Learning Objectives

To gain a deeper understanding of the logical structure of English statements and arguments by translating them into a formal language.

To acquire a good working knowledge of the numerous stylistic variants of such key logical words as "not," "or," "and," "if-then," and "if and only if.

To become adept at rapidly and accurately translating English statements and arguments into a formal language.

To know the truth tables for the five logical operators: <a onClick="window.open('/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=gif::::/sites/dl/free/0072875879/133352/layman.GIF','popWin', 'width=NaN,height=NaN,resizable,scrollbars');" href="#"><img valign="absmiddle" height="16" width="16" border="0" src="/olcweb/styles/shared/linkicons/image.gif"> (1.0K)</a>

To be able to construct truth tables to determine whether arguments are valid.

To be able to construct abbreviated truth tables to determine whether arguments are valid.

To be able to use truth tables to determine whether statements are tautologies, contradictions, or contingent statements (and to determine whether statements are logically equivalent).