Introduction to Logic

no certificate
with CEU Certificate*
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15Lessons
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17Exams &
Assignments -
371Students
have taken this course -
7Hours
average time -
0.7CEUs
Course Description
One of the very earliest forms of academic study, long before science was even a thing and gods were still believed to reside in the mountains, was the examination into logic. Nowadays, the concept of logic seems to just mean an ability to apply rational thought, but in reality, logic is much more than that. Logic is the system of rules that governs what is rational, and what is not.
In this course, we will introduce many of the concepts that are involved in various forms of logical study. We will examine both formal and informal logic, differentiate between inductive and deductive reasoning, and take a look at some of the more advanced schools of logic. Because formal logic is a study focused on taking the colloquial out of any statements and reducing them to a pure abstract, some of the following lessons will involve an introduction to some of the formal systems and languages involved. For the most part, though, this introductory course will try to relate as many concepts as possible using plain English, in order to make the lessons more accessible and comprehensible. In this course, we will also review a number of paradoxes and fallacies that are inherent in logic, as well as some of the history and the applications possible with logic.
The aim of this course is not to give a comprehensive understanding of logic, as that would take a number of very involved degrees. Hopefully, it will leave you with a clearer understanding of logic, both in the abstract, and that you can apply to everyday life.
What is Logic?
Put as simply as possible, logic is the study of constructing and deconstructing an argument that something is true or false. A set of consistent rules are established, and applying those rules to any particular argument determines whether the argument is valid or invalid. Logic cannot be applied to any statements that do not have a binary answer; a statement must be capable of being proven true or false for logic to be applied to it.
Language and Logic
Logic is primarily involved with the thought process behind determining whether something is true or not. Because thought processes are fundamentally abstract, logic is fundamentally based upon the language a concept is expressed in. The language itself doesn't matter; many of the first rational arguments were conducted in Greek, so their logic was based upon Greek. The concepts and examples we will discuss in this course will be in English, but the principles could be extended to any other language. There is a fundamental issue with language, however: language changes. Words evolve, sometimes over the course of centuries, sometimes much sooner. Dialects form in different regions, making the same sentence in one region mean an entirely different thing somewhere else. Because language cannot provide a rigid structure for logical arguments, there have been a number of attempts to create logical systems that are not reliant upon language.
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- Full HD Video
- 6 Months to Complete
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- Accredited CEUs

Course Lessons
Lesson 1: Introduction to Logic
Lesson 1 Video
Review 3 Articles: The Basics of Philosophy; Philosophy of Logic; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Validity and Soundness
Take Survey: Reasons for Taking this Course
Complete Assignment: My Logic for Taking this Course...
Complete: Lesson 1 Exam
Lesson 2: The History of Logic
Lesson 2 Video
Review Article: Brittanica: History of Logic
Complete: Lesson 2 Exam
Lesson 3: Argumentation Theory
Lesson 3 Video
Review 3 Articles: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Informal Logic; Argumentation Theory; Argumentation Theory: A Very Short Introduction
Complete: Lesson 3 Exam
Lesson 4: Formal vs. Informal Logic
Lesson 4 Video
Review 2 Articles: Deductive Reasoning vs. Inductive Reasoning; The Relationship Between Formal and Informal Reasoning
Complete: Lesson 4 Exam
Lesson 5: Syllogisms and Propositions
Lesson 5 Video
Review Article: Syllogism Made Easy
Complete: Lesson 5 Exam
Lesson 6: Logical Form
Lesson 6 Video
Review 2 Articles: What is Logical Form?; Logical Form and Formal Validity
Complete: Lesson 6 Exam
Lesson 7: Natural Deduction
Lesson 7 Video
Review 2 Articles: Natural Deduction for Propositional Logic; Propositional Connective
Complete: Lesson 7 Exam
Lesson 8: Modal Logic
Lesson 8 Video
Review 3 Articles: Modal Logic: A Contemporary View; Modal Logic Explained; A Brief Introduction to Modal Logic
Complete: Lesson 8 Exam
Lesson 9: Statistics and Probability
Lesson 9 Video
Review 2 Articles: Probability and Logc; Bayesian Logic
Complete: Lesson 9 Exam
Lesson 10: Methods of Inductive Reasoning
Lesson 10 Video
Review 3 Articles: Deductive and Inductive Arguments; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: The Problem of Induction; Mill's Methods
Complete: Lesson 10 Exam
Lesson 11: Formal Logical Fallacies
Lesson 11 Video
Review 3 Articles: Rhetorical Fallacies; Logically Fallacious; false cause fallacy
Complete: Lesson 11 Exam
Lesson 12: Informal Logical Fallacies
Lesson 12 Video
Complete: Lesson 12 Exam
Lesson 13: Paradoxes
Lesson 13 Video
Complete: Lesson 13 Exam
Lesson 14: Can Logic Be Trusted?
Lesson 14 Video
Review 5 Articles: Reason and Faith; Philosophy and Christian Ideology; Medieval Philosophy; Theory and Observation in Science; Logic in religious and non-religious belief systems
Complete: Lesson 14 Exam
Lesson 15: Practical Applications of Logic
Lesson 15 Video
Take Poll: End of Course Poll
Take Survey: Course Comments
Take Survey: Program Evaluation Follow-up Survey (End of Course)
Complete: Lesson 15 Exam
Complete: The Final Exam
Learning Outcomes
- Describe what logic is and why it's important to know.
- Summarize the history of logic.
- Define argumentation theory.
- Define informal logic.
- Define syllogisms and propositions.
- Define logical form.
- Describe natural deduction.
- Describe modal logic.
- Describe statistics and probability.
- Describe methods of inductive reasoning.
- Describe formal logical fallacies.
- Describe informal logical fallacies.
- Describe paradoxes.
- Describe practical applications of logic, and
- Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
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