PP 204: Formal Logic

Fall 2019
Dr. Jill Rusin

Course Description:
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the fundamentals of logic. We will learn a
formal language called FOL (first-order logic), which will enable us to represent claims
clearly and unambiguously. We will study the logical relations between claims of FOL,
and learn a formal system for analyzing relations between claims. We will learn to con-
struct formal proofs that show deductive relationships between sentences of FOL. Tak-
ing this course should help strengthen your capacity for abstract thought and your ability
to analyze argumentation.

Professor: Jill Rusin (jrusin@wlu.ca)

Office: Peters 343 x3274
Office Hours: Monday 12-1 PM, Wednesday 130-230 PM

Course Text:
Language Proof and Logic, 2nd edition, by Dave Barker-Plummer, Jon Barwise and John
Etchemendy.
ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-57586-632-1

Text is available in either physical or digital formats. ***Do not buy a used copy of this
text. *** We will be using the software that comes with the textbook and you’ll need a
registration key to submit homework problems; this won’t work with used copies. You
may buy a digital version of the text with downloads of the software here, and this will
work just as well as the physical textbook, so long as you are comfortable reading and
working from a PDF of the book.

The textbook webpage is here. (https://proto.gradegrinder.net/Products/lpl-index.html) It in-

cludes updated versions of the software, a PDF of the textbook, and hints to many se-
lected exercises, as well as a login to check homework received/feedback.

When you register with LPL please use both first and last names.

Requirements and Grading:

a) 20% Homework (based on best 8 out of 9 assignments)

b) 10% Quizzes (MyLS: these are repeatable and open book, so more like additional HW Qs)
c) 35% Tests: October 2 15%
October 30 20%
d) 5 % Attendance and Participation
e) 30% Final Exam: date and time as scheduled by Registrar’s Office

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PP 204: Formal Logic

The material in this class builds as the course progresses. This means that it does
get harder after the first few weeks. Make sure that you are setting aside ample time
every week for logic problems, including weeks you have deadlines in other classes.
This is especially important just before and after Fall Reading Week, and the last
few weeks of classes. If you fall behind you will find it difficult to catch up.

Schedule: Subject to revision. You are responsible for changes to the schedule announced in class. If you miss
class, or come in late, do ask a classmate for notes and/or important announcements. Also be sure to check
MyLS for announcements.

Week 1 September 9/11

Chapter 1 (sections 1.1-1.4); Chapter 2, section 2.1 and 2.5
Week 2 September 16/18
Chapter 3 (sections 3.1-3.7)
Week 3 September 23/25
Chapter 4.1- 4.3
Week 4 September 30/ Oct. 2
middle sections of Chapter 2; Chapter 5; Chapter 6 (sections 6.1-6.4)
TEST ONE: OCTOBER 2

Week 5 October 7/9

finish Chapter 6; Chapter 4.4 and other misc.
——Reading Week—— Make sure you catch up and practice the material on proofs !!!
Week 6 Oct 21/23
Chapter 7 (sections 7.1-7.3)

Week 7 October 28/30

review; TEST TWO: OCTOBER 30

Week 8 Nov 4/6

Chapter 8 (sections 8.1, 8.2)
Week 9 November 11/13
Chapter 9 (sections 9.1- 9.6)
Week 10 November 18/20
Chapter 10 (sections 10.1- 10.4) Chapter 11
Week 11 November 25/27
Chapter 11(sections 11.7, 11.8)
Week 12 Dec 2/4 Wrap up and review

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PP 204: Formal Logic

Exam period: Dec. 7th-20th

Audio and video recording are prohibited, as is use of any video or photographic device, except
when approved in writing by the Accessible Learning Center and instructor.

Overview of the basic course schedule:

The first part of the course we will learn propositional logic.
• We’ll learn atomic sentences in FOL, then Boolean connectives.
• We will talk about our core concepts of logic consequence, valid/invalid argumentation.
• We will learn a formal proof system that demonstrates logical consequence.
• We will learn the method of counterexample to demonstrate invalid argumentation.
Once we’ve mastered the Boolean connectives, we’ll add on conditionals.
Then it’s on to a full theory of FOL (first-order logic). We will learn quantification and about
quantifier scope and order. Here we will focus on expressions like every, some, none, the, at least two.
We will talk about the expressive resources of FOL and what it can capture, and what English it
cannot express.

Homework: You will have 9 homework assignments. The lowest score will be dropped; 8 will
count to your homework grade. No late assignments are accepted for a grade.

Homework is handed in via the Submit program. I would suggest submitting early and often;
make sure you check ‘instructor too' to receive credit. Since the lowest homework mark is
dropped, if you end up late with one assignment, you can still drop that assignment and avoid
losing any marks for your final HW grade. I do definitely recommend doing all the assigned ex-
ercises; you’ll want to do these to master the material, and not simply for marks.

Homework collaboration: You are encouraged to work together. We will work together in
class. However, you must write up your own homework files from the ground up, no copying or
cut and paste from another student’s files. The grade grinder has its ways of telling if you copy
files and it will flag them for the instructor as such. You will receive a 0 for any such assignment,
as will the student whose files you copied. Submitting another student’s files constitutes academic
dishonesty. See the University Calendar for further information and penalties.

More about the textbook: The textbook package we will use is Language Proof and Logic. It comes
with four software programs. The software runs on Mac, Windows, Linux. Please download the
most recent versions of the software that are on the textbook’s website. The website also has
tutorials and FAQs for the software.

The programs are called:

Tarski’s World. This is the chessboard-looking environment where you can create differ-
ent models or ‘worlds’ and test whether block language claims of FOL are true or false in that
particular world. This program helps you learn the circumstances in which sentences of FOL are
true/false. It teaches the semantics of FOL.
Submit. This program simply enables submission of exercises to the gradegrinder, which
can auto-evaluate and give (limited) feedback on many of the textbook’s exercises.

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PP 204: Formal Logic

Boole A program for building and testing truth tables. This is the syntactic way of inves-
tigating/thinking about the truth conditions of sentences of FOL.
Fitch. This program will help you learn to build formal proofs in FOL.

The program Submit will connect your work to the gradegrinder. This is our course TA. :) He
works 24/7. We will go over non-machine gradable problems (like part of Exercise 2.1) in class;
the assignments you will be graded on are those that grade grinder can automatically grade. You
have to connect via internet with submit to grade grinder. Grade grinder will email you back a
grade report. You can also check your homework problems on the internet interface of the
textbook’s site. You have unlimited homework attempts. You can resubmit assignments until you are
satisfied with the results (up until the deadline—remember, no late assignments accepted for
credit). Please remember to check the ‘instructor too’ box on your final attempt so that you get
credit for your homework.

Remember, you can work in groups so long as you write up your own hw. There is a discussion
board on MyLS where you can ask for help or arrange hw groups (just try to keep it to ‘help’ and
not solutions on the discussion board.) Also, if you want me to have a look at work-in-progress,
and you are not on campus to come and see me during office hours, the easiest way for me to
look and help diagnose what is going wrong (say in an incorrect proof), is to submit the still-
marked-wrong exercise to grade grinder, check ‘instructor too’ and send me an email asking me
to please have a look. Going through Submit this way is MUCH EASIER than sending screen-
shots of your work; from my instructor account I can see a file of your work-in-progress (if
you've checked ‘instructor too’), so I can help from there. Depending on the number of such
requests, the time before deadline, and the rest of my workload, I always try to help my logic
students out! Office hours are best, but I do try to get to online requests as I can. (Just remem-
ber you outnumber me 50:1 and logic is often much easier to explain in person than via email. So
do try to come in person where possible! Also, please do make sure you are reading your text,
coming to class and giving it an honest try before hitting send. But don’t be afraid to ask—I’ll
try where I can to get back to you. )

Please make sure to check our MyLS page regularly for news and announcements. Your hw as-
signments are announced in class, listed on MyLS, and loaded into the grade grinder, so you can
check on the textbook’s webpage as well.

In class use of electronic devices: Off-task uses of technology during class (e.g., communicating
with friends or family; using social networking sites; playing games; accessing the internet on
websites that do not relate to the course; reading an electronic book that is not related to the
course; playing music or video, etc.) which are distracting to self or others are prohibited. Failure
to comply may result in lowered participation grades and with repeated failures students may be
asked to leave class.

Academic Calendars:
Students are encouraged to review the Academic Calendar for information regarding all impor-
tant dates, deadlines, and services available on campus.

Examination Deferrals:
The Academic Date section of the Calendar clearly states the examination date period for each
semester. Students must note that they are required to reserve this time in their personal calen-

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PP 204: Formal Logic

dars for the examinations. The examination period for Fall 2019 is December 7-20, 2019. For
additional information that describes the special circumstances for examination deferment, con-
sult the University calendar.
Student Awareness of the Accessible Learning Centre:
Students with disabilities or special needs, are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible Learning
Centre for information regarding its services and resources. Students are encouraged to review
the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.
I am committed to helping students access the resources they need; if you need or would benefit
from this document or other course materials in a larger text format, or in a format that would
enhance your access, please do not hesitate to be in contact with me. Likewise if course slides
use colours or formatting that is more difficult for you, please let me know.
Academic and Research Misconduct:
Students are expected to be aware of and abide by University regulations and policies, as outlined
in the current on-line Undergraduate Calendar (see http://www.wlu.ca/calendars). Academic
misconduct is an act by a student, or by students working on a team project, which may result in
a false evaluation of the student(s), or which represents a deliberate attempt to unfairly gain an
academic advantage.
Laurier has an established policy with respect to cheating on assignments and examinations,
which the student is required to know. Students are cautioned that in addition to a failure in
the course, a student may be suspended or expelled from the University for cheating and the of-
fence may appear on one’s transcript, in which event the offence can have serious consequences
for one’s business or professional career. For more information refer to the current Undergradu-
ate calendar (University Undergraduate Regulations).

***The educational materials developed for this course, including, but not limited to, lecture
notes and slides, handout materials, examinations and assignments, and any materials posted to
MyLearningSpace, are the intellectual property of the course instructor. These materials have
been developed for student use only and they are not intended for wider dissemination and/or
communication outside of a given course. Posting or providing unauthorized audio, video, or
textual material of lecture content to third-party websites violates an instructor’s intellectual
property rights, and the Canadian Copyright Act. Recording lectures in any way is prohibited in
this course unless specific permission has been granted by the instructor. Failure to follow these
instructions may be in contravention of the university’s Code of Student Conduct and/or Code
of Academic Conduct, and will result in appropriate penalties. Participation in this course
constitutes an agreement by all parties to abide by the relevant University Policies, and
to respect the intellectual property of others during and after their association with Wil-
frid Laurier University.***
Laurier uses software that can check for plagiarism. If requested to do so by the instructor, stu-
dents are required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagia-
rism. Students are to adhere to the Principles in the Use of Information Technology. These
Principles and resulting actions for breaches are stated in the current Undergraduate Calendar.
Students’ names may be divulged in the classroom, both orally and in written form, to other
members of the class. Students who are concerned about such disclosures should contact the
course instructor to identify whether there are any possible alternatives to such disclosures.

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PP 204: Formal Logic

Multi-campus Resources:

• Good2Talk is a postsecondary school helpline that provides free, profes-

sional and confidential counselling support for students in Ontario. Call
1-866-925-5454 or through 2-1-1. Available 24-7.

• Waterloo Student Food Bank: All students are eligible to use this service
to ensure they’re eating healthy when overwhelmed, stressed or finan-
cially strained. Anonymously request a package online 24-7. All dietary
restrictions accommodated.

• Waterloo Foot Patrol: 519.886.FOOT (3668). A volunteer operated safe-

walk program, available Fall and Winter daily from 6:30 pm to 3 am.
Teams of two are assigned to escort students to and from campus by
foot or by van.

• Waterloo Student Wellness Centre: 519-884-0710, x3146. The Centre

supports the physical, emotional, and mental health needs of students.
Located on the 2nd floor of the Student Services Building, booked and
same-day appointments are available Mondays and Wednesdays from
8:30 am to 7:30 pm, and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8:30 am
to 4:15 pm. Contact the Centre at x3146, wellness@wlu.ca or @Lauri-
erWellness. After hours crisis support available 24/7. Call
1-844-437-3247 (HERE247).

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