Philosophical logic

Goals

Discussions about ways the world might have been, what could or could not have been the case, what is contingent, possible, impossible or necessary, have evident philosophical interest in and of themselves, and play also a crucial role in many areas of philosophy. Modal logic provides the foundation for a systematic way of approaching those questions. This course provides an introduction to some of the central themes concerning the logic of necessity and possibility, the possible limitations of classical logics, and certain issues concerning conditionals, vagueness, logical consequence itself, and the normative status of logic.

Methodology

Students will read basic texts on the different topics covered. Class will be organized as lectures with time for discussion and practice with some exercises. Other exercises will be given to students as homework assignments.

Assessment

Students will be given homework assignments. Some of them will be just for practice and others will count towards the final grade. A final essay and participation in class will also contribute to the final grade, according to the following distribution:

Homework assignments - 3 assignments worth 15% each

Essay – 45%

Participation: 10%
 

Bibliography

Part of the course will be based on notes and handouts made available by the instructors.

Other readings will be assigned in class.