KNOWING WHY: FORMAL LOGIC AND CAUSAL REASONING in Spring 2026 (PL1300)

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You will understand better why you and why others hold the beliefs they do. The course combines a complete introduction to propositional and predicate logic with an overview of types of causal reasoning. You will apply these new skills to analyze and engage with natural language arguments about philosophical topics and other controversial themes of the day.

Course Master: 
KNOWING WHY: FORMAL LOGIC AND CAUSAL REASONING (PL1300)
Term: 
Spring 2026
Discipline: 
PL (Philosophy)
Credits: 
4 credits
Type: 
CCI
Level: 
Undergraduate
Can be taken twice for credit?: 
No
Pre-requisites: 
None
Co-requisites: 
None

Professor(s)

Learning Outcomes

  1. Students will acquire a complete deductive apparatus of propositional and predicate logic and will have practiced constructing formal proofs
  2. Students will be able to critique and analyze natural language arguments, and to translate them into a formal truth-functional language
  3. Students will become able to distinguish and -- at a basic level -- critique different types of causal reasoning and the concepts of causation used in them and apply these skills to a real-life case
  4. Local and Global Perspectives: Students will enhance their intercultural understanding of languages, cultures, and histories of local societies and the global issues to which these relate (CCI LO1)
  5. Exploring and Engaging Difference: Students will think critically about cultural and social difference; they will identify and understand power structures that determine hierarchies and inequalities that can relate to race, ethnicity, gender, nationhood, religion, or class (CCI LO3)
  6. Civic and Ethical Engagement: Students will demonstrate awareness of ethical considerations relating to specific societal problems, values, or practices (historical or contemporary; global or local) and learn to articulate possible solutions to prominent challenges facing societies and institutions today so as to become engaged actors at various levels in our interconnected world (CCI LO4)

Syllabus

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Schedule

Start Date: 
Monday, January 12, 2026
End Date: 
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
DayStart TimeEnd TimeRoom
Tuesday
12:10
13:30
PL-1
Friday
12:10
13:30
PL-1