Introduction to

Logic
Faculty: M.Ahamed Amani
Time: 6.45pm to 9.45pm, Tuesday

Course Content:

Introduction: Basic Logic Concepts

Definitions
Types and uses of logic
Proposition
Argument- Premise and Conclusion
Identifying Premise and Conclusion
In class Exercise I

Why to study
When we need
logic
? to do some reliable

judgments
When the truth is in doubt reason it out

Uses
Natural Language may be more complicated
Symbolic representation

Definition
Logic

is the study of the

methods and principles
used to distinguish
correct reasoning from
incorrect reasoning.

Proposition

A proposition is something that may be

asserted or denied (is or not)
Different from Question, Commands and
Exclamation
True or False / Dont know answer

Example: Life in outer space

Proposition and Sentence

Same Meaning
Mohamed won the election.
The election was won by Mohamed
A sentence is always a sentence in a
particular language
In different Context
The largest state Texas in the US was once
an independent republic

Compound
Proposition
Proposition within another Proportion

The American an Russian were driving

swiftly to a junction on the Elbe. The
British were at the gates of Hamburg
and Bremen and threatening to cut off
Germany from occupied Denmark. In
Italy Bologna had fallen and Alexanders
Allied forces were plunging into the
valley of the Po. The Russian, having
captured Vienna on April 13, were up the
danube.

Compound
The
British were at the gates of
Proposition
Hamburg and Bremen

Is the conjunction of two proposition

The British were at the gates of

Hamburg
The British were at the gates of
Bremen

Compound
The
Conjunctive proposition is itself one
Proposition

component of one large conjunction,

that
The British were at the gates of
Hamburg and Bremen and [ the
British] were threatening to cut off
Germany from occupied Denmark

Argument

An argument is any group of

Propositions of which one is
claimed to have followed from the
others, which are regarded as
providing support or grounds for the
truth of that one.

Premiss and
Conclusion
The conclusion of an argument is the

proposition that is affirmed on the basis of the

other proposition of the argument, and these
other propositions, which are affirmed ( or
assumed) as providing support or reasons for
the accepting the conclusion, are the
premisses of that argument.

Simple Argument

One premiss and one conclusion

Example:
No one was present when life appeared on the
earth. Therefore any statement about lifes
origins should be considered as theory, not fact
Premiss:
No one was present when life appeared
on the earth.
Conclusion:
Therefore any statement about lifes origins
should be considered as theory, not fact

Conclusion stated
First:
The food and drug administration should stop

all cigarette sales immediately. After all

cigarette smoking is the leading preventable
cause of death.

Every law is an evil, for every law is an

infraction of liberty.

Compound Proposition and

Argument

Compound proposition closely resembles

argument :

If life evolve on mars during the early

period in its history when it had an
atmosphere and climate to Earths,
then it is likely that life evolved on
countless other planets that scientists
now believe to exist in our galaxy .

Compound Proposition and

Argument

It is likely that life evolved on countless

other plants that scientist now believe
exist in our galaxy, because life very
probably evolved on Mars during an early
period in its history when it had an
atmosphere and climate similar to
Earths.
Premiss: life very probably evolved on Mars
Conclusion: It is likely that life evolved on
countless other plants

Exercise1 :
Find Argument - Premise and
A well regulated military force being necessary
Conclusion
to the security of a free state, the right of the
people to keep and bear arms shall not be
violated.
Premiss:
A well regulated military force being necessary
to the security of a free state
Conclusion:
The right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be violated.

Find Argument- Premiss and

Conclusion
Be careful to judge, for we are sinners all
Premiss:
We are all sinners
Conclusion:
Be careful to judge

Find Argument- Premiss and

Conclusion
Because light moves at a finite speed, looking at
objects that are millions of miles away is actually
looking at light that was emitted many years ago.
Premiss:
Because light moves at a finite speed
Conclusion:
looking at objects that are millions of miles away is
actually looking at light that was emitted many years
ago.

Find Argument- Premise and

Conclusion

The institution of public education thrives on

its own failure. The more poorly its charges
perform, the more money it asks for ( and
gets) from the public and the government.
The more money it gets, it can grow itself.

Find Argument- Premiss and

Conclusion
Premiss:
The more poorly its charges perform, the
more money it asks for ( and gets) from the
public and the government. The more money
it gets, it can grow itself.
Conclusion:
The institution of public education thrives on
its own failure.

Find Argument- Premiss and

Conclusion

Unquestionably, no more important goals

exists in medical research today than the
development of AIDS vaccine. Last year
AIDS, caused by HIV was the infectious
disease that killed the most people around
the world and the epidemic is not abating.

Find Argument- Premiss and

Conclusion
Premiss:
Last year AIDS, caused by HIV was the infectious
disease that killed the most people around the world
And the AIDS epidemic is not abating.
Conclusion:
Unquestionably, no more important goals exists in
medical research today than the development of AIDS
vaccine.

Recognizing Argument

Conclusion Indicators:

Therefore
So
Accordingly
In consequence
Hence
Thus
Consequently
Proves that
As a result
For this reason

Recognizing Argument

Premiss- Indicator
Because
Since
For
As
Follows from
As shown by
Inasmuch as

Types of Logic
Deductive reasoning
Consists of 3 parts:
The major premise, the minor premise and the
conclusion.
"All men are mortal; Socrates is a man;
Therefore Socrates is mortal."
The conclusion must be true if the premises
are true

Types of Logic

Inductive Logic

Used in Scientific Project.

accumulate all the facts
you are using inductive reasoning, that is, using a
number of proven facts to draw a general
conclusion.

As we have observed for over thousand of

years that we conclude all swans are white.
What if suddenly a black swan comes out?
Would the conclusion that all swans are white
be rejected? The answer is no, probably. It
would still be true that most of the swans are
white. That's why an inductive argument
never ends, since it is always open up to the
possibility of being unnatural.