3 credit hours

Analyzes the forms of good and bad arguments. Students will learn to distinguish between premises and conclusions, deduction and induction, validity and invalidity, and strength and weakness. The course also includes a survey of common informal fallacies. Finally, the course covers the basic components of traditional (Aristotelian) logic, including categorical propositions, the square of opposition, and categorical syllogisms. The work for the course consists mainly in practicing frequent logical exercises and solving logical problems. The course aims mainly at building skills of clear analytical thinking, more so than at increasing a store of information about any particular philosophical or non-philosophical subject matter. This course can be used to satisfy University Studies requirements.