ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR PHIL 305 LOGIC
Greetings, logic students! This course is structured differently than my other classes. In those, there are typically 10 self-contained modules (each links to their own videos, readings, and other assignments). Here, though, accessing everything requires some jumping around. Please watch the “Course Introduction” video at the top of the Canvas course web page for an explanation.
• Course reading material: the reading material consists of around 50 separate files, which are linked to on a single page. You can access this either through Canvas, or directly on the web at storage.googleapis.com/jfieser/305/Index.html
• Tests: There will be only four tests during the semester, unlike my other courses where there are usually 10 (one per module).
• Due dates for homework: the due dates for tests and the module homework assignments are all tentative, based on the progress of the on-campus lectures.
• Homework answer keys: I have answer keys to all the homework. I will email you a web link to the key for each assignment once the assignment due date has passed.
• Posting homework as text entry: when posting your homework, Canvas allows for you to submit attachments, but also allows you to write (or copy/paste) your answers directly into a text box. You may do it both ways, but it is easier for me if you type directly into the text box. When you go into the homework submission area, there are several tabs lined up (file upload, text entry, studio, google drive, office 365). The default is "file upload". But if you click on the "text entry" a text box will open where you can write (or copy/paste) your answers.
• In-class study questions: logic is something that you understand only by doing practice exercises, similar to math or a foreign language. In my on campus classes, I require that students do the in-class study questions right in front of me as we proceed through the material. In the first logic video I indicate this, and advise online students to do the same thing by pausing the video for each set of questions as they come up. Once you finished a set of questions, resume the video to see the correct answer. If you haven't been doing this, then that may be a large part of the problem.
• No short cuts: while the logic material isn't difficult, it requires a more focused and systematic approach to learning it, since the concepts and techniques are likely new to you. It's impossible to breeze through the material and expect to internalize it, and simply watching me solve the problems myself in class or in the videos isn't good enough. Most of the sections of the chapter can be understood independently of the others, so it sometimes helps to think of each section as a separate concept. If you run into difficulties in a particular section, set it aside and work on the sections that make sense, and return to the problematic section afterwards. Doing so will keep up your momentum.
• Recommended logic book: there is no book to buy for the course, and I provide the material free online. However, unlike my other philosophy classes where the reading material consists of book manuscripts that I've composed and which are suitable for publication, most of the logic reading material in this course is only in outline form. This format has the benefit getting right to the point, but, to fully follow them, it does require either attending class lectures or watching my lecture videos. If you would like some book for further consultation, you might consider buying the following logic book: John Nolt, Schaum's Outline of Logic, second edition. This is the main logic book that I used to construct the reading material for this course, and if you buy a different logic book it may take a different approach and thus confuse you more than help you. It’s on Amazon, new for $22 and used for $7 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071755462). There is no immediate rush to buy it, though, since its main benefit would be for material in the second half of the course.