignments without penalty.
After that, for each assignment you miss, your final grade will be lowered by 1%.

The assigned exercises are the minimum that I think every student needs to do to ensure a thorough understanding of the material. If you are having any difficulties, you should certainly consider doing additional exercises – either ones in the textbook that we skip, or others that I can provide for you.

Some of the exercises must be completed using one or more of the computer programs and submitted to the on-line “Grade Grinder,” while others must be completed on paper and turned in to me:

Computer Exercises must be submitted by 8:00 a.m. to receive full credit. Exercises submitted between 8:00 and class will receive half credit; exercises submitted after class will help you learn, but won’t count towards your grade.
Make sure that the Submit program is set to have feedback sent to me, so I know that you’ve done those exercises. Please send the entire day’s homework at once, so my inbox doesn’t get too clogged.
It is permissible (and even encouraged!) to re-submit exercises, until you’ve solved them – but please only have the feedback sent to me once.

Paper exercises must be brought to the beginning of class to receive credit. Exercises completed after class will help you learn, but won’t count directly towards your grade.
You may turn in handwritten work, as long as it is neat and legible. Multiple sheets must be stapled together. Please print your name, my name, and the course number in the upper left-hand corner of the first sheet.

In case there is a record-keeping glitch or dispute, make sure that you save all of your completed homework, including all of the computer files, Grade Grinder reports, and paper exercises with my feedback.

Quizzes — 40% of your total grade (about 6% each)
After each “unit” of material (about every 1-2 weeks), there will be a brief, graded quiz consisting of problems modeled on the homework exercises. The quizzes will not be cumulative (at least, no more than the material is). The quizzes will be take-home and open-book, but also time-limited.
Quizzes must be submitted by the beginning of class on the due date to be accepted for credit, since I will then distribute a solution key.

Mid-Term Exam — 20% of your total grade
There will be a mid-term exam given in class on Friday, March 12, covering all of the material up to that point. The exam will be taken without the assistance of the book or the computer software.
There will be no early or make-up exams, so make your travel plans accordingly!

Final Exam — 40% of your total grade
There will be a final exam given at the designated time during exam week: Thursday, May 13 at 2:00. The exam will be cumulative, but will focus on the material covered after the mid-term. Like the mid-term, the exam will be taken without the assistance of the book or the computer software.

Exceptions to due dates and other policies will be made only if:

• You are participating in a Whitman-sanctioned activity, such as athletics, debate, or class field-trip; or
• Your excuse is validated by the Dean of Students.

In those cases, talk to me as early as you can, and I'll gladly make any reasonable accommodation.

• On Your Own Computer – You are free to install the software on any non-campus computer(s) that you expect to use. The software will work with any recent version of Windows or Mac O/S (sorry, not Linux).
  
• In the Maxey Computer Lab – WCTS has also installed the software on all of the machines in the Maxey computer lab, for our use in class and for your convenience at other times. You’ll find everything in the “LPL Software” folder on the desktop.
  There are two important things you need to know about using the software on the Maxey machines:
  1. You must first open the main program (Fitch, Boole, or Tarski’s World) and then use that to open the particular exercise file that you’ll be using. (If you double-click directly on the exercise file, the computer may open it with a different program.)
  2. The programs are sometimes very slow to open – it may look like nothing is happening for 20 or 30 seconds. Be patient! Don’t double-click again unless a full minute has passed, or you’ll risk crashing the machine.
  
• Elsewhere on Campus – You can also run the software from your CD on any other campus computer. To do so: (1) double-click the “My Computer” icon, (2) double-click the CD/DVD drive icon, (3) double-click the “LPL Software” icon, (4) double-click on the folder for the particular program you’d like to run, and (5) double-click the icon for that program to launch it.

* * You will need your registration number in order to submit anything to the Grade Grinder.
If you are working on your own computer, you can have that information saved so you don’t have to re-enter it each time (see #4 on p. 9 of the textbook).
If you are working on a campus computer, you will need to enter it each time, along with the rest of the personal and course information. If you don’t have it handy, you’ll have to save your solution files and submit them later.

NOTE: The software has been thoroughly tested and debugged, and WCTS has done its best to adjust the settings on the Maxey machines so everything runs properly. But alas, there are no guarantees!
If you experience a computer emergency, please let me know right away, and we’ll do our best to fix the problem. In the meantime, you may:
- E-mail your solution files directly to me, and/or
- Print out your solutions and bring them to class, and/or
- Complete the exercises by hand and bring them to class.

Your work on the quizzes and exams must be entirely your own. I consider cheating to be an extremely serious academic crime, and I will not tolerate it in any form. Any student caught cheating will automatically fail the course, and may face more severe penalties from the College. (For more details, see the Student Handbook.)