Introduction to Philosophy (Fall 07)

Today’s lecture covers the logical analysis of categorical propositions. Don’t let the name scare you; it’s actually pretty easy, when you get the hang of it.

Our objectives are for you to be able to:

(1) Identify basic kinds of categorical propositions.

(2) Diagram categorical propositions using Venn diagrams.

(3) Recognize the equivalences involved in traditional immediate inferences.

(4) Identify the quantity and quality of propositions.

(5) Distinguish contradiction, contrariety, and subcontrariety in terms of the traditional square of opposition.

(6) Translate sentences expressing categorical propositions into Sommers-Englebretsen notation (term functor transcription).

Some supplementary readings and resources that might interest you if you found today’s class interesting, or wanted to do further research on the subject:

* David E. Kelley, The Art of Reasoning. This introductory textbook has a useful Logic Tutor program online.

* This set of lecture notes for an introductory logic course at Lander University (taught by Lee Archie) is also worth perusing.

Next class we get into even more wonderful things!

These are only examples (I’m sure you could find many more), but here are some examples of the course texts online. Pick the ones that are best for you.

Plato’s Gorgias

At The Internet Classics Archive

At Project Gutenberg

At the Internet Archive

Boethius’s The Consolation of Philosophy

At Project Gutenberg

At Internet Archive

Descartes’s Discourse on Method

At Project Gutenberg

At the Internet Archive

In addition, for those of you who listen better than you read, LibriVox has free audio versions of both the Consolation and the Discourse, although I haven’t yet had a chance to check out their quality. (LearnOutLoud has an audio version of the Gorgias; unfortunately, it’s pricey for what you get. Let me know if you run across any free audio versions of the text.)

For those of you who want to get a head start on it, I thought I would go ahead and post the first reflection paper assignment, even though I won’t officially be assigning it until Thursday. Remember, I’m not strict about the deadlines, but you do need to get the reflection paper to me fairly quickly so I can comment on it and hand it back to you for your portfolio. This one’s a fairly easy one.

REFLECTION PAPER #1

What is your view of the world? More specifically, among your beliefs and convictions, what are some of the most important, the ones that shape your understanding of the world, of your fellow human beings, and of yourself, the ones that most fundamentally guide your life?

You should give some of your reasoning about why these claims are important, and have some discussion of how they influence the way you go about your life, but don’t worry too much in this first assignment about giving rigorous arguments or precise accounts. Just try to put down on paper the gist of your worldview. You’ll want a description of it sufficiently good that you can refer back to it at the end of the course to see how your participation in this course has influenced you.

Welcome to the weblog/website for Brandon Watson’s two sections of Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 1301). I will regularly post course information, supplementary readings, etc., on this page.

Note the Syllabus link on the sidebar at your right. When we begin writing reflection papers, I will post the assignments on a separate page, with its own link under the Syllabus link.

Also note the link list; this is a set of general ACC- or philosophy-related resources that are likely to be of value. If you have any suggestions for additional links, let me know.