CORE079 Logic for Everyone

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. BcA. Jiří Raclavský, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. BcA. Jiří Raclavský, Ph.D.
Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Urubková
Supplier department: Department of Philosophy – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
TYP_STUDIA(BM) && FORMA(P) && !(PROGRAM(B-PH_) || OBOR(FBPHpV))
The course is open to students in the full-time Bachelor's and five-year Master's cycle, except for the Philosophy programme.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 70 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/70, only registered: 0/70, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/70
Course objectives
In our society, logic plays an important role not only in e.g. computer software and hardware but also in our everyday reasoning and rational argumentation. It has been a routine part of education at universities since their very beginning as one of liberal arts. The course introduces the subject from (a) practical and (b) theoretical perspectives. (a) Practical exercises focus on (i) checking (deductive) arguments, while a nontrivial amount of exercises deploys (ii) Natural Deduction, a logical system that models reasoning. (b) The partial logical subjects are (iii) framed systematically, being accompanied by selected outlooks and connections. Among them, special attention is paid to (iv) logical paradoxes and nonclassical logics (esp. modal, epistemic and three-valued logics). A presentation of the phenomenal logical discoveries by Kurt Gödel, a native of Brno, provides a culmination of the course.
Learning outcomes
  • overview of selected methods of classical logic:
  • logical evaluation of (deductive) arguments
  • logical reasoning (natural deduction)
  • constructions and limits of logical frameworks of reasoning
  • overview of selected problems of classical logic: nonclassical logics, paradoxes, etc.
  • critical thinking
  • analytic and algorithmic thinking
    • Syllabus
    • (1) Logic: main ideas
    • (2) Logical paradoxes
    • (3) Validity of arguments (deductive/inductive)
    • (4) Truth, form and logical validity, logical consequence (truth-table method)
    • (5) Natural deduction
    • (6) Theory of argumentation and logical fallacies
    • (7) Predication and quantification
    • (8) Square of opposition (equivalences and contradictories)
    • (9) Syllogisms (Venn's diagrams and natural deduction)
    • (10) Nonclassical logics
    • (11) Formal systems and their limits (Kurt Gödel)
    • (12) Logic and computers
    Literature
    • RUSSELL, Stuart J. and Peter NORVIG. Artificial intelligence : a modern approach. Edited by Ming-Wei Chang - Jacob Devlin - Anca Dragan - David Forsyth - Ian Good. Fourth edition, global editi. Harlow: Pearson, 2022, 1166 stran. ISBN 9781292401133. info
    • MACFARLANE, John. Philosophical logic : a contemporary introduction. First published. New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021, xviii, 238. ISBN 9781138737648. info
    • GORANKO, Valentin. Logic as a tool : a guide to formal logical reasoning. First published. Chichester: Wiley, 2016, xxii, 358. ISBN 9781118880005. info
    • RACLAVSKÝ, Jiří. Úvod do logiky: klasická predikátová logika ([Introduction to Logic: Classical Predicate Logic). 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2015, 348 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-7867-3. URL info
    • RACLAVSKÝ, Jiří. Úvod do logiky: klasická výroková logika ([Introduction to Logic: Classical Propositional Logic). 1. vyd. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2015, 238 pp. ISBN 978-80-210-7790-4. URL info
    • The Bloomsbury companion to philosophical logic. Edited by Leon Horsten - Richard Pettigrew. First published in paperback. London: Bloomsbury, 2014, viii, 637. ISBN 9781472523020. info
    • BERGMANN, Merrie, James MOOR and Jack NELSON. The logic book. 6th ed., international ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014, x, 611. ISBN 9781259010606. info
    • HURLEY, Patrick J. A concise introduction to logic. 11th ed., international ed. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012, xxi, 706. ISBN 9781111185893. info
    • DOXIADĪS, Apostolos and Christos Ch. PAPADIMITRIOU. Logikomiks : hledání absolutní pravdy. Illustrated by Alekos Papadatos. Vyd. 1. Praha: Dokořán, 2012, 335 s. ISBN 9788073634018. info
    • RAUTENBERG, Wolfgang. A concise introduction to mathematical logic. Third edition. New York: Springer, 2010, xxi, 319. ISBN 9781441912206. info
    • CRYAN, Dan, Sharron SHATIL and Bill MAYBLIN. Logika. Vyd. 1. Praha: Portál, 2002, 180 s. ISBN 8071787078. info
    • LEARY, Christopher C. A friendly introduction to mathematical logic. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2000, xiv, 218. ISBN 0130107050. info
    • PRIEST, Graham. Logic : a very short introduction. 1st pub. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, xii, 140. ISBN 9780192893208. info
    • BOOLOS, George. Computability and logic. Edited by Richard C. Jeffrey. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, x, 304. ISBN 0521389232. info
    Teaching methods
    (1) Standard contact teaching:
  • each week there is 1 lesson (2 teaching hours)
  • each lesson explains a theory/technique and its application in practical examples
  • after each lesson a short e-test as homework (see below)
    • (2) Interactive syllabus contains (for each lesson):
  • text/presentation PDF explaining each problem + method of its solution
  • links to exercises as e-tests in IS
  • links to recommended materials
  • links to supporting external textual or video materials
    • (3) Homeworks:
  • each week an online exercise as a short e-test (i.e. ROPOT in IS) on the topics of the lesson
  • voluntary: self-study of recommended materials
  • voluntary: logical puzzle
    • Assessment methods
  • Accomplished regular short HOMEWORKS (as e-tests) (one gets several points)
  • PREPARATION before a lecture - a mini e-tests (one gets a point)
  • Participation in classes (one gets some point, too)
  • Final e-test (FT), only for those with insufficient work during the semester (i.e. if not having enough points; the exact number is in IS-Syllabus called "Welcome and Info")
  • - FT is similar to regular e-tests (i.e. homeworks)
  • - FT is made as a selection of the key topics/techniques of the course
    • Náhradní absolvování
    Students on foreign stay, long-termed ill, ...: contact the teacher for details and agreement, self-study of materials from Interactive syllabi, and filling regular homeworks. Attendance to classes brings surplus points, but the minimum required points can be gathered from homeworks (i.e. without attendance).
    Language of instruction
    Czech
    Study support
    https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/phil/jaro2025/CORE079/index.qwarp
    Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
    Study Materials
    Teacher's information
    • All required materials for this course are in Interactive syllabi in IS.
    • Recommended additional materials (except books) are linked from IS.
    • Consultations possible, after an agreement.
    • For students of mathematically oriented subjects (e.g. computer science): the course doesn't replace math-like courses of logic, it rather supplements them.
    • The course may serve as an introduction to logic used in artificial intelligence (knowledge representation, reasoning, natural language processing).
    • The course may serve as an introduction to logic for linguists, librarians (information science), lawyers, psychologists etc.
    • Who is interested in logic may get some additional info (on other courses taught at MU etc.) at http://www.phil.muni.cz/~raclavsky/logika/
    The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
    • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
    • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/CORE079