We will examine various modes of reasoning considering both formal and informal examples of good reasoning, bad reasoning, and just plain ugly “reasoning.” We will consider both inductive and deductive logic and various formal and informal fallacies.
Aristotle wrote the first works of logic. We shall investigate what got him started. What, then, is the point of logic? Many people are inclined to think that logic is a finished science, that all logicians are in agreement, and that there is no ongoing research in logic. What, then, are some of the main disputes within logic, and what are the frontiers of logic?
Finally, we shall inquire about the utility of logic. How might the study of logic be of practical use?
Instructor: Thomas Ryckman, professor of philosophy, Lawrence University