Professor Judy Pelham
pelham@yorku.ca
Office Location:  S440 Ross Building
Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 44721

Logic is the study of argument and proof, and it is basic to philosophy as well as many other disciplines.  This course attempts to teach you to recognize three important concepts that you will use in philosophy and elsewhere in your studies: validity, equivalence consistency.

Here is an example of a deductively valid argument:

Either the Liberals will win, or the Communist Party of Canada will win.

The Liberals will not win.

Therefore, the Communist Part of Canada will win.

This argument is valid because of its structure, not because of the truth of its premises or its conclusion.  Phil 2100 course will teach you to distinguish validity of an argument from the truth of its conclusion.  In this and many other ways the goal of the course to make you understand the relationships among statements.  This in turn makes you a better reader, and a better debater, a better researcher, a better writer.

Technical requirements for taking the course:

We use an eCourse web site for quizzes, announcements, distributing notes and other course information. You will need access to the internet by computer for one or two hours per week.

Here are some useful links for student computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU Best Practices 

Computing for Students Website

Times and locations: Monday, 2:30-4:30.

Office hours: Prof Pelham will hold office hours in person at S440 Ross, or online via Zoom, as arranged my email.

Course Kit containing sections from The Logic Book, 2^nd Ed.

Tutorial Homework (in person & prepared) & participation: 10%

Weekly Quizzes (online only): 20%

SL Test (in person):  25%

SD Test (in person): 20%

Final Exam (on PL, in person): 25%

Lectures for this course are held in person on Mondays from 2:30 to 4:30pm. There is a one-hour tutorial per week, meeting at various times on Wednesday afternoon. There is a textbook from which you read and do the exercises. There are two tests during the term, and one in the exam period. Some elements of the course are conducted online, access to a computer for between one and two hours per week is necessary.

1. To recognize the logical structure of sentences in English. To make this very clear we translate the logical words of English into symbols, and practice doing such translations
2. To recognize the logical structure of deductive arguments in English, and to be able to recognize the validity of an argument as well as be able to construct a counter example to prove that it is logically invalid.  We also discuss when two sentences are logically equivalent, and when two sentences are inconsistent.
3. To be able to construct proofs that demonstrate the logical validity of English arguments.

Course policies

Prof. Pelham’s Policy on missed tests, missed homework

Tests are an inevitable part of the assessment of your logical ability.  And it is important for fairness that all students write the tests or exams at approximately the same time. But, people do become sick, and other unavoidable problems do arise.  Do not attempt to write a test or exam if you ill.  You will not perform well, and you may contribute to spreading illness. You may write a make-up if I approve your reason. If a student misses a logic test, they should notify me (pelham at yorku) by email as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after the test.  If a student can provide documentation of their difficulty (doctor's note, for example), I will usually allow them to write a make-up test. I try to schedule the make-up about 1 week after the original test, and to make it of similar difficulty to the original.  I only do one make-up test for all the students who were ill, not several different ones.

Similar considerations apply to the test during the exam period, except that I do not invigilate the make-up exam myself. This means that if you provide me with the documentation showing you are/were not able to write on the exam date, you may write the make-up via the registrar's office with my permission. If you are ill or absent for the entire exam period you must petition for deferred standing via the Faculty of LAPS.

If your tutorial leader assigns you homework, or you miss a tutorial, these may not be made up despite illness or any other reason for absence. Any homework assignments are structured so that each student is allowed to miss one or two tutorials in the course of the term. Attending the tutorials is an important part of the course, and if you do not attend, you forfeit the attendance part of the grade. For other questions consult your teaching assistant directly.

Your teaching assistant is also the person who grades your work, and they work as a team, with me, to ensure fair and reasonable grading for all the students.  If you have a question about why a certain question is awarded a certain grade, those questions are to be directed to your teaching assistant.  Tests and assignments are normally returned within about two weeks of a test, and you are encouraged to discuss your grade with your teaching assistant. I discuss the assignment of grades to individual students if and only if you have discussed the matter with your TA and you are unhappy with the result.  I do not promise to raise your grade, I may indeed lower it.