Winter 2024
04124880 Philosophical Logic
Mon 4:15–5:50 PM / Wed 4:15–5:50 PM at 3 North Hall, 405
Course Information
Instructor Dr. Bruno Bentzen
TA Faqiang Li
Office Location Chengjun Complex 4, 306
Office Hours by appointment
Email bbentzen at zju.edu.cn
Credits 32 hours (8 weeks)
Course Description
This course is an introduction to philosophical logic. It focuses on the philosophical examination of the fundamental concepts and motivation behind the development of different logical systems that extend, restrict, or deviate from classical logic as established by Frege, Peirce, Russell, Hilbert, and others. It covers an overview of classical propositional and first-order logic, the theory of generalized quantifiers and second-order logic, modal propositional logic, quantified modal logic, conditionals, Tarski's account of logical consequence, intuitionistic logic and Prawitz's proof-theoretic semantics, relevant logic and paraconsistent logic, and many-valued logic and fuzzy logic.
Course Materials and Resources
This course is based on a series of lecture notes which will be made available in advance here. Motivated students interested in complementary readings are especially encouraged to check out some of the following textbooks on logic for philosophers:
MacFarlane, J. (2020). Philosophical Logic: A Contemporary Introduction. Routledge.
Sider, T. (2010). Logic for Philosophy. Oxford University Press.
Priest, G. (2008). An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic. Cambridge University Press.
Course objectives
Upon the successful completion of this course, you will:
gain a deeper understanding of second-order quantifiers
be familiar with the central concepts of logic;
have a basic understanding of the K, T, D, B, S4, and S5 modal logics
distinguish between the semantic and proof-theoretic accounts of logical consequence
acquire a better understanding of intuitionistic logic
understand some of the motivations for relevant and paraconsistent logic
learn the basics of many-valued and fuzzy logic
Assessment and grades
Final exam 50%
Homework 40%
Participation 10%
Final paper
There will be one major writing assignment at the end of the course. Your paper must have one page (around 500 words) and must be written in English. You should name and date your paper — it must also contain a title, introduction, exposition of your problem and ideas, and conclusion. You will be graded based on the clarity and structure of your exposition:
How well you can understand the issues you are writing about
How good the arguments you offer are
Your English level will NOT be subject to evaluation, only the content of your paper. But you should at least be able to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively. Detailed information about the content of the final paper will be provided as it approaches.
Homework
Each homework assignment must be completed and turned in on time. I wish to evaluate your performance, so your homework should reflect your own efforts. Homework will be assigned weekly every Thursday and will be due on the following Thursday in class. No late homework will be accepted. If you missed the deadline because you were ill or for some other valid reason, please send me an email. Your solutions must be written legibly. The corrected homework will be returned to you on the Tuesday that follows the due date.
Attendance policy
You are expected to attend every lecture and be on time. If you cannot come to class due to an emergency please let me know as soon as possible. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to make up the material missed and catch up with your classmates.
Feedback
I welcome feedback, be it positive or negative. If you wish, you can do this by speaking to me directly after class, sending me an email, or, if you prefer, sending me an anonymous note. Giving feedback will not have any effect on your grade, neither positively nor negatively. But it will help me to see my lectures from different angles and develop new ways of improving them.
Schedule (tentative)
Lecture 1: Classical propositional logic
Lecture 2: Classical predicate logic
Lecture 3: Identity and definite descriptions
Lecture 4: Generalized quantifiers and second-order logic
Lecture 5: Proofs in second-order logic
Lecture 6: Substitutional quantifiers
Lecture 7: Free logic
Lecture 8: Propositional modal logic
Lecture 9: Kripke semantics for K, D, T, B, S4, S5
Lecture 10: Fitch-style natural deduction in modal logic
Lecture 11: Quantified modal logic with constant and varied domains
Lecture 12: Intuitionistic propositional logic
Lecture 13: Proof-theoretic semantics
Lecture 14: Intuitionistic predicate logic
Lecture 15: Relevance and paraconsistent logic
Lecture 16: Many-valued logics
Past instances
Winter 2022, 2023
Please let me know if you find any broken links.