PH112 Half Unit
Intermediate Logic and Probability
This information is for the 2023/24 session.
Teacher responsible
Dr Wesley Wrigley
Availability
This course is available on the BSc in Accounting and Finance, BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (with a Year Abroad) and BSc in Politics and Philosophy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.
Pre-requisites
Students must have completed, or be in the process of completing PH111 Introduction to Logic.
Course content
This course aims to familiarise students with intermediate topics in logic (building on PH111 Introduction to Logic). It focuses on concepts and theories that are useful for a deeper understanding and critical analysis of claims and arguments in contemporary philosophical research and in the social and natural sciences.
The art of defining
The modern theory of definitions offers a precise definition of ‘definition’ as well as rigorous criteria for checking whether a definition is formally correct. The skill of defining in a correct way can hardly be overestimated in areas such as philosophy, science, law and public policy. It prevents misunderstandings and can drastically improve the clarity of concepts, claims and arguments. It is particularly important for philosophers because many philosophical questions require definitions as answers (e.g., ‘What is knowledge?’, ‘What is truth?’, ‘What is a just society?’, ‘Under which conditions is an act morally wrong?’).
Set theory and model theory
Scientists often use mathematical structures to model real-world systems and to predict or explain their behaviour. Model theory is the study of mathematical structures from a logical point of view. It rests on set theory, which can be viewed as the foundation of modern mathematics. Students will be introduced to core concepts of set theory and model theory that help to better understand the formal architecture of scientific theories and models.
Possible world semantics
Classical logic only deals with truth-functional logical connectives (e.g., ‘not’, ‘and’, ‘or’). However, there are also non-truth-functional connectives which play a central role in philosophical and s