Nature of Reason

9 units · Undergraduate

Fall: 9 units How do we demonstrate to each other the truth of what we are saying? How do we infer from our past experiences and observations what we can expect to see in the future? How do we correct our expectations when faced with new evidence? And how can symbolic and mechanical systems assist us in such tasks? Whenever we reason about a subject, including when we write an essay for school or take an exam, our minds have to maneuver an array of their own distinctive capabilities and limitations: imagination, volition, motivation, memory, learning, association, decision, expression, communication, skills, passions, fears, and biases to name a few. Reasoning is a complex undertaking and throughout the history of science and philosophy people have explored ways to improve it. One such improvement is the externalization of reasoning from our minds into symbolic representations and mechanical devices to assist our capabilities and mitigate our limitations. In this class students will learn to use the basics of some such systems and use formal logic and mathematical models to solve problems and discover the features of those systems. From ancient logic to medieval proof machines, early modern scientific methods, and the current advent of artificial intelligence, each innovation comes with its own particular purposes as well as its own significant capabilities and limitations.