INTRODUCTORY SYMBOLIC LOGIC

Texts

    H. Pospesel, Introduction to Logic: Propositional Logic, Revised Third Edition (Prentice-Hall, pb; includes a CD-ROM containing a program called PropLogic).

    Course-pack from Student Stores, in seven chapters.
 

Office hours and contact information

    Lycan:  Tuesdays, 1:30 - 4:00, or by appointment; Caldwell 215B.  ujanel@isis.unc.edu.  Web site:  www.unc.edu/~ujanel.  Course site: www.unc.edu/~ujanel/21Main.htm; course information is posted there.

    Bauer (sections 601, "603"):  Mondays, 11:00 - 12:00 and Fridays 1:00 - 2:00, or by appointment; Caldwell 210A. mdbauer@email.unc.edu.

    Landy (sections 602, "604"):  Mondays, 1:00 - 3:00, or by appointment; Caldwell 210D.   landy@email.unc.edu.
 

Course organization and assignments

    On Mondays and Wednesdays there will be lecture.  On Fridays, beginning September 12, we will break up into our discussion sections.
    There will be two midterm exams (the first worth approximately 20% of your final grade, the second 25%), and a final exam (40%).  Each exam will be preceded by a warmup quiz (5%).  There will also be very short weekly take-home assignments (recommended only).
 

Syllabus

    August 27, 29:   What logic is.  Arguments and validity.  Reading:  Pospesel, Ch. 1.

    September 3, 5:   Argument forms and logical notation.  Simple rules of inference.  Reading:  Pospesel, Chs. 2 and 3.

    Week of September 8:   Subproofs.  The Arrow-In Rule.  Friday: Sections begin.  Reading:  Ch. 4.

    Week of September 15:   Negation.  The Dash-In and Dash-Out Rules.  Friday, September 19: Quiz #1.  Reading: Ch. 5.

    Week of September 22:   The biconditional.  Wednesday, September 24: Midterm #1.  Reading:  Ch. 6.

    Week of September 29:   Disjunction: Wedge In and Wedge Out.  Harder proofs: “Inspiration.”  Reading:  Pospesel, Ch. 7, and course-pack, Ch. 3 (“Two More Proofs...”).

    Week of October 6:   Harder proofs, continued; Sleaze.   Reading:  Pospesel, Ch. 8; course-pack, Ch. 4 (“Some Freebies”).

    Week of October 13:   Derived rules.   Reading: Pospesel, Ch. 9.

    Week of October 20:   Truth tables.   No sections Friday (Fall Break).  Reading:  Pospesel, Ch. 10, sec. 10.1.

    Week of October 27:   Brief truth tables.  Friday, October 31: Quiz #2.  Reading: Pospesel, Ch. 10, sec. 10.2.

    Week of November 3:   Metatheory: Soundness (consistency) of the system PL.  Wednesday, November 5: Midterm #2.   Reading: Pospesel, Appendix 1, pp. 216-22.

    Week of November 10:  Metatheory, continued: Algorithms; the idea of completeness.  Reading: Pospesel, Appendix 1, pp. 222-28; this is very hard and you are not responsible for the details.

    Week of November 17:   Predicate logic; quantifiers.   Reading: Course-pack, Ch. 5 (“The Predicate Calculus...”), pp. 1-5; Ch. 6 (Pospesel excerpt), pp. 6-19.

    Week of November 24:   Quantifier rules: Universal Quantifier Out, Existential Quantifier Out, Existential Quantifier In.  No sections Friday (Thanksgiving Vacation). Reading: Course-pack, Ch. 5, pp. 5-12; Ch. 6, pp. 20-33.

    Week of December 1:  Universal Quantifier In.  Friday, December 5:  Quiz #3.  Reading: Course-pack, Ch. 5, pp. 12-18.

    December 8:   Review session.

    Final exam, Wednesday, December 17, 8:00 a.m.
 
 

Honor code

    The Chancellor has asked faculty to include the following statement in all course syllabi.

The Honor Code prohibits lying, cheating or stealing when these actions involve academic processes or University, student or academic personnel acting in an official capacity.  The Campus Code requires students to conduct themselves in such ways as not to impair the welfare or the educational opportunities of others in the University community.  As a UNC student, you have accepted a commitment to the Honor Code and the Campus Code, and the principles of academic integrity, personal honesty, and responsible citizenship on which they were founded more than 100 years ago.
Academic dishonesty in any form is unacceptable, because it circumvents the purpose of the University's life and work.  As a faculty member, I have a responsibility to report any possible Honor Code violations to the Student Attorney General.  I trust that you will join me in supporting the Honor Code by signing the Honor Pledge on all written work, and by consulting me if you are uncertain about your responsibilities within Philosophy 21.