Philosophy 109: Symbolic Logic
Patrick
Frierson
office: Olin East 124 office hours:
office phone: 527-5243 Tues 10–11, Wed 1–3
Course Description[1]
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. But the material will not be
easy, so for those of you with little or no background in logical and
mathematical thinking, the course will require a lot of work. 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 step, so if you fall behind, you are
liable to find yourself in serious trouble.
Class Format
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 may sometimes meet in a 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.
Course Materials
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
number as a backup.)
On-Line: The authors of the textbook and software
also have a very useful website: http://lpl.stanford.edu
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 have access to the software.)
E-Mail
·
I will often distribute important
announcements, reminders, and clarifications through e-mail. You should make sure that you check your
account every day.
Summary
of Requirements and Grading
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
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
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 Tuesday, March 9, 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: Friday, May 14 at 2:00 PM. 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.
Course Policies
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.
• (Note that if you are involved in Whitman-sanctioned
activities, you are responsible for completing work before you participate in those activities, if that is at all
feasible. Going on a weekend trip does not excuse turning in work later than
the Tuesday on which it is due; you should turn it in before you leave. Note, too, that you have four “free skips” of
homework assignments, but I expect you to use these for genuine emergencies
when you cannot get the work done. If you use your skips early in the semester
and have none left for genuine emergencies, then even a valid excuse from the
Dean will not prevent your final grade from being lowered.)
In cases where
exceptions are truly required, talk to me as early as you can, and I’ll gladly
make reasonable accommodations.
Using
the LPL Software
• 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.
Collaboration
As mentioned above, the homework
exercises are intended to be part of the learning process – and so the only
thing that matters is that you end up (by the time of the quizzes and exams)
with a thorough understanding of the material.
Hence I strongly encourage you to work together in any way you
think might help you to achieve that goal.
However, each of you must
write or submit your own solutions to the assigned exercises. Note that the on-line Grade Grinder can
detect when files have been shared – in which case, neither student will
receive credit for completing the homework.
Keep in mind that you will not
be able to work with anyone else on the quizzes or exams. So make sure that you work with others in a
way that furthers your own understanding of the material, not as a crutch or
substitute for understanding it.
Academic Honesty
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.)
The Logic of Childbirth J
On
or before January 20, my partner will be giving birth to a baby, and I will
need to be there for her for at least the first week after birth. As a result,
I will not be present for the classes on Jan. 21 and Jan. 26, and I may not be
present for class on Jan. 28. Because of the pace of work during the semester
and the need for you to complete some substantial graded work before the end of
the drop/add period, it is very important that you remain up to date on your
assignments for those classes. I will be checking my email as much as I can and
will try to respond to specific issues that you raise over email, and I will be
checking to ensure that work is turned in on time during this period. If I am
able to make it to class on the 28th, we will review all of the material
from the first two weeks at that time and I will hand out a take-home quiz.
Otherwise, the quiz will be handed out the following week. I very strongly
encourage you to come together during the class periods when I will not be
present to work on assignments, exchange tips and questions, and help each
other out. If there are students that are particularly helpful to you during
these classes, please send me an email noting that; providing significant assistance
to your classmates, especially during those two classes, will earn you some
extra credit. (Note that you should plan on coming to class on Thursday the 28th,
unless you get an email from me stating otherwise. Absence on this day may
result in you not getting the first quiz, which will substantially affect your
final grade.)
Tentative
Schedule of Assignments
** Note:
All assignments are subject to change and/or rescheduling, except the mid-term and final exams.
|
Tues. Jan. 19 |
Read: Introduction, pp. 1-8 |
|
Thurs. Jan. 21 |
Read: Sections 1.1 – 1.5 Do: “You try it” on p. 8, Exercises 1.2 –
1.5, 1.9, 1.10, 1.12, 1.15, 1.16. |
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Tues. Jan. 26 |
Read: 2.1-2.4 Do: Exercise 2.2, 2.4, “You try it” on
pp. 58 and 60, Exercises 2.15, 2.17 – 2.20 |
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Thurs. Jan. 28 |
Read: Section 2.5 Do: “You try it” on p. 64, Exercises
2.21, 2.24 – 2.27 QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Tues. Feb. 2 |
QUIZ
DUE Read: Chapter 3, Sections 3.1 – 3.4 Do: “You try it” on pp. 69, 72, 76,
Exercises 3.3, 3.5, 3.7, 3.8, 3.10 |
|
Thurs. Feb. 4 |
Read: Sections 3.5 – 3.7 Do: Exercises 3.13 – 3.20, 3.23 – 3.24 QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Tues. Feb. 9 |
QUIZ
DUE Read: Sections 4.1 – 4.2 Do: “You try it” on p. 100, Exercises
4.1, 4.2, 4.12 |
|
Thurs. Feb. 11 |
Read: Section 4.3 – 4.4 Do: Exercises 4.20, 4.21, 4.24, “You try
it” on pp. 114 and 116, Exercises 4.26 – 4.30 QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Tues. Feb. 16 |
QUIZ
DUE Read: Sections 5.1 – 5.4 Do: enough of the Exercises to make sure
that you understand the material (Yes, you still need to submit these to
me.) |
|
Thurs. Feb. 18 |
Read: Sections 6.1 – 6.3 Do: all “You try it” sections, Exercises
6.1, 6.3, 6.4, 6.7, 6.9, 6.10 |
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Tues. Feb. 23 |
Do: Exercises 6.11 – 6.16 Read: Sections 6.4 – 6.6 QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Thurs. Feb. 25 |
Read: Sections 7.1 – 7.3 Do: Exercises 7.1 – 7.4, 7.12 |
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Tues. Mar. 2 |
QUIZ
DUE Read: Sections 8.1 – 8.3, Section 7.4 Do: Exercises 8.1, 8.11, “You try it” on
pp. 207, 208, 210, Exercises 8.17 – 8.24, 8.44, 8.46, 8.48, 8.50, 8.52 |
|
Thurs. Mar. 4 |
catch
up & review for mid-term exam |
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Tues. Mar. 9 |
**
MID-TERM EXAM ** |
|
Thurs. Mar. 11 |
Celebrate! (Burn a witch?) |
|
~ ~
~ spring break ~
~ ~ |
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Tues. Mar. 30 |
Read: Sections 9.1 – 9.5 Do: “You try it” on p. 238, Exercises 9.5,
9.6, 9.9, 9.12 |
|
Thurs. Apr. 1 |
Read: Sections 9.5 – 9.6 Do: Exercises 9.16, 9.17 QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Tues. Apr. 6
|
UNDERGRADUATE
CONFERENCE Do: Translate a central argument of at
least one undergraduate conference presentation into logical notation. |
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Thurs. Apr. 8 |
QUIZ
DUE Read: Sections 10.1 – 10.5 Do: Exercise 10.1, “You try it” on p.
272, Exercises 10.8, 10.9, 10.20, 10.24 – 10.27 |
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Tues.
Apr. 13
|
Read: Sections 11.1 – 11.4 Do: “You try it” on p. 290, Exercises
11.1, 11.2, 11.4, |
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Thurs. Apr. 15 |
Read: Sections 12.1 – 12.4 Do: enough of the Exercises to make sure
that you understand the material QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Tues. Apr. 20
|
QUIZ
DUE Read: Sections 13.1 – 13.2 Do: “You try it” on pp. 344 and 345,
Exercises 13.1 – 13.3, “You try it” on p. 349,
Exercises 13.10 – 13.13 |
|
Thurs. Apr. 22 |
Read: Section 13.3 Do: “You try it” on p. 356, Exercises
13.19, 13.23 – 13.27, 13.33, 13.35, 13.40-45 QUIZ
DISTRIBUTED |
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Tues. Apr. 27 |
QUIZ
DUE Read: Sections 14.1 – 14.3 Do: “You try it” on p. 368, Exercises
14.1, 14.2, 14.4, 14.10, 14.11, 14.12 |
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Thurs. Apr. 29 |
Read: Sections 15.1 – 15.3 Do: Exercises 15.12, 15.13, “You try it”
on p. 417, Exercises 15.14, 15.15, 15.17 |
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Tues. May 4 |
Read: Sections 15.4, 15.7– 15.9 Do: Exercises 15.23, 15.25, 15.54, 15.57,
15.60 |
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Thurs. May 6 |
Read: Section 16.1– 16.3 Do: Exercises 16.1, 16.2, 16.6 |
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Tues. May 11 |
catch up &
review for final exam |
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Fri. May 14 2:00 – 4:00 |
**
FINAL EXAM ** |
[1] Note: Much of this course syllabus was blatantly copied from a similar course that Mitch Clearfield taught in 2004.