Elementary Logic

PHIL-P 150

Colorful chess pieces.
Course Description

Some reasoning is genuinely good: it makes it more likely that the conclusion is true. Some reasoning is not good at all. How can we tell which arguments are good ones? How can we improve our reasoning? Students in a wide range of areas—business, premed, prelaw, and many others—find that they can use an introduction to logic, the study of good argumentation. Elementary logic meets this need by providing an introduction to contemporary logical theory. Unlike PHIL-P105 Critical Thinking, it teaches students how to translate ordinary language arguments into a logical language in order to rigorously evaluate their validity. It instills new habits of thought and sharpens students’ reasoning abilities. Satisfies the Gen Ed A&H requirement.

Note that PHIL P150 is a slower-paced introduction to logic than PHIL P250 Symbolic Logic, and it is not a prerequisite for PHIL P250. Students who are comfortable with mathematical thinking and/or computer programming should consider taking PHIL P250 instead of PHIL P 150. PHIL P 250 satisfies the Gen Ed N&M requirement.