INFORMAL LOGIC

Instructor: Dr. David Brown

Humanities Dept. Phone (703) 845-6241

Office Hours: one-half hour before class

E-mail: nvbrowd@nvcc.edu

Syllabus

I. Course Objective:

Student will learn the rules and forms of critical thinking and develop the skills necessary to determine arguments to be valid or invalid, strong or weak.

II. Course Textbook:

INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC, Irving M. Copi and Carl Cohen. Prentice Hall.

III. Course Calendar: (subject to change)

Chapter 1: BASIC LOGICAL CONCEPTS, 1st exam

Chapter 2: ANALYZING AND DIAGRAMMING ARGUMENTS, 2nd exam

Chapter 4: THE USES OF LANGUAGE

Chapter 5: DEFINITION

Chapter 6: FALLACIES, 3rd exam

Chapter 13: ANALOGY AND PROBABLE INFERENCE, 4th exam

Chapter 14: CAUSAL CONNECTIONS, 5th exam

Chapter 15: SCIENCE AND HYPOTHESIS, 6th exam

Chapter 16: PROBABILITY, 7th exam

IV. Grading: (subject to change)

Final grade for the course is determined for the most part by chapter exams. A final exam for the course will be determined at a later point in the course. Participation and preparation for the each class session are also factors in determination of the grade.