This is an introductory course in reasoning and logic. It covers ...
(i) analysis of real-world passages involving arguments and explanations;
(ii) evaluation of deductions, using, for propositional logic, the big-8 method (single-step deduction), method of derivation (multi-step deduction), truth-table method and truth-tree method (propositional logic), and, (time permitting) the venn diagram method for categorical logic;
(iii) causation, association (correlation) and induction, and (time permitting) experimental methods.
An Introduction To Reasoning • RW = Real-World Reasoning
P&C = Propositional & Categorical Reasoning • I&S = Inductive & Scientific Reasoning •
Office Hours 3-5 p.m. Mondays & Wednesdays and by appointment
For Tues. 28th - Logistics, Intro, Basic Analysis
Logistics
Intro
Read the Preface
Bonus: Harris An Introduction To Critical Thinking
Bonus: The e-Logic Gallery: lots of information about the development of logic from the ancient world onward.
Basic Analysis
Taking questions on: RW-Classifying-Analyzing 1-3
Work on Ex1: After section 3
(Suggested) Ex2: None
Bonus: In class we'll listen to this skit from the Neo-Futurists, featured on This American Life, involving various things we do with words. (The next piece is a humorous David Sedaris story about cell-phone etiquette.)
Bonus: A guide for improv actors about how to portray high and low status.
Bonus: AustinHowDoThingsWords.pdf = The first chapter (lecture) of J. L. Austin's How To Do Things With Words. A classic in philosophy about how we use ordinary language; accessible to everyone.
For Thurs. 30th - More Detailed Analysis
Taking questions on: RW-Classifying-Analyzing section 3 and 5
Work on Ex1: After section 5
(Suggested) Ex2:
For Tues. 29th - Standard Form & Diagrams
Taking questions on: Basic Evaluation sections 2 and 3, Diagrams & Complex Reasoning Section 1
Work on Ex1: after section 1
(Suggested) Ex2: RW-Classifying-Analyzing (after section 3 and after section 5)
For Thurs. 1st - Diagramming Complex Reasoning (1)
Taking questions on: Diagrams & Complex Reasoning Sections 1 and 2-3
Work on Ex1: after section 3
(Suggested) Ex2: RW-Basic Evaluation section 1
For Tues. 6th - Diagramming Dialogue
Taking questions on: Diagrams & Complex Reasoning 4
Work on Ex1: after section 4
(Suggested) Ex2: RW-Basic Evaluation section 2
SKIP - Diagramming Long Passages
Taking questions on:
Work on Ex1:
(Suggested) Ex2:
For Tues. 2nd - Evaluation
Taking questions on: RW-Classifying-Analyzing 5 and Basic Evaluation section 1 AND section 2
Work on Ex1: After sections 1 and 2
(Suggested) Ex2: Association & Causation
Bonus: Watch Monty Python's Argument Clinic skit. There's a definition of 'argument' in here. Somewhere. There's also an argument (for the claim "I have paid") and an evaluation (rejection) of that argument.
Some Everyday Reasoning
Taking questions on: P&I-SomeEverydayReasoning
Ex1: XXX-SomeEverydayReasoning
(Suggested) Ex2:
Bonus: Johnson-Laird on reasoning with (spatial and temporal) relations.
For Thurs. 24th - Sources, Character & Motives
Taking questions on: Basic Evaluation sections 1, 2 and 3-4
Work on Ex1: After section 4
(Suggested) Ex2:
SKIP - Emotional Reasoning & Reasoning Substitutes
Taking questions on: Basic Evaluation section 5
Work on Ex1:
(Suggested) Ex2:
Bonus: Dave Barry How To Win Any Argument
SKIP - Practical Reasoning
Taking questions on:
Work on Ex1:
(Suggested) Ex2:
SKIP - Incomplete Arguments (Warrants)
Taking questions on:
Work on Ex1:
(Suggested) Ex2:
SKIP - Evaluating the Reasoning Structures
Taking questions on:
Work on Ex1:
(Suggested) Ex2:
EVALUATING INFERENCES
For Thurs. 27th - Truth Values
Taking questions on: Derivation (sections 4, 5) and P&C-Truth-Table-Truth-Tree (section 2)
Ex1: Truth Tables 2
Ex2: Derivation 4
Bonus: wikipedia page, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on multi-valued logics.
For Fri. Feb 28th
Ex2s for everything through Derivation section 3 (Everyday Reasoning, Validity, Logically Structured Propositions (all), Big 8 (all), Derivation (2=symbolic, 3=6 rules))
By sharing with rwoods@vwc.edu or by e-mail attachment or on paper
One Ex2 per file
For Tues. 4th - Truth Table Method
Taking questions on: DP&C-Derivation (section 5) and P&C-Truth-Table-Truth-Tree (sections 1-4)
Work on Ex1: Truth Table Method after section 4
(Suggested) Ex2: Derivation 6 Rules, No Interim
SKIP - Logical In/Equivalence
Read: Section 5
Ex1:
Ex2:
For. Thurs 6th - Targeted Truth Tables & Truth Trees
Taking questions on: P&C-Truth-Table-Truth-Tree (sections 1-4, section 6, section 7)
Work on Ex1: After section 6, after 7
(Suggested) Ex2: Deriv6-NoInterim, Deriv9
Bonus: Johnson-Laird thinks that, to reason, we construct mental models, but only models of what states of affairs would make propositions true (rather like how in truth trees we assume the premises and negation of the conclusion are true). Print and bring (all of) J-Loverview and the table on p. 12 of J-Lsentential.
SKIP - Categorical Logic
Taking questions on: P&C-Categorical
Work on Ex1:
(Suggested) Ex2:
EVALUATING EXPLANATIONS
For Tues. 11th - Truth Trees, Valid, Strong & Weak Inference
Taking questions on: P&C-Truth-Table-Truth-Tree (section 6, section 7) I&S-ValidStrongWeak
Work on Ex1: After section 1 (= Valid, Strong, Weak)
Suggested Ex2: Truth Functions, Truth Tables
For Thurs. 13th - Necessary & Sufficient Conditions
Taking Questions on Truth Trees, Valid-Strong-Weak, I&S-Cause sections 1-2
Work on Ex1: After section 2 and after section 4
Suggested Ex2: Targeted Truth Tables
For Thurs. 27th - Association
Taking question on: I&S-Cause sections 1-4
Work on Ex1: I&S-Cause after sections 4
(Suggested) Ex2: ValidStrongWeak
Bonus: This is a news website article about a scientific finding (parody of science writing)
Here's a terrific account of our knowledge of the connection between (lack of) Vitamin C and scurvy. Pull quote: "But unless you already understand and believe in the vitamin model of nutrition, the notion of a trace substance that exists both in fresh limes and bear kidneys, but is absent from a cask of lime juice because you happened to prepare it in a copper vessel, begins to sound pretty contrived."
Here is a very thorough dissection of a very bad study which claimed to prove that spiritual mediums were reliable.
For Tues. 1st - Association & Causation
Taking question on: I&S-Cause section 4, I&S-Association-Causal-Explanation section 1
Word on Ex1: after 1
(Suggested) Ex2: Necessary & Sufficient Conditions
Bonus: Spurious Correlations - web site that generates tightly correlated, but unrelated variables
For Thurs. 3rd - Association & Causation
Taking question on: I&S-Association-Causal-Explanation section 1 and section 2
Work on Ex1: after 1, after 2
(Suggested) Ex2:
Bonus: Video on Confirmatory bias (link)
Bonus: I&S-Mill's-Methods provide an alternative system.
For Tues. 8th - Association & Cause
Taking question on: I&S-Association-Causal-Explanation section 2 and section 3
Work on Ex1: after 3
(Suggested) Ex2: IC & IE
Bonus: The Sports Illustrated Curse (Regression to the mean) one | two
For Thurs. 10th - Causes As INUS Conditions
Taking question on: I&S-Association-Causal-Explanation section 3 and section 4 and section 5 (even though there is no exercise for 5)
Work on Ex1: after 4
(Suggested) Ex2: Association (section 1)
Skip - IG, IS, IP
Read: I&S-Induction (all of it)
Ex1: After section 5
Ex2:
Bonus: I&S-Problems-In-Induction
Skip - Hypothesis Generation & Analogy
Read: I&S-Scientific-Reasoning sections 1-2
Ex1: After section 2
Ex2:
For Skip - Experimental Reasoning
Read: Section 3
Ex1: 3
Ex2:
Bonus: Zendo (pyramid game)
For Tues. 13th, 11:30 a.m. - Final Exam, All Ex2s due (on Drive)
The exam will cover everything after necessary & sufficient conditions; sources-character-motives will not be on the exam
Ex2s on Drive:
P&C: Deriv6NoInterim; Deriv9Rules; TruthFunctions; TruthTables; Targeted; TruthTrees
I&S: Valid-Strong-Weak; Nec-Suff; IC-IE; Assoc; CrossTabs; Assoc-Cause; INUS
RW: Classifying-Analyzing; Analyzing-Omit; Two-Criteria; Clear-Meaning; Diagrams; Complex-Diagrams
For Fall
PHIL 332 Ancient (Western) Philosophy (General Studies 'W' Credit)
TTh 2:30-4:10
An introduction to ancient Western philosophy, covering the historical period from (roughly) 600 BCE to 200 CE. The figures and thoughts of the ancient Greeks and Romans continue to be incredibly influential on Western culture. Among the possible topics: the division of body from mind and of emotions from reason; the individuality of souls; the quest for knowledge and the value of that quest; the birth of science and a commitment to naturalism and to essences. Among the possible figures: the early scientific philosophers or "pre-Socratics" who broke with mythological thinking; the enigmatic figure of Socrates who was executed for teaching young people to question their elders and challenging democracy; the provocative dialogues of Plato, who refuses to tell us what he thinks; the genius of Aristotle, who established the sciences of logic, linguistics, rhetoric, biology, chemistry; and the Stoic and Epicurean schools which became dominant after the death of Alexander the Great and conceived of philosophy as a way to find peace of mind. The student should end the term with an understanding of the emergence of scientific and philosophical thought, knowledge of the types of questions being asked and different theories that were advanced on these matters, and be able to see the influence of one thinker on another and on history.
Bayes's Rule
Two intuitive/pictorial explanations - one using Venn diagrams| two
Another with interactive math boxes
Video explaining conditional probability/Bayes's Rule
For Thurs. 6th - Validity, Logical Structure Of Propositions (sections 1-3)
Taking questions on: P&I-SomeEverydayReasoning, P&C-Validity and P&C-Logical-Structure-Of-Propositions up through section 3.
Work on Ex1 for: P&C-Validity, P&C-Logical-Structure-Of-Propositions after section 3
(Suggested) Work on Ex2 for: P&I-SomeEverydayReasoning
Bonus: Johnson-Laird on reasoning with (spatial and temporal) relations.
For Tues. 11th - Logical Structure Of Propositions (section 4), The Big 8 Method (sections 1-6)
Taking questions on: P&C-Validity and P&C-Logically-Structured-English (all), P&C-Big8 (sections 1-6)
Work on Ex1 for: Both Ex1s in Logical-Structure-Of-Propositions
(Suggested) Work on Ex2 for: P&C-Validity
Bonus: Is MIMS affirming the consequent? (in his song "This Is Why I'm Hot"). Read the comments - you might be able to make sense of them. Related: Here are Venn diagrams explaining MIMS's claims. The Venn Diagram method for categorical arguments is the "C" in "P&C" and is covered (briefly) in a chapter at the end of P&C.
Philosophical issue: Lewis Carroll's "What the Tortoise said to Achilles" (WP entry on Carroll's paradox.)
For Thurs. 13th - Big 8 (all sections)
Taking questions on: P&C-Logically-Structured-English (all), P&C-Big8 (all)
Work on Ex1 for: Both Ex1s in P&C-Big8
(Suggested) Ex2: P&C-LogicallyStructuredEnglish (all)
For Tues. 18th - Derivation (sections 1-3)
Taking questions on: P&C-Logically-Structured-English (4), P&C-Big8 (all), Derivation (sections 1-3)
Work on Ex1: After section 2, after section 3
(Suggested) Ex2: Big 8 Method after 6 AND after 10
Bonus: LSAT question
For Thurs. 20th - Derivation (4)
Taking questions on: P&C-Big8 (all), Derivation (section 4)
Work on Ex1: After section 4
(Suggested) Ex2: Derivation 2
Bonus: "RQ" Test | Cognitive Reflection Test | Features of Type-1 and Type-2 processes
For Tues. 25th - Derivation (5)
Taking questions on: Derivation (sections 1-5)
Work on Ex1: after section 5. Those who have already worked on section 5 should next move to P&C-Truth-Table-Truth-Tree
(Suggested) Ex2: Derivation 3
SKIP - Derivation (6.6, 6.8, 7)
Taking questions on:
Ex1:
Ex2:
Bonus: Watch Kirk and crew escaping from a race of completely logical androids by uttering absurdities and the Liar Paradox.