Introduction to Logic

4 credits · Undergraduate

Intended as a first course in logic for students with no previous exposure to the subject, the course treats symbolic logic. Students will learn to formalize reasoning in symbolic languages with precisely defined meanings and rules of inference. Symbolic logic is by nature a mathematical subject, but the course does not presuppose any prior coursework in mathematics—only an openness to mathematical reasoning.The course concentrates on three systems of symbolic logic: propositional logic (or sentential logic); syllogistic logic; and predicate logic (or first-order logic). Students from philosophy, mathematics, computer science, and linguistics will find important connections between symbolic logic and their other coursework.