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Logic tutor

Terms and Definitions

Precise use of terms: distinguishing meanings, organizing concepts by genus and species, comparing extension and intension, and constructing clear definitions suited to a purpose. Topics: Terms, Meanings, and Definition Purposes, Genus, Species, Extension, and Intension, Methods of Defining, Testing and Revising Definitions.

Statements and Arguments

Truth-bearing statements and the support relations among them, followed by the basic structure and evaluation of arguments through premises, conclusions, validity, counterexamples, and soundness. Topics: Statements and Truth Support, Relationships Between Statements, Recognizing and Structuring Arguments, Validity and Soundness.

Categorical Statements and Immediate Inferences

Standard categorical forms, term distribution, diagrammatic representations, relationships among forms, and one-premise inferences by conversion, obversion, contraposition, or semantic testing. Topics: Categorical Form and Translation, Distribution and Diagrams, The Square of Opposition, Immediate Inferences.

Categorical Syllogisms

The structure and validity of two-premise categorical arguments. Topics: Syllogism Structure and Standard Form, Mood, Figure, and Schema, Validity by Rules and Counterexamples, Venn-Diagram Validity.

Ordinary-Language Arguments

Recovering and building logical structure in everyday prose. Topics: Translating Ordinary Statements, Reconstructing Arguments, Hypothetical Arguments, Constructing Arguments.

Informal Fallacies

Recurring mistakes in ordinary reasoning whose diagnosis depends on meaning and context. Topics: Fallacies of Relevance, Fallacies of Ambiguity, Fallacies of Presumption and Form, Analyzing Fallacies in Context.

Propositional Logic Foundations

Symbolizing compound statements, evaluating truth-functional structure, using truth tables to test semantic properties and argument validity, and recognizing core propositional inference forms. Topics: Propositional Language and Symbolization, Truth-Functional Evaluation, Semantic Classification and Equivalence, Propositional Argument Forms.

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning whose premises support a conclusion without guaranteeing it: strength and defeasibility, statistical generalization, analogy, causal inference, explanatory comparison, and responsible use of evidence. Topics: Inductive Strength and Defeasibility, Generalizations and Samples, Arguments by Analogy, Causal Reasoning, Inference to the Best Explanation, Evidence Quality and Synthesis.