PHIL 1310 - [Logic, Evidence, and Argument]

(KCM-AS)

Fall or spring. 3 credits.

Next offered 2014-2015.

Staff.

The course is designed as an introduction to the concepts and skills central to critical thinking. The focus will be on the analysis and construction of arguments, both those that we encounter in everyday discourse, and those we find in academic texts. The first portion of the course will be an introduction to the most fundamental component of logic, propositional logic. We will also get a glimpse of some aspects of logical structure that go beyond propositional logic, such as quantification, probability, and modality. We will then turn to applying these logical tools to a sample of real-life situations. The readings will include some classic arguments made by Socrates and Descartes, and also some contemporary debates, such as the controversy about evolution and intelligent design.