Phil. 2333A – Logic

Dr. Joseph Magee - e-mail: JosephMagee@aol.com
Office: 202 Sullivan
Office phone: 713-942-3483
Office hours: MW 2-3:30pm
TTh 1:30-3:30pm

Objective:

This course is designed to introduce students to Aristotelian logic. Attention will be paid to its application in real life argumentation and persuasive discourse.

Requirements:

Students are required to complete all reading assignments and homework exercises. Failure to do so will seriously hinder students’ performance in the graded requirements. Quizzes will be given, in class, on a (nearly) weekly basis. There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes. The total of all quizzes, two tests and a final exam are each worth 25% of the final grade. Grades are assigned according to the following scale. Letter grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

95 – 100 A 77 – 79 C+
90 – 94 A- 70 – 76 C
87 – 89 B+ 67 – 69 C-
83 – 86 B 51 – 66 D
80 – 82 B- 0 – 50 F

Text:

Magee, Elementary Aristotelian-Thomistic Logic, 2001

Schedule:

  1. Introduction - Text: Unit I
    1. Liberal Arts
    2. Speculative Science
    3. Acts of the Intellect

Week I
  1. Simple Apprehension - Text: Unit II
    1. Induction
    2. Words and Signs

Week II
  1. Predicables
  2. Predicaments

Week III
  1. Causes
  2. Definition

Week IV
  1. Judgment
  1. Propositions Themselves - Text: Unit III
    1. Quality
    2. Quanitity
    3. Four Kinds of Propositions

Week V
  1. Relations among Propositions - Text: Unit IV
  1. Conversion
  2. Obversion

Week VI
  1. Opposition

Week VII
  1. Reasoning
  1. Syllogisms
    1. Categorical - Text: Unit V
      1. Figure
      2. Mood

Week VIII
  1. Rules for Valid Syllogisms

Week IX
  1. Reducing Syllogisms to the First Figure
  2. Barbara Celarent
  3. Enthymemes and Sorites

Week X
  1. Hypothetical Syllogism - Text: Unit VI
    1. Modus Ponens
    2. Modus Tollens
  2. Disjunctive Syllogism and Dilemma

Week XI
  1. Fallacies - Text: Unit VII
    1. Linguistic
    2. Non-linguistic

 

Week XII
  1. Analyzing Arguments - Text: Unit VIII
    1. Demonstrative
    2. Dialectical

 

Week XIII
  1. Rhetorical
  2. Literary

 

Week XIV