PHIL 111-940: Symbolic Logic I

Fall 2017
Online

Instructor: Dr. Flavia Padovani

E-mail: flavia.padovani@drexel.edu
Office: MacAlister 5034
Office Hours: I will be away from Philadelphia for most of the term, so you will not find
me in my office. However, please do contact me via email, as I am available to meet
on FaceTime, Skype, etc. you at your convenience. Just notice that I may be in Europe,
and there might be a 5- or 6-hour difference, which means that I wont be able to talk or
reply immediately to your requests when it is late at night in Philadelphia.

Required Text: KLENK, V. (2007), Understanding Symbolic Logic, 5th Edition, Prentice-
Hall (ISBN 9780132051521)

Course Description
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental concepts and rules of
symbolic logic, and so to provide them with an introduction to the methods and value
of logical thinking and correct reasoning. The class centers around formal aspects of
logical reasoning, developing the tools to formally analyze and prove logical arguments
in propositional (zero-order) logic, with an eye towards establishing the value of formal
logical systems in evaluating the validity of arguments. The course will cover truth-
functional connectives, rules of inference, replacement rules, as well as proof
techniques such as natural deduction, and truth tables.

Course Objectives
Successful completion of this course will enable you to learn about validity as well as
other techniques of analyzing and evaluating the logic of arguments. More specifically,
you will be able to:
- translate English sentences into the language of propositional logic;
- use truth tables to test for validity, tautologousness, logical equivalence, and
consistency;
- do natural deduction proofs in propositional logic to test arguments for validity.

Requirements
This is online course requires that you regularly attend all the online sessions that will
become progressively available on Learn, and study the relevant units in the book.
NOTICE: The online videos do not make up for the material in the textbook: they
merely complement it.
There will be four homework assignments comprising exercises from the textbook, and

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each is worth 10% of the final grade. You will have to upload your assignments on Learn,
so you can either scan your handwritten assignments (if you have or can find a scanner)
or upload any .doc; .docx or .pdf documents at your convenience. You can also take a
picture of your work and upload it in .jpeg and the sort, so long as your writing is
sufficiently readable. Please make sure that that is the case and that you have uploaded
the correct document (no old assignment, no draft, etc.)! Documents in pdf or word are
preferable, in general. I do recommend, however, to avoid .rtf and .tex files, as they are
often not optimally processed by Learn. It is your responsibility to check what you have
uploaded and if your document has been uploaded properly. Do not expect me to
accept late submissions due to your mistakes or to files not uploaded correctly. Also
notice: Each assignment must be turned in when it is due. No late assignment will be
accepted (and no assignment will be uploadable after the deadline).
There will be two in-class exams, each worth 30% of the total grade. You will complete
them only with the help of writing tools. No phone, computer, iPad, or similar devices
will be allowed during the exam sessions. Additionally, you will have to learn and
remember the few rules and tables we will be introducing and know how to use them.
Both exams will take place on Drexels main campus. Please, check the document
Examination Policy, especially in case you are not in Philadelphia and/or you will have
problems in attending the exams. So, the grading scheme is:
- In-class exams: 30% (=30 points) each;
- Homework Assignments: 10% (=10 points) each.
Weightings are approximate with room for instructors judgments to tip the balance of
the overall grade in the course.
Note: There is NO extra credit and NO opportunity to make up work that you havent
done when you were supposed to. So please dont ask for either!

Grades
Grades for this course will be calculated as follows:
10% 30%
97100 A+ 9.70-10.00 29.10-30.00
9396 A 9.30-9.60 27.90-28.80
9092 A- 9.00-9.20 27.00-27.60
8789 B+ 8.70-8.90 26.10-26.70
8386 B 8.30-8.60 24.90-25.80
8082 B- 8.00-8.20 24.00-24.60
7779 C+ 7.70-7.90 23.10-23.70
7376 C 7.30-7.60 21.90-22.80
7072 C- 7.00-7.20 21.00-21.60
6669 D+ 6.60-6.90 19.80-20.70
6065 D 6.00-6.50 18.00-19.50
0 59 F < 6.00 < 18.00

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Practice!
Logic is an acquired skill and requires regular practice. Many people think they can
reason well, but doing so formally can expose various ways in which one can err, either
on formal problems or in everyday life. It is essential that you practice your logical skills
in this course.
We will be seeing some exercises together. Dont think that because you can follow the
exercises, you have a mastery over the material! I recommend that you take the time to
try the starred problems at the end of each chapter in the textbook. They all have
answers at the back of the book, so you can systematically check your level of
comprehension of the material. Furthermore, I strongly recommend that you do your
assignments alone. I will compare your results in the assignments and in the exams, and
if there is a notable discrepancy between your results and I realize your assignments
were most likely completed by someone else, I will at least lower your grade, and/or
take further steps. See the Policy concerning academic dishonesty (link below).
Please, do not hesitate to email me if you need further help. I generally respond very
quickly and I will be glad to assist you with your assignments, and to clarify concepts
whenever needed, either via email or via FaceTime / Skype, etc.

Schedule Fall 2017

Week 1
- Introduction: Syllabus
- Unit 1

Week 2
- Unit 2
- Unit 3

Week 3
- Assignment #1 due Tuesday, October 10th 2017, by 10pm.
- Unit 4

Week 4
- Unit 5

Week 5
- Unit 6
- Assignment #2 due Tuesday, October 21st 2017, by 10pm.

Week 6
First in-class exam: UNITS 1-6: tentative date: Friday, November 3rd 2017: 6:30pm-
8:30pm. Room TBA
- Unit 7

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Week 7
- Unit 8

Week 8
Assignment #3 due TUESDAY, November 14th 2017, by 10pm.
- Unit 9

Week 9
- Unit 9: more practice

Week 10
- Assignment #4 due TUESDAY, November 28th 2017, by 10pm.
- Recap.

Week 11
Second in-class exam: tentative date MONDAY, December 4th 2017: 6:30pm-8:30pm.
Room TBA.

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Academic Policies
All students are expected to know and to adhere to the following Universitys Policies:

i) Code of conduct and Academic integrity policy:

http://drexel.edu/studentaffairs/community_standards/studentHandbook/general_infor
mation/code_of_conduct/

ii) Plagiarism is the failure to identify and acknowledge all sources consulted in the
production of graded work. Sources include any written, printed, spoken, or recorded
material prepared by anyone other than yourself for any purpose, and any formal or
informal collaboration or tutoring. All students are expected to be aware of the
Universitys Policies concerning academic cheating and dishonesty:
http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/academic_dishonesty.asp

iii) Important information about course drop policy and withdrawal policy (i.e., two
distinct actions with different policies) can be found here (as well as the updated course
withdrawal form):
http://drexel.edu/drexelcentral/courses/adjustments/course-withdrawal/
http://drexel.edu/drexelcentral/courses/adjustments/Adding%20and%20Dropping%20
Courses/

iv) All other policies can be found here:

http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/

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v) Students who have a disability that may hinder their performance in this course
should contact me or contact the Office of Disability Resources:
http://www.drexel.edu/oed/disabilityResources/

vi) The University is committed to promoting an environment that supports cultural and
spiritual diversity. Students should contact me before the conclusion of the add/drop
period, in order to request religious observance consideration in case there is any
conflict with the in-class exams. See also the Religious Observance Statement and the
link to the corresponding calendar:
http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/religious_observances.asp
http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/religious_observances_calendar/

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