Online Meeting Time:
Monday, Wednesday 2:05-3:00 P.M.
US Eastern Time Zone
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This course is dedicated to the study of logic, the practice of valid reasoning. It is designed to improve student’s reasoning and analytical abilities by providing them with a firm grasp on syllogistic reasoning, enthymemes, sorites, epicheirema, and more.
Traditional Logic II
Formal Logic II is designed as the second half of the Academy’s two-year formal logic course. It begins with a review of deductive and inductive reasoning, characteristics of syllogisms, and the difference between formal and informal logic. Students will then move into a further study of simple syllogisms before moving on to complex syllogisms and the logic of relations. They will then study fallacies, both formal and informal.
Traditional Logic II: Advanced Formal Logic by Martin Cothram. Memoria Press, 2000.
The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning by Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn. Christian Logic, 2015.Students are expected to have a firm grasp on syllogisms and deductive reasonings, including an understanding of apprehension, judgment, and deduction. These will be covered in a review at the beginning of the course, but students will be expected to have former education in logic.
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Section One: Simple Syllogisms
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Figure in Syllogisms
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Mood in Syllogisms
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Reducing Syllogisms to the First Figure
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Indirect Reduction of Syllogisms
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Section Two: Arguments in Ordinary Language
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Translating Ordinary Sentences into Logical Statements
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Enthymemes
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Case Study: Rene Descartes, “I think, therefore, I am”
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Section Three: Hypothetical Syllogisms
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Conditional Syllogisms
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Case Study: Plato, The Power of Love
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Disjunctive Syllogisms
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Case Study: C.S. Lewis, The Trilemma and Deity of Christ
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Conjunctive Syllogisms
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Case Study: Matthew, “You cannot serve both God and Mammon”
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Section Four: Complex Syllogisms
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Polysyllogisms and Aristotelian Sorites
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Case Study: Seneca, “The Life of Virtue”
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Goclenian Sorites and Conditional Sorites
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Case Study: William Shakespeare, “Thou art in a perilous state, Shepherd.”
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Epicheirema
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Case Study: St. Thomas Aquinas and the Cosmological Argument for God
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The Dilemma
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Case Study: David Hume, the Problem of Evil
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Section Five: The Logic of Relations
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The Oblique Syllogism
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Case Study: John Cassian, “Is Mary the Mother of God?”
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Case Studies: Selections from Lewis Carroll, William Shakespeare, St. Paul, and St. Thomas Aquinas
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Section Six: Fallacious Reasoning
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Formal Fallacies
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Case Study: Plato, The Euthyphro Dilemma
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Informal Fallacies
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Case Study: The New Atheists and Modern Rhetoric
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Students in this course will be prepared:
- To master the structure and evaluation of categorical and hypothetical syllogisms across figures and moods.
- To identify, analyze, and correct fallacies in complex and compound arguments
- To engage historical and theological arguments with formal tools of logic in order to appreciate and assess classical Christian reasoning
- To cultivate intellectual virtues such as clarity, order, and truthfulness through disciplined logical training
- To recognize logic as a reflection of God’s orderly nature and as a tool for loving God with one’s whole mind
Homework Excercises: These thrice weekly excercises are designed to ensure continued factual recall, as well as give students practice in formal logic.
Participation: As we study logic in order to ourselves become less illogical, participation in class discussion and activity is required.
Analyses: In order to provide students with practice with basic logical analysis of arguments and discourses, various passages from classical and modern works will be selected to give students some logical boxing practice.
Tests: Tests are necessary in order to ensure comprehension and test recall.
Grades for Individual Assignments
Percentage
Letter Grade
98-100%
A+
93-97%
A
90-92%
A-
88-89%
B+
83-87%
B
80-82%
B-
78-79%
C+
73-77%
C
70-72%
C-
69% or less
F
Course Grades
Percentage
Letter Grade
Grade Points
90-100%
A
4.0
80-89%
B
3.0
70-79%
C
2.0
0-69%
F
0.0
Weighted Grades for Assignments
Tests/Quizzes
50%
Homework Excercises
20%
Analyses 20%
Participation
10%
Students are expected to have a computer with a functioning microphone and camera, as well as a stable Internet connection. A functioning email address, preferably a Gmail account, is also required to access this course’s Google Classroom space and the attached materials.
Conduct: Students are expected to exhibit Christ-like behavior in their discussions and interactions. While disagreements are permitted, disparaging comments or ad hominem attacks are not. Furthermore, as this course is designed for high school students, a certain level of godly maturity is expected in behavior and conversation. Education from the Academy is a privilege and ought to be treated as such.
Attendance: Students are required to attend this class in person or view and participate in a live meeting of the class with an active camera. Class sessions will take place from 12:35-1:30 P.M. EST Monday to Thursday. If a student misses a class session, it is the student’s responsibility to identify and complete assigned work by either contacting a classmate or the instructor. Refer to the school calendar for days off due to holidays or other circumstances.
Cheating: Plagiarism and other forms of academic chicanery may be punished according to the discretion of the instructor. All decisions made on academic integrity may be appealed to the headmaster of the Academy. Discipline for academic violations is proportional to the severity of the violation, and may be as severe as removal from the course. Rules and guidelines specific to the course will be included in the course syllabus, distributed to the students on the first day of the course.
Contact Information: The instructor will establish reliable and consistent means of contact with students on the first day of the course.