Logic, from the Greek λογικός (logikos) is the study of reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activity, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. Logic examines general forms which arguments may take which forms are valid, and which are fallacies.
It is one kind of critical thinking. In philosophy, the study of logic falls in the area of epistemology, which asks: “How do we know what we know?” In mathematics, it is the study of valid inferences within some formal language.
LOGIC
- Nature of Logic:
Deduction and Induction
Truth and Validity
- Definition:
Purposes of Definition
Verbal Disputes and Definition
Types of Definition, Rules of Definition
- Categorical Propositions:
Kinds of Propositions
Traditional Square of Opposition
Immediate Inferences
Existential Import
- Categorical Syllogism:
Standard Form Categorical Syllogism
Venn Diagram Technique for Testing Syllogism
Rules and Fallacies
- Symbolic Logic:
Value of Special Symbols,
Symbols for Conjunction,
Negation, and Disjunction,
Conditional Statements,
Material Implication
Argument Forms and Arguments
Statement. Forms and Statements Paradoxes of Material Implication
- Method of Deduction:
Formal Proof of Validity
Rule of Replacement, Inconsistency
- Qualification Theory:
Singular Propositions,
Quantification
Propositional Function subject Predicate Propositions
Proving Validity
- Causal Connections:
Mill’s Methods of Experimental Inquiry
Meaning of Cause, Mill’s Methods
Critique of Mill’s Methods
Defense of Mill’s Methods
Criticism of Stebbing and Russell
- Science and Hypothesis:
Value of Science
Explanation: Scientific and Unscientific
Evaluation of Scientific Explanation of Scientific Explanation
Crucial Experiments and Adhoc Hypotheses
Classification of Hypotheses
Books Recommended
1. Copi, Irving, M. Introduction to Logic, 8th ed. New York: MacMillan, 1990.
2. Hurley, Patrick, J. A Concise Introduction to Logic, Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co. 1988.
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