This course introduces students to the principles of formal logic, especially insofar as they inform the fruitful analysis, translation and derivation of complex arguments. Besides the cultivation of these skills, students will encounter properly philosophical questions about the nature of thought, language and reality occasioned by their study of different logical systems.

Students with credit in PHIL 221 cannot receive credit in PHIL 301.

• To obtain competence and fluency in the intellectual virtues of understanding, judgment and reasoning, for the purposes of clear and effective comprehension and communication.
• To learn and appreciate the significance of three core elements of logic: namely, terms, propositions and arguments.
• To learn the skill of translating ordinary language sentences into formally precise propositions and arguments.
• To acquire an ability to identify (and avoid) fallacious forms of inference, informal and formal.

1.       Kreeft, Socratic Logic, Intro.1 (w/f)

2.       Intro.4–5

3.       IS Conference; SL, II.1 (m/f)

4.       SL, IV.1–2

5.       Review

6.       Review; Exam 1(w/f)

7.       SL, V.1 and 4

8.       SL, VII.1–2

9.       SL, VIII.3–5

10.   Review

11.   Review; Exam 2 (w/f)

12.   SL, III; Logical Essay Topics Due

13.   SL, III

14.   Workshop for Logical Essay