PHL 134 Formal Logic

WEEK 1 LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION

Dr Jenny Duke-Yonge
Department of Philosophy


jennifer.duke-yonge@mq.edu.au
9850 8826

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Today’s lecture:

•  AdministraDve informaDon
•  IntroducDon: What is logic?

 Unit guide
Full administraDve informaDon is available in the unit
guide, accessible through the UNITS system:
hWp://units.mq.edu.au/
and the PHL 134 iLearn site
hWp://ilearn.mq.edu.au

We’ll go through some of the main points now, but
please make sure you read the guide in full.

 Staff
Teaching staff in the unit:
Jenny Duke-Yonge: Convenor/lecturer/tutor

We also have PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) running in this
unit, led by Kramer Thompson.
 Classes
Lectures
Wednesday, 12-1, 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave 100
Thursday 10-11, 9 Wally’s Walk 102


Tutorials (starHng this week)
Thursday 12-1, 29 Wally’s Walk 132
Thursday 1-2, 4 Western Rd 309

PASS (from week 2, op#onal)
Wednesday 11-12, 9 Wally’s Walk 108

The tuts each week follow directly on from the content of the lectures, so
make sure you come to the lectures (or watch online) before coming to the
tuts.

Note: this unit does not have a formal ‘i-Lecture
only’ opDon.

If you have lecture clashes or some other issue
which is going to prevent you from aWending
lectures, please talk to me.
 External students
Please see the external students’ forum in
iLearn for an introducDon and further
informaDon.
 Textbook


Logic: an introduc.on by Greg Restall

You will need a copy of this book.
 Assessment

Online quiz 1 Week 3 5%

Take-home task 1 Week 5 10%
In-class test Week 7 30%
Online quiz 2 Week 10 5%
Take-home task 2 Week 11 25%
Online quiz 3 Week 13 15%
ParDcipaDon Ongoing 10%
 Assessment

Online quiz 1 Week 3 5%

Take-home task 1 Week 5 10%
In-class test Week 7 30%
Online quiz 2 Week 10 5%
Take-home task 2 Week 11 25%
Online quiz 3 Week 13 15%
ParDcipaDon Ongoing 10%

Why so much assessment??
 How to do well in this unit
(i) Come to the lectures and tutorials (or, if you are an
external student, make sure you watch the i-Lectures)

(ii) Do the readings and exercises set each week from the text

(iii) AWend the PASS sessions (opDonal, but useful)

(iv) If you have any problems, get help.

What to do if you’re finding it all too hard, or too easy:
Revision sessions and extension work.


 What is logic?
The study of reasoning?


 What is logic?
The study of reasoning?



How does the study of logic (in a course like this) differ
from the informal study of reasoning (in a CriDcal
Thinking course, for example?)



 What is logic?
The study of reasoning?



How does the study of logic (in a course like this) differ
from the informal study of reasoning (in a CriDcal
Thinking course, for example?)



 Reasoning and Logic

In a criDcal thinking course, we might consider a piece
of reasoning like the following:




 Reasoning and Logic
Bill argues:
All the philosophy books I’ve read are interes.ng, so you
will definitely enjoy any philosophy book you read.
 Reasoning and Logic
Bill argues:
All the philosophy books I’ve read are interes.ng, so you
will definitely enjoy any philosophy book you read.

How might someone object to this reasoning?

 Reasoning and Logic
Bill argues:
All the philosophy books I’ve read are interes.ng, so you
will definitely enjoy any philosophy book you read.

How might someone object to this reasoning?
What contexts might strengthen it or weaken it?
 Reasoning and Logic
Bill argues:
All the philosophy books I’ve read are interes.ng, so you
will definitely enjoy any philosophy book you read.

How might someone object to this reasoning?
What contexts might strengthen it or weaken it?
Even if we disagree, we can understand and engage
with this kind of reasoning.
 Reasoning and Logic
Now consider Ben, who claims to believe all of the
following:

(1)  Fluffy is either a dog or a cat
(2)  Fluffy is not a dog
(3)  Fluffy is not a cat

How should we respond to Ben?

 Reasoning and Logic
There’s a sense in which we might say that Ben just
can’t believe (1) , (2) and (3).

But in what sense?


 Reasoning and Logic
In what sense can’t Ben believe (1) , (2) and (3)?


 Reasoning and Logic
In what sense can’t Ben believe (1) , (2) and (3)?

He’s not just reasoning badly (like Bill was), he’s
viola.ng a rule, or a law.

It is these fundamental laws or rules underlying
reasoning that will be our subject maWer.


 Logic and reasoning
So we’re going to be thinking about reasoning, but
at a very fundamental level:

Given what I already believe, are there other things I’m
commi*ed to believing? What can’t I believe?

We’re thinking about the relaDonship between
beliefs, or between the proposi.ons that are
believed.
 Logic and reasoning
So we’re going to be thinking about reasoning, but
at a very fundamental level:

Given what I already believe, are there other things I’m
commi*ed to believing? What can’t I believe?

We’re thinking about the relaDonship between
beliefs, or between the proposi.ons that are
believed.
 Logic and reasoning
So we’re going to be thinking about reasoning, but
at a very fundamental level:

Given what I already believe, are there other things I’m
commi*ed to believing? What can’t I believe?

We’re thinking about the relaDonship between
beliefs, or between the proposi.ons that are
believed.
 Why study logic?
1.  It’s interesDng!

 Why study logic?
1.  It’s interesDng!
2.  It provides a useful foundaDon for other things you
may be studying, or may study in future
 Why study logic?
1.  It’s interesDng!
2.  It provides a useful foundaDon for other things you
may be studying, or may study in future
3.  Studying logic can help you develop important
generic reasoning skills
 "[M]aster the machinery of Symbolic Logic, and you have
a mental occupa.on always at hand, of absorbing
interest, and one that will be of real use to you
in any subject you may take up. It will give you clearness
of thought—the ability to see your way through a puzzle
—the habit of arranging your ideas in an orderly and get-
at-able form—and, more valuable than all, the power to
detect fallacies, and to tear to pieces the flimsy illogical
arguments ... which so easily delude those who have
never taken the trouble to master this fascina.ng Art.”
Lewis Carroll, Symbolic Logic
 ProposiDonal Logic
The first system of logic we’ll be looking at is
Proposi.onal Logic (PL), the logic of
proposiDons.
 What is a proposiDon?
ProposiDons can be characterised in a number of ways.
Eg:
A proposiDon is:
•  The kind of thing that can be true or false
•  The kind of thing you might believe or disbelieve
•  A claim about how things are


 ProposiDons
Some examples:

•  Snow is white.
•  If the car doesn’t start, I’m trading it in.
•  Water is highly flammable.
•  Next week’s LoWo numbers are 2, 3, 6, 14, 18, 23, 37
and 40



 Aren’t proposi.ons just sentences?

 Aren’t proposi.ons just sentences?

No.

Why?




 Aren’t proposi.ons just sentences?

No.

Why?

1. Some sentences don’t express proposiDons
eg quesDons, commands, exclamaDons.
•  Is that your cat?
•  Shut the door on your way out.
•  Stop!


 Aren’t proposi.ons just sentences?

2. A single sentence (type) may express a number of
different proposiDons

Eg “I’m Dred”, uWered by different people, or at
different Dmes

 Aren’t proposi.ons just sentences?

3. Different sentences may be used to express the

same proposiDon.

Eg Bill : I am Dred
Ben: Bill is Dred

 ProposiDons
So a proposiDon isn’t a sentence. It is the
meaning or content of a sentence.

It is what is expressed by a declaraDve sentence
in a parDcular context.


 ProposiDons: an exercise
Exercise {1.1}, from Restall, p.16

IdenDfy which of the following express proposi.ons

1.  Sydney is north of Melbourne.
2.  Is Edinburgh in Scotland?
3.  The moon is made of swiss cheese.
4.  Did you see the eclipse?
5.  What an eclipse!
6.  Would that I were good at logic.
7.  Look at the eclipse.
8.  I wish that I were good at logic.
9.  7 + 12 = 23
10.  If you get Kelly, you will be rewarded.

 ProposiDons and arguments
Our invesDgaDon of proposiDons will also be an
invesDgaDon of the foundaDons of good
reasoning.

Consider again Ben’s claims
(1)  Fluffy is either a dog or a cat
(2)  Fluffy is not a dog
(3)  Fluffy is not a cat
 ProposiDons and arguments
Just as it is the relaDonship between proposiDons
(1), (2) and (3) that makes it inappropriate for Ben
to accept them all, it is the relaDonship between
those same proposiDons that would make the
following argument a good one:

(1)  Fluffy is either a dog or a cat
(2)  Fluffy is not a dog
therefore
(3*) Fluffy is a cat
 Arguments
In tomorrow’s lecture, we will start to look at
arguments, and see how the methods of logic will be
used to determine whether arguments are good or
bad.