1.

a. Logic is normative, meaning that it tells us what is good reasoning. So when you
think “logically”, or the way that logic prescribes, then youre just doing good
reasoning, which entails youre doing something good.
b. Thinking logically can have practical application in certain jobs and could lead
you to be better at your job. For example, being a lawyer is all about thinking
logically. For example whether some evidence really does entail that your client is
a murderer or whether the connection of evidence with a claim is something even
strong enough to commit ourselves to. The more logically a lawyer can think, the
higher chance they have to win the case.
c. Logic can also help you with dealing with complex problems and improve your
problem solving skills. So for example if you’re dealing with a problem that puts
high constraints on what you can and can’t do and you only want a specific
outcome, then thinking logically, or in terms of entailments, you can track every
possible line of reasoning to see what follows so you can get your desired
outcome even under high constraint parameters. Without logic you’d be a little
lost at finding the very best solution.
d. Logic can help you become a better arguer. Logic is basically, to be put crudely,
the study of arguments. When you learn the formal language and properties of
arguments you learn about the nature of logic. So understanding when
arguments are invalid, are inductive or deductive, ect, can help you make better
arguments and call out bad arguments. For example if you’re debating with your
friend over whether the Supreme court should Φ and you ask “what’s the
arguments for that?” and they say “If the supreme court should Φ then X is really bad,
and it turns out X is really bad so it follows the supreme court should Φ.” Now if
anyone knew almost anything about inferences, they would know this is an invalid
inference, and this something that you can point out and give counterexamples to
your friend.
2.
a. Logic can help you track arguments and line of reasoning better. Understanding logic,
or understanding valid entailment, can help you get a better grasp at what exactly is
being argued for and the reason for it.
3.
a. In this course I will expect to learn about form, validity, identity,
sentential/propositional logic and predicate logic.
4.
a. Logic, as studied in philosophy, is about the study of valid entailment. This means
that logicians study what propositions entail other propositions given certain
conditions.
5.
a. A valid deductive argument is an argument that if all the premises were true the
conclusion would have to necessarily follow. Meaning that in all the possible worlds
where the premises are true the conclusion is also true.
6.
 a. The line between inductive and deductive reasoning is vague but some of the
properties that inductive arguments have that deductive arguments dont have is
they’re probabilistic and the conclusion doesn't always necessarily follow from the
premises.
7.
a. If im outside while it rains then i will get wet
b. Im outside while it rains
c. Therefore i will get wet
d.
e. If I throw the ball up then the ball will be in the air
f. I throw the ball up
g. Therefore the ball will be in the air
8.
a. The form of an argument, or its instance, is valid if and only if all instances of the
form in which theres no possible world where all the premises are true but the
conclusion is false. This just means that if you use an invalid form in an argument,
the invalidity of the argument can be explained by some other instance of the same
form resulting in an argument that has true premises but a false conclusion.
9.
a. Yes, a valid argument can have false premises but a true conclusion. For example
you can say “If I live on the moon then dinosaurs dont exist, i live on the moon,
therefore dinosaurs dont exist”
10.
a. Invalid argument:
i. If the sun is yellow then im alive
ii. Im alive
iii. Therefore the sun is yellow
b. Valid argument:
i. If the sky is green then the sun is red
ii. The sky is green
iii. Therefore the sun is red
11.
a. Using symbols in logic can condense content to make it easier to reason with so you
dont have to write out a whole sentence and so we can better understand the form of
the argument.
12. A disadvantage might be that you might lose something in the arguments since English
allows for complex discussion.
13.
a. There is sentential/propositional logic, one-variable predicate logic, relational
predicate logic, relational predicate logic with identity. Sentential logic only studies
the inferences among simple sentences to combine with other sentences using
sentential operators. Predicate logic studies the same thing but gives a more rich
analysis of the sentence by representing subject and predicate. Relational logic
 studies the different relations among the different predicates and relational logic with
identity studies the same thing as relational logic but with identity.
14.
a. Formal structure: outlines the rules and grammar/syntax of the logic
b. Application: Seeing how we can apply natural languages to the formal structure.
c. Semantics: Explaining what our logic is saying or means. So what does validity,
entailment, form, etc mean.
d. Proof methods: Covering how to prove a formula or an argument.