24.241  Logic I

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24.241  Logic I

Fall 2019

Instructor: Vann McGee

TA: Jocelyn Wang

Lecture:  TR9.30-11  (32-124)        

Information: 

An introduction to the aims and techniques of formal logic. Logic is the science of correct argument, and our study of logic will have both theoretical and practical goals. The theoretical aim is to understand what makes a correct argument good. What is it about the structure of a correct argument that guarantees that, if the premises are all true, the conclusion will be true as well? Our subject will be truth and proof, and the connection between them. The practical aim is to help you learn to reason better, with greater clarity and precision, so that you’ll produce good arguments and you’ll scorn bad arguments when you’re confronted with them.

The text for the course will be a manuscript I wrote, entitled Logic: The Art of Persuasion and the Science of Truth. I’m still tinkering with it. The text is available here, under “Materials.” We’ll study the topics that appear there, in the order in which they’re listed. (There’s also a version of the text on OpenCourseWare, but it’s out-of-date.) Homework assignments, homework answers, announcements, and so on on will also be posted here. If, for some reason, you are not now officially enrolled in the class, please send me an e-mail and let me know, so that I can add your name to the class list, giving you immediate full access to the site.

There will be weekly problems sets. Jocelyn Wang will be doing the grading. In calculating grades, I’ll throw out the lowest homework score. I encourage you to work together on the problems, but when you sit down to write up your final answers, please do it by yourself, without looking at anyone else’s work. This is important, since the scores on the problem sets are the biggest component of your final grade.

There will be a mandatory 3-hour final exam, which will carry the same weight as three problem sets. It will be a closed-book exam, but you can bring in a one-page crib sheet.

You will be required to attend class. Attendance will be taken, and cumulative attendance will count the same as one pset. The last two times I taught the class, I required attendance, and I was amazed how much better people did on the final exam that they did in earlier years.

My regular office hours will be Tuesdays from 4 to 5, upstairs in 32-D931, but other times can be arranged if you have questions. Jocelyn’s office hours are Wednesdays, 11-12, or by appointment in 32-D927.

OCW archive available

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