Tag Archives: Get Smart

What will I learn in Intermediate Logic?

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intermediate-logic-complete-program-dvd-course[1]Logic gives us standards and methods by which valid reasoning can be distinguished from invalid reasoning. It teaches students to think in a straight line, and to justify each step of their thought. Intermediate Logic does this using a symbolic language to represent the reasoning inherent in the language of argument. It is more flexible than syllogistic logic, and can thus apply to more real-life arguments.

Intermediate Logic Unit One teaches the powerful method of truth tables to determine the validity of propositional arguments. Unit Two takes these methods and teaches students how to deduce a conclusion from a set of premises, so they are able not only to show that an argument is valid, but also prove why it is valid. Unit Three teaches these same concepts using the modern method of truth trees. Unit Four applies these methods to the analysis of real-life arguments from 1 Corinthians 15, Hebrews 2, Boethius’ The Consolation of Philosophy,  Augustine’s City of God, and more (including a scene from the movie “Get Smart”). Unit Five teaches the fascinating application of these methods to the logic of digital electronics.

Unit Four!

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So, you have entered Unit 4! In this unit, you will be applying many of the tools you have learned up to this point to real-life arguments in written texts, texts that present what I call “chains of reasoning.”

This is a tough section, because we are no longer working with artificial arguments meant to teach the tools, but arguments that have been written in actual books from men like the philosopher Boethius, the Apostle Paul, Augustine, Martin Luther, and others.

Here are a few things you will want to note from the DVD for this lesson.

  1. This is a longer video, almost 50 minutes. Go get some popcorn.
  2.  I help you through the first two exercises, and work all the way through Ex. 28c. You’re welcome.
  3. Note that on the video, just before the 4 minute mark, I misspoke. I should have said that P ⊃ Q is equivalent to ~Q ⊃ ~P, but I accidentally omit the “not” (what appears on the screen is correct).
  4. Watch for the clip from the movie “Get Smart” at the very end. The screen will go dark for a moment; don’t let that fool you!