I mentioned to some of my friends that I am interested in taking a course in Logic. They all were a bit startled, flinched violently and said some version of "Huh? What? You want to take a COURSE in LOGIC?!" Then my response to each of them was "Uh...yeah, what's wrong with that?" Followed by my prolonged exposure to blank, confused stares. I would love to be able to use formal logical parameters to examine the arguments and conclusions I wish to make in my future Soc/Psych research papers, as well as to be able to shout out things like "That's a false redictio ad absurdum!" when I am winning an argument Oh yeah, and that whole nerd thing where everything about life, the world, and the universe facinates me and motivates me to learn more. Well, it doesn't fit into my degree plan, so I am looking for something that is free and completely independent, if any such course exists. Something that doesn't rhyme with Icky-Feet-ia, follows a course-like format for its lessons and has quizzes. Is that too much to ask!? Meh... Please refrain from posting anything ad hominem or non sequitir.
as far as I know, logic courses are a pretty standard part of any philosophy major so it should not be hard to find a logic course as a standalone. I think another name for the same course is "Modes of Reasoning" If you don't care about credit, you might see if The Teaching Company has a course, their course materials are generally really topnotch and I know they have some courses in the philosophy realm. Otherwise, maybe BYU or Ohio University, as both have pretty diverse offerings.
Formal logic is an awfully technical discipline, closely akin to mathematics and often taught by mathematics departments. It's concerned with things like quantification, model theories, completeness and compactness proofs, and even more arcane things. It has some utility for computer scientists and similar types, and it's essential for those studying the foundations of mathematics. If you are interested in studying a form of logic that's more useful in writing expository papers and evaluating real-life arguments, then you probably should study informal logic. It's the form of logic that addresses the many sorts of fallacies, such as your 'ad hominem' or 'non-sequitur'. Here's a pretty decent free introductory informal-logic tutorial from my local San Jose State University. Mission: Critical (Main Menu)
Project Ara BlueStorm: The Logic Course the forall x homepage UC Davis: Logic Primer : A Modern Formal Logic Primer
It seems to me that a logic course would be complimentary to any degree. There seems to be lots of free or minimum cost courses on the internet including these courses: MIT OpenCourseWare | Linguistics and Philosophy | 24.241 Logic I, Fall 2005 | Home Logic & Proofs Worldwide, open, tuition-free university-level online logic course Critical thinking web Inductive and Deductive Reasoning — Free Online Course Materials
Well, now that's quite helpful, thank you, yes it is INformal logic that I am looking for (I didn't realize there was that distinction).
WOW, gettingthere and Ian, those are exactly what I am looking for! At first glance, it looks like a couple of them might have quizzes- I'll scour those links to see if they do when I have the chance. Either way, that's a ton if info you just gave me. Thanks a lot!
There are a few resources I can supply. Three books come to mind. The first is "Beginning Logic" by EJ Lemmon. The second is "An Introduction to Symbolic Logic" by Susanne Langer. The third, and perhaps the most accessible is "How To Think Straight" by Anthony Flew. Dr. Flew is a British guy, very well respected and his book is a standard text in the area of critical thinking around the world.
Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition currently on sale $70 24 DVD lectures, 30 minutes perlecture Course Lecture Titles 1. Introducing Argumentation and Rhetoric 2. Underlying Assumptions of Argumentation 3. Formal and Informal Argumentation 4. History of Argumentation Studies 5. Argument Analysis and Diagramming 6. Complex Structures of Argument 7. Case Construction—Requirements and Options 8. Stasis—The Heart of the Controversy 9. Attack and Defense I 10. Attack and Defense II 11. Language and Style in Argument 12. Evaluating Evidence 13. Reasoning from Parts to Whole 14. Reasoning with Comparisons 15. Establishing Correlations 16. Moving from Cause to Effect 17. Commonplaces and Arguments from Form 18. Hybrid Patterns of Inference 19. Validity and Fallacies I 20. Validity and Fallacies II 21. Arguments between Friends 22. Arguments among Experts 23. Public Argument and Democratic Life 24. The Ends of Argumentation ======================================== Art of Critical Decision Making The Art of Critical Decision Making 24 DVD lectures, 30 minutes per lecture currently NOT on sale, wait for a sale, they happen often Course Lecture Titles 1. Making High-Stakes Decisions 2. Cognitive Biases 3. Avoiding Decision-Making Traps 4. Framing—Risk or Opportunity? 5. Intuition—Recognizing Patterns 6. Reasoning by Analogy 7. Making Sense of Ambiguous Situations 8. The Wisdom of Crowds? 9. Groupthink—Thinking or Conforming? 10. Deciding How to Decide 11. Stimulating Conflict and Debate 12. Keeping Conflict Constructive 13. Creativity and Brainstorming 14. The Curious Inability to Decide 15. Procedural Justice 16. Achieving Closure through Small Wins 17. Normal Accident Theory 18. Normalizing Deviance 19. Allison's Model—Three Lenses 20. Practical Drift 21. Ambiguous Threats and the Recovery Window 22. Connecting the Dots 23. Seeking Out Problems 24. Asking the Right Questions
I have a lot of links on the critical thinking page of my website. (Mission Critical is actually the first one I have listed.) Critical thinking and logic are actually not the same thing, but I combined them for a "course," so there are links to information on logical fallacies there as well. Anyway, you might find something you can use HERE.