Fundamentals of Logic

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LOG 101.3 (Credit hours 3)
BBA, Second Year, Fourth Semester

Course Objectives:
This course aims to develop the ability of critical reasoning of students so that they gain the skill to argue well and detect good and bad arguments.

Course Contents:
1.Basic Logical Concepts and language Functions 5 hours
Meaning of logic, Propositions, Premises and arguments, Complex arguments, Arguments identification: conclusion and premise indicators, contextual arguments, unstated propositions, Deduction and induction, Validity and Truth, Arguments and explanations

2.Analysis of Arguments 4 hours
Arguments diagrams, Passage analysis of complex argumentative passages, Problem solving .Problem in reasoning, Retrograde reasoning

3.Languages Functions 3 hours
Basic functions of language, Discourse: forms of discourse, Emotive and cognitive meaning, Agreement and disagreement

4.Definitions and Fallacies 4 hours
Kinds of definitions and disputes and their resolutions, Denotations and connotations, Concept and types of fallacies, Relevance, presumption and ambiguity

5.Deduction 16 hours
Theory of deduction, Categorical propositions and classes, Square of opposition, Categorical syllogism, Nature of syllogistic arguments, Syllogisms testing with Venn- diagram, Syllogistic rules and fallacies, Syllogistic arguments in ordinary language, Symbols logic, Symbols for conjunction, negation, disjunction and punctuation, Statement forms, Material equivalence, Methods of deduction: Proving validity and invalidity using quantification theory

6.Induction 8 hours
Argument by analogy, Appraising analogical argument, Refutation, Casual connections, Cause and effect, The Mill’s method, Method of difference, Method of residues, Method of concomitant variation

7.Science and Hypothesis 8 hours
The values of science, Scientific and unscientific explanation, Evaluation of scientific explanations, Scientific investigation stages, Pattern of scientific investigation, Experiments and ad hoc hypothesis


Text Books:
1.Irving M. Copi and Carl Cohen (11th ed.): Introduction to Logic, Pearson Education.

Reference Books:
1.Patrick J. Hurley: A Consise Introduction to Logic, Wadsworth Thomson Learning