PHI 120: Introduction to Logic Course Syllabus
KCTCS catalog description
A course which treats argumentation, syllogistic, and sentential logic. The focus will be on the use of formal methods in the construction and criticism of actual arguments, the aim being to inculcate standards of good reasoning, e.g. clarity, consistency, and validity. This course supports the college's mission to offer curricula for the first two years of a baccalaureate program.
Course relationship to college’s mission and goals
The mission of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System is to improve the quality of life and employability of the citizens of the Commonwealth by serving as the primary provider of postsecondary education programs. This course aims at improving your quality of life and your employability.
Student learning outcomes specific to course
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
State-wide general education student learning outcomes being taught or strengthened in the course
Upon completion of the course, the student will also be able to:
1. Utilize basic formal elements, techniques, concepts and vocabulary of specific disciplines within the Arts and Humanities.
2. Distinguish between various kinds of evidence by identifying reliable sources and valid arguments.
Required texts, supplies, materials
There is no required textbook for this course. All readings are available on Blackboard.
Course requirements
The grade in this course will be based on earning badges. There are 20 badges you can earn and each badge is worth 10 points.
You may submit multiple attempts to earn a badge if you do not earn full credit on your first attempt. A badge is not earned (and therefore you do not receive points) unless you receive full credit (10 points) for the badge assignment you are attempting.
You may choose whichever badges you want to earn.
Please note that the grading criteria apply to all badges that you earn.
The more detail you can provide in your responses the more likely you will earn the badge.
To earn a badge your response must:
be sufficiently detailed to address all the points in the badge assignment.
show the application of the relevant philosophical concepts to the badge assignment.
be grammatically correct (i.e. written in standard college-level English).
Discussion Board Badges
All graded discussion boards in this course count as badge assignments. Each one has the same requirements in order to earn the badge.
You must make a minimum of five (5) posts NOT all on a single day. These five posts can be any combination of your own posts and replies to others.
If you make fewer than 5 posts or make all your posts on a single day you will earn a ZERO for the discussion board and not earn that board's badge.
Each discussion board will contain a description and the date when the board becomes unavailable. It is YOUR responsibility to take note of these dates and post before the board becomes unavailable. Once the board becomes unavailable you cannot earn that discussion board badge.
Evaluation and grading criteria
The grading scale for the course is as follows:
A=18 or more badges
B=16-17 badges
C=14-15 badges
D=12-13 badges
E= less that 12 badges
Incompletes can only be given under the following conditions:
Any student who plagiarizes an assignment automatically gives up their right to withdraw from the class with my permission.
Only the Registrar at your Home College can officially process a withdrawal or drop request. First, contact the instructor, and then contact the Registrar at your Home College if you must drop a class.
“All JCTC students may request a drop/withdrawal by sending an e-mail from their KCTCS e-mail accounts to the Records Office [[jf-records-office@kctcs.edu] . The email must come from a KCTCS student email account, include the student’s KCTCS ID# and the course in question and include any necessary documentation/approval from the instructor.”
Academic IntegrityPlagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas in your written work without citing the source. ANYTIME you use information, ideas, or words from any book, magazine article, website, or any other source, you MUST fully and accurately cite the source by author name, title, publication date and page number (s). As a general rule, whenever you use more than three words from a source, you should put quotation marks around those words and cite the source as detailed above. This applies to textbooks and my lecture notes as well. Failure to comply with this policy will result in an E grade for the course. Your name will also be reported to your academic dean for possible further action.
Students Needing Special Accommodations:
Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Access*Ability Resource Center (ARC) on the appropriate campus as soon as possible. Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor. If you require assistance during an emergency evacuation, notify your instructor and the ARC.
Downtown, Technical, and Carrollton Campuses
Terri Martin
Downtown Campus
VTI—Rm 319
(502) 213-2375
terrif.martin@kctcs.edu
Southwest, Shelby, and Bullitt County Campuses
Nancy Birkla
Southwest Campus
Student Community Building—Rm 103
(502) 213-7120
nancy.birkla@kctcs.edu
Students with Hearing Loss or Deafness (Services include interpreting, note taking, and provision of ALD devices.)
Venetia Lacy, Interpreter and Coordinator of DHHS
(502) 213-4218
venetia.lacy@kctcs.edu
Student Code of Conduct
The KCTCS Student Code of Conduct explains the rights and responsibilities of both students and faculty and covers such matters as classroom and campus conduct, students' academic rights, and procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty. http://www.kctcs.edu/en/Students/Admissions/Academic_Policies/Code_of_Student_Conduct.aspx.
Attendance Policy
University-level courses differ from high school courses in many ways, but perhaps the most significant difference is their focus. In a high school course, the focus was mostly on the teacher, who prepared and delivered a structured lesson plan according to good principles of pedagogy. In a university, the focus in the courses is not so much on the teacher, but on the student. Learning is an activity, and cannot take place in passivity. You may be physically present in a college course, but unless you are engaged in the conscious activity of learning, you are wasting your time and money. In an online university-level course such as this one, the focus is all the more on you, the learner.
Non-discrimination Statement
Jefferson Community and Technical College is an Equal Opportunity institution committed to the policy of providing educational opportunities to all qualified students regardless of economic or social status, beliefs, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or physical or mental disability.
A course which treats argumentation, syllogistic, and sentential logic. The focus will be on the use of formal methods in the construction and criticism of actual arguments, the aim being to inculcate standards of good reasoning, e.g. clarity, consistency, and validity. This course supports the college's mission to offer curricula for the first two years of a baccalaureate program.
Course relationship to college’s mission and goals
The mission of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System is to improve the quality of life and employability of the citizens of the Commonwealth by serving as the primary provider of postsecondary education programs. This course aims at improving your quality of life and your employability.
Student learning outcomes specific to course
Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- to distinguish arguments from non-arguments.
- to identify deductive and inductive arguments.
- Formulate inductive and deductive arguments.
- to evaluate arguments for validity, soundness, strength, and cogency.
- to identify logical fallacies that are committed in deductive and inductive arguments.
State-wide general education student learning outcomes being taught or strengthened in the course
Upon completion of the course, the student will also be able to:
1. Utilize basic formal elements, techniques, concepts and vocabulary of specific disciplines within the Arts and Humanities.
2. Distinguish between various kinds of evidence by identifying reliable sources and valid arguments.
Required texts, supplies, materials
There is no required textbook for this course. All readings are available on Blackboard.
Course requirements
The grade in this course will be based on earning badges. There are 20 badges you can earn and each badge is worth 10 points.
You may submit multiple attempts to earn a badge if you do not earn full credit on your first attempt. A badge is not earned (and therefore you do not receive points) unless you receive full credit (10 points) for the badge assignment you are attempting.
You may choose whichever badges you want to earn.
Please note that the grading criteria apply to all badges that you earn.
The more detail you can provide in your responses the more likely you will earn the badge.
To earn a badge your response must:
be sufficiently detailed to address all the points in the badge assignment.
show the application of the relevant philosophical concepts to the badge assignment.
be grammatically correct (i.e. written in standard college-level English).
Discussion Board Badges
All graded discussion boards in this course count as badge assignments. Each one has the same requirements in order to earn the badge.
You must make a minimum of five (5) posts NOT all on a single day. These five posts can be any combination of your own posts and replies to others.
If you make fewer than 5 posts or make all your posts on a single day you will earn a ZERO for the discussion board and not earn that board's badge.
Each discussion board will contain a description and the date when the board becomes unavailable. It is YOUR responsibility to take note of these dates and post before the board becomes unavailable. Once the board becomes unavailable you cannot earn that discussion board badge.
Evaluation and grading criteria
The grading scale for the course is as follows:
A=18 or more badges
B=16-17 badges
C=14-15 badges
D=12-13 badges
E= less that 12 badges
Incompletes can only be given under the following conditions:
- You have completed a majority of the course work.
- Your have a passing grade in the course.
Any student who plagiarizes an assignment automatically gives up their right to withdraw from the class with my permission.
Only the Registrar at your Home College can officially process a withdrawal or drop request. First, contact the instructor, and then contact the Registrar at your Home College if you must drop a class.
“All JCTC students may request a drop/withdrawal by sending an e-mail from their KCTCS e-mail accounts to the Records Office [[jf-records-office@kctcs.edu] . The email must come from a KCTCS student email account, include the student’s KCTCS ID# and the course in question and include any necessary documentation/approval from the instructor.”
Academic IntegrityPlagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas in your written work without citing the source. ANYTIME you use information, ideas, or words from any book, magazine article, website, or any other source, you MUST fully and accurately cite the source by author name, title, publication date and page number (s). As a general rule, whenever you use more than three words from a source, you should put quotation marks around those words and cite the source as detailed above. This applies to textbooks and my lecture notes as well. Failure to comply with this policy will result in an E grade for the course. Your name will also be reported to your academic dean for possible further action.
Students Needing Special Accommodations:
Students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Access*Ability Resource Center (ARC) on the appropriate campus as soon as possible. Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor. If you require assistance during an emergency evacuation, notify your instructor and the ARC.
Downtown, Technical, and Carrollton Campuses
Terri Martin
Downtown Campus
VTI—Rm 319
(502) 213-2375
terrif.martin@kctcs.edu
Southwest, Shelby, and Bullitt County Campuses
Nancy Birkla
Southwest Campus
Student Community Building—Rm 103
(502) 213-7120
nancy.birkla@kctcs.edu
Students with Hearing Loss or Deafness (Services include interpreting, note taking, and provision of ALD devices.)
Venetia Lacy, Interpreter and Coordinator of DHHS
(502) 213-4218
venetia.lacy@kctcs.edu
Student Code of Conduct
The KCTCS Student Code of Conduct explains the rights and responsibilities of both students and faculty and covers such matters as classroom and campus conduct, students' academic rights, and procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty. http://www.kctcs.edu/en/Students/Admissions/Academic_Policies/Code_of_Student_Conduct.aspx.
Attendance Policy
University-level courses differ from high school courses in many ways, but perhaps the most significant difference is their focus. In a high school course, the focus was mostly on the teacher, who prepared and delivered a structured lesson plan according to good principles of pedagogy. In a university, the focus in the courses is not so much on the teacher, but on the student. Learning is an activity, and cannot take place in passivity. You may be physically present in a college course, but unless you are engaged in the conscious activity of learning, you are wasting your time and money. In an online university-level course such as this one, the focus is all the more on you, the learner.
Non-discrimination Statement
Jefferson Community and Technical College is an Equal Opportunity institution committed to the policy of providing educational opportunities to all qualified students regardless of economic or social status, beliefs, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or physical or mental disability.