Notre Dame of Marbel University

2 Semester SY 2021-2022

Course Syllabus in Logic

I. Course Name: Logic and Critical Thinking

II. Course Description

This course is an introduction to the meaning and formation of terms,

propositions and logical reasoning. It will acquaint the student with the fundamental
principles and methods of valid reasoning so as to equip him/her with the logical
tools necessary for his/her constant battles against fallacies and inconsistencies. This
course is also an introduction to symbolic logic and other forms for logical
reasoning.

III. Course Objectives:

At the end of the course, students are expected to :
1. express ideas with clarity and precision
2. detect formal and material fallacies
3. acquire the skill of logical method of reasoning
4. formulate sound and valid arguments.

IV. No. of units: 3 units

V. No. of contact hours: 54hrs (Week 1-16)
VI. Prerequisites: None
VII. Course Outline

A. Part One. Introduction (Week 1-2)

•   The Way of Philosophy
•   The Philosophical Disciplines
•   Historical Development of Logic

Part Two. The Elements of Inferences: Terms & Propositions (Week 3-4)
I. Terms
•   Term as a Sign of the Idea
•   Terms and Words
•   The Properties of a Term
•   The Classification of Terms
•   The Predicaments or Categories
II. Propositions (Week 5-6)
•   The Elements of Proposition
•   The Logical Form of the Proposition
•   The Predicables
•   The Types of Proposition
A. General Classification
B. Basic Form of Categorical Proposition
§   The Quality
 §   The Quantity
§   The Distribution of the Predicate Term
§   The Ordinary A, E, I and O Proposition
§   Euler’s Diagram
§   The Venn Diagram

Part Three: The Forms of Inferences (Week 7-8)

III. Inference in General
•   The types of Inferences
•   The Form and Matter of Inferences
IV. Oppositional Inference (Week 9)
•   The Modes of Opposition
•   The Laws of Opposition
V. Eduction (Week 10)
•   The types of Eduction
VI. Mediate Inference: Reasoning (Week 11-12)
•   The Basic Form of Mediate Inference
•   The Two Types of Arguments

VII. The Categorical Syllogism (Week 13)

•   The Basic Elements
•   The Rules for a valid Categorical Syllogism
•   The Figures and Moods of the Syllogism
•   Syllogistic Reduction
VIII. The Hypothetical Syllogism (Week 14)
•   The Conditional Syllogism
•   The Disjunctive Syllogism
•   The Conjunctive Syllogism
IX. Variations of the Syllogism
•   The Enthymeme
•   The Epichereme
•   The Pollysyllogism
•   The Sorites
•   The Dilemma
X. Fallacies (Week 15-16)
A. Fallacies in the Language or Linguistic (Six Fallacies)
B. Fallacies not in the Language or Non-Linguistic (25 Fallacies)

B. Grading System
Exam – 40%
Worksheets- 25%
Assignment–25%
Recitation (Oral/Written)– 10%

C. Requirements
Exams (Midterm & Finals)
 Worksheets (10 for midterm and 10 for finals)

D. References

Books
1.   Ardales, V. Logic made easy. Concerns, Inc. Jaro, Iloilo City, 1998.
2.   Jayme, V. An Introduction to Logic 2nd Ed. ABC Publications, Cebu City,
2002.
3.   Maboloc, C. Logic: A Workbook in Critical Thinking. SMKC Print Shoppe,
Davao City, 2012.
4. Palmiano, Dariel. Logic Make Sense. C & E Publishing, Inc., Quezon City,
2010.
5. Timbreza, F. Logic: Made Simple for Filipinos. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
1995.

VIII. Course Policies and Requirements

What Do I Need to Do for this Class?

In essence:
(1) Carefully read the assigned readings (listed below);
(2) Consult our outside class site at: ndmuschoology.com

(This site contains reading/lecture notes for each assignment with

extensive background information on the thinkers or ideas, textual
analysis, additional examples or explanations, and multimedia resources
or links to other resources, as appropriate—please note that I expect
everyone to consult this regularly, but it will include far more information
and resources than each will be responsible for knowing (i.e., you can skim
some sections, carefully read others, use them as needed; they are meant
to help you understand the material, and there is nothing there you are
expected to memorize).

(3) Once or twice a week (due dates below), write and post a “Discussion Post”
(described below);
(4) Complete four “Blog Posts” (described below);
(5) Complete one final paper/project (described below).

Participation:

Since an online course lacks physical attendance in a classroom, it demands that

evidence of dedication to the class be reflected in your written work. The
completeness and timeliness of submissions and quality of content will be
crucial to good course participation. Additionally, each student is fully
responsible for verifying and correcting, if necessary, his/her registration
status.

ASSIGNMENTS & THEIR EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Please note that the Philosophy and Humanities sections will have different
Discussion and Blog prompts; verify your section and answer the appropriate
questions.

Discussion Board Posts:

Conducted on our blue bubble site once or twice a week (as noted on the
Reading and Assignment schedule, below), these discussions will be
generated from posted questions and substitute for the dynamic
discussions required in a philosophy classroom. Aim for a paragraph to a
page of writing, but there is no rigid length requirement—just make sure
that your contribution thoughtfully engages the questions and directly
addresses the readings. You are more than welcome to submit more than
one discussion post, e.g., perhaps you want to ask a peer a clarifying
question or follow-up with the discussion well after your first
contribution. Discussion posts will be evaluated by content alone
(although readability and general clarity is important!) as to how well they
demonstrate your careful reading, thoughtful reflection, well-formulated
opinions and analyses, and strong questions—these things may be best
demonstrated by clear reference to the readings, incorporation of ideas
from the lecture notes or provided online resources, respectful
engagement with your peers’ ideas, and overall significant contribution to
the discussion.

Blog Posts:
Four one-to-two page reflections that carefully and thoughtfully address
the prompts as noted in the Reading and Assignment schedule,
below. These should be viewed as short academic essays, therefore they
should be carefully constructed engagements of the questions that clearly
explain and support your thought, reference the readings, correctly cite all
quotes, and be proofread before submission. They will be evaluated by
their quality of content (i.e., clear development of the topic, accurate and
adequate support of the position, and direct and correct reference to the
texts) and quality of writing (i.e., you must have grammatically correct
work). Late assignments will only be accepted for one week after the due
date and have up to ten points deducted from the grade. Rewrites of your
posts will only be considered for those scoring under an 80 and can only
add up to ten points to the original score.
Final Project:

The final project can be a standard academic paper or a hybrid

paper/creative project; papers will be 6-8 pages and projects must be of
equivalent work. I expect students to begin the final projects early in the
course; they will be due on the last prompts will be provided, but I
encourage each to develop one’s own personally meaningful topic or
project; academic research into some aspect of aesthetics will be needed,
but I encourage a harmony between academic and creative work
(e.g., maybe you want to create a work of art and accompany it with a
thorough critical appraisal; maybe you want to write a phenomenological
report of your visit to an art exhibition; maybe you want to design an
exhibition and provide its philosophical reflection in an imagined exhibit
catalogue; maybe you want to write a philosophic screenplay, etc.).

GRADE DISTRIBUTION:

Discussion Board Posts: 10% of your final grade. Blog Posts: 10%. Final Project:
20%. Each extra credit work successfully completed will be worth up to five
points added to your lowest scoring assignment.

GRADE SCALE:

All assignments will receive an alphabetic and/or numeric grade based upon
their demonstrated quality of thought and effort. The scale will be: A (100-94);
A- (93-90); B+ (89-87); B (86-83); B- (82-80); C+ (79-77); C (76-73); C- (72-70); D+
(69-67); D (66-60); F (59-0). Any grade disputes will be settled by personal
meeting where we will review together the totality of your class work.

ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTS and NOTES:

Some readings (noted above and below) will be provided through our course
schoology site. Check schoology regularly for announcements.

Etcetera:
I highly encourage you to email me (mengzi.khun@gmail.com) or set up an
appointment to meet with me about any questions, concerns, etc. about the
class and its material.

I will ask us all to uphold the ideals of academic freedom to make our digital
classroom a space of comfortable and free discourse, which means feeling free
to openly entertain and exchange even uncomfortable ideas and maintaining
an environment where others enjoy the same freedom by respecting the rights
of all to the same.

V) UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

Honor Code:

The NDMU community values personal integrity and academic honesty as

the foundation of university life and the cornerstone of a premiere educational
experience. Our community believes trust among its members is essential for
both scholarship and effective interactions and operations of the
university. As members of the NDMU community, students, faculty, staff,
and administrators are all responsible for ensuring that their experiences will
be free of behaviors which compromise this value. In order to uphold
academic integrity, the university has adopted an Honor System. Students
and faculty will work together to establish the optimal conditions for
honorable academic work. Following is the Student Honor Pledge that guides
academic behavior:

“I will not give or receive aid during examinations; I will not give or receive
false or impermissible aid in course work, in the preparation of reports, or in
any other type of work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of my
grade; I will not engage in any form of academic fraud. Furthermore, I will
uphold my responsibility to see to it that others abide by the spirit and letter of
this Honor Pledge.”

Thus, I have a zero-tolerance policy for academic dishonesty and especially for any
form of plagiarism. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the summary,
paraphrase, or direct quotation of either published or unpublished work of
another without full and clear citation. Consequences for academic
dishonesty will result in a zero score on the assignment and possible further
repercussions in accordance with school policy. If you have questions about
plagiarism or academic honesty in general, please consult the school
handbook, one’s academic advisor, or me.
Course Evaluations:

The university urges and expects all students to participate in all course
evaluations, providing honest feedback to the instructor and institution about
the specific aspects and elements of the course. Outside of the official
evaluations, I highly encourage you to provide me with feedback throughout
the semester about the course and to collectively or privately engage in such
dialogue so as to take an active engagement with the “how” of your education,
as well as with the “what” that we cover.

VII. Reading and Assignment Schedule:

What Does One Need to Do for this Class ...?

(1) Carefully read the assigned readings;
(2) Consult, for each reading, our outside class site at:
(3) Once or twice a week, write and post a “Discussion Post;”
(4) Complete four “Blog Posts;
(5) Complete one final paper/project.

Faculty Profile:
visit ndmuschoology.com
https://ndmu.schoology.com/user/99315547/portfolios#/?_k=5pe1aj