Notes on Introduction to Logic --
Phil A101
William Jamison - Instructor
Lecture 2:
It may take a few days for your account to be activated once you register with eLogic so don't be surprised if this happens. When you register you should have a choice of registering with a particular course. You should find this course listed either under University of Alaska Anchorage or under my name, William Jamison, as the instructor.
 | Taking the section quizzes: |
As you read the sections one by one you can take a quiz. Each quiz you select will give you the option of taking it as a true and false or fill in. You can do either, or both if you like! They are fast and will tell you if you are right or wrong. If you don't get it right the first time you can take it over again. Each time you take it you email the results to me at wsjamison@uaa.alaska.edu and I will keep track of your progress.
As you start reading the book, you will notice that it has more information than the web page on eLogic and those web pages just offer the opportunity to go over the materials presented in the book in quiz and test formats. The exercises offered on line merely duplicate the ones in the book and you will notice many of those are answered in the book anyway starting on page 560. The book is faster!
The notes I have on my web page under lectures will follow along with the book and offer a few insights that might be interesting and maybe even a bit helpful. If you feel they only make you more confused, then you can skip them! Consider them extra material for those that have the time and the interest to find more information. Also note that if you follow every link you will never finish!
I. LOGIC AND
LANGUAGE.
1. Basic Logical Concepts.
What is Logic and why should we study it?
Logic is the subject that concerns the way correct thinking can be identified and separated from incorrect thinking. Studying logic is the tried and true way to master the skill of thinking correctly.
Logic has a very important history for Western Civilization. It has progressed over the centuries, just as everything else. What it was for Aristotle, or for the Scholastics, or for Wittgenstein, may all be of interest in a historical sense, but what do they have to do with us today? Would it be worth our while to study logic as taught over 2,000 years ago? Would it be better to study logic as it was taught 50 years ago? Should we skip the old tools and start right away with the new ones?
To answer any of these questions, we have to look at logic as we understand it today. We have to understand why a student whose main concern is getting a job in a satisfying (and well paying) career would be interested in anything so ancient as logic. We have to make the practical connection, showing why a study of logic would improve a student's chances at success in business, science, the arts, and maybe even in love.
What is logic as we understand it and use it today?
This is actually a very philosophical question. That explains, perhaps, why it is generally taught as part of the offerings of a philosophy department, though it can also be part of a mathematics curriculum, statistics, and many other programs offered in colleges and universities. This does not mean that the answer is difficult. It only means that it is answered by understanding how logic plays a role in how we think today. What is our current perspective or point of view about thinking?
From a biological standpoint, we are no longer baffled by the physiological functioning of the human brain. We now have machines that are capable of "watching" the brain as it functions. We can see the sparkles of brain activity in the different lobes and "see" how the brain deals with the demands placed upon it. Questions about emotional topics posed to the persons in studies have been filmed "thinking" with males typically thinking with one localized section of the brain in dealing with "emotional" questions, while females "think" over the same questions using multiple sections of their brains. This of course results in very interesting speculations over the differences in males and females, possible explanations for why females may recover from strokes more easily than males, and other fascinating things, but it more certainly does tell us that our thoughts are clearly associated with electrical energy coursing through tree-like networks of neurons. These networks can be seen expanding with experience. The speculation of John Locke that the human mind is like a blank slate at birth waiting for experience to write on it, can be visually verified as subsequent experiences create ever expanding networks writing new memories through the brain. Our contemporary experience with computers lends us more comparisons by comparing the storage functions of hard drives, the operation of Random Access Memory and the workings of the Central Processing Unit. How much like the human brain are our new machines? The assumption is that the human brain is far more capable and can store fantastic amounts of ideas in a manner simulated by the techniques of holographic images. Children can be studied linking mathematical, musical, linguistic, visual and other skills with the physical growth of their brain. The timely introduction of such experiences when their brains are most likely to build those memories, increases their lifetime potential to master those skills.
When we think, electrical impulses follow these trails of neurons. How do we feel when we have thoughts? Well, we know we are having the thoughts! We also seem to think about our thoughts in much the same way we think out loud when we speak. Do we think in sentences? Do we think using correct grammar? I don't think we spell out our words when we think, but it does seem like we use sentences. So when we think about thinking and study the logic of our thoughts we are studying our language.
So this chapter deals with Propositions and Sentences.
We consider our reasoning process to make use of relating different propositions, so the chapter goes on to cover Arguments, Premisses, and Conclusions. Analyzing Arguments. Recognizing Arguments. Arguments and Explanations.
There are different kinds of arguments. So the chapter continues with Deduction and Validity, Induction and Probability, Validity and Truth, Complex Argumentative Passages, and Reasoning.
Forward to more thoughts...
There is another Logic Tutor on line if you are interested in looking at it. The address is: http://www.wwnorton.com/logictutor/ but keep in mind that it is based on a different book and you still need to do the quizzes and tests on the eLogic site for this course.
Go on to next lecture.