This course is an introduction to the science that studies arguments. We begin by learning just what arguments are and how to distinguish them from non-arguments and move on to learning to distinguish certain types of arguments from each other. After paying special attention to ordinary language fallacies, we hone our understanding of validity and its reliance on form by focusing on categorical propositions, categorical syllogisms, and the rules that accompany their successful use. With any remaining time, we will discuss the rudiments of propositional logic (symbolism, truth-functions, and truth-tables.

The primary text for this course is: Jerome Bickenbach & Jacqueline Davis, Good Reasons for Better Arguments. ISBN: 1-55111-059-8.

A supplementary, but required, text will also be used. Jamie Whyte, Crimes Against Logic (New York: McGraw-Hill, Pub., 2004). ISBN: 978-0-071-44643-3.