PHIL 110: Philosophy/Logic

Citrus College Course Outline of Record

Citrus College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Fall 2025
Credits: 3
Total Contact Hours: 54
Lecture Hours : 54
Lab Hours: 0
Hours Arranged: 0
Outside of Class Hours: 108
Total Student Learning Hours: 162
Strongly Recommended: ENGL C1000.
District General Education: C2. Humanities, A2. Communication & Analytical Thinking
Transferable to CSU: Yes
Transferable to UC: Yes - Approved
Grading Method: Standard Letter

Catalog Course Description

A course introducing fundamental problems and principles of formal and informal logic, featuring proofs of validity, deductive and inductive reasoning, and detection and analysis of fallacies. Special attention is paid to syntax, semantics, and translation for sentential logic, truth tables for sentential logic, and natural deduction (derivations) for sentential logic. 54 lecture hours.

Course Objectives

  • recognize an argument in what someone has said or written and distinguish arguments from non-arguments
  • evaluate arguments as either valid or invalid, sound or unsound, or inductively strong or weak
  • recognize some common informal fallacies
  • understand the use of logical analogy and counterexample to refute bad arguments
  • use one or more formal techniques, such as Venn diagrams, truth tables, or truth trees, to test arguments for validity
  • evaluate the truth function of claims in terms of syntax, semantics, and translation for sentential logic
  • evaluate the truth function of claims using truth tables for sentential logic
  • utilize natural deduction (derivations) for sentential logic

Major Course Content

  1. Logic Defined
    1. Propositions
    2. Arguments, premises, and conclusions
    3. Distinguishing arguments from non-arguments
  2. Evaluative Terms
    1. The distinction between deduction and induction
    2. Deductive validity and inductive strength
    3. Validity and logical form
    4. Truth and validity
  3. Common Informal Fallacies
    1. Fallacies of relevance
    2. Fallacies of presumption
    3. Fallacies of ambiguity
  4. Formal Logic
    1. Categorical logic
    2. Propositional logic
  5. Induction
    1. Analogical reasoning
    2. Causality
  6. Sentencial Logic
    1. syntax
    2. semantics
    3. translation
  7. Truth Tables
  8. Natural Deduction

Suggested Reading Other Than Required Textbook

No reading is assignment other than the textbook.

Examples of Required Writing Assignments

Clear explanations of solutions to logic puzzles.

Examples of Outside Assignments

Homework consisting of reading assignments, logic exercises and logic puzzles.

Instruction Type(s)

Lecture, Online Education Lecture