Course syllabus

In this course, you will learn how to approach philosophical problems from a logician’s perspective. Instead of merely listening to logical theory, you will be engaged in the whole process, from choosing representation and languages, searching for relevant literature, discussing approaches and presenting them to a group. The focus is on applications of modal logic, but no prior experience of modal logic is required. Nor is this a course in how to prove theorems about modal logic. Instead, you will be gradually introduced ideas, results and techniques that you can use in applications and asked to refer to textbooks and articles for further information. We will consider the application of logic to three philosophical topics, with an intermezzo on modal logic theory to consolidate what we learn through the applications. 

PHIL 315 is a Stage III Course for Philosophy (BA major), and for Logic and Computation (BA major and minor, BSc major). It is a 15 pt course with a workload of up to 10 hours / week. The prerequisite is PHIL 216 or 222.

Staff

Lecturer: Jeremy Seligman (Office: 206-445 Tuesdays 2.30-3.30 p.m.)
Class Rep:  Aidan van Heerden (avan301@aucklanduni.ac.nz)

Schedule

Topic 1: Time

Is time real? What is change? Can tomorrow occur before today? Are there points of time or only durations? Does time travel make any sense? 

Topic 2: Belief

When is is rational to believe? How should our beliefs change with new information? Is there more to knowing than having true beliefs? 

Intermezzo: Boxes

A more abstract treatment of ☐ and ◊ to show the similarities between techniques used so far.

Topic 3: Society

What is it for a group to know something? How can our knowledge of other’s knowledge be useful? How do beliefs spread in social groups?

Classes

Each week there will be an introductory lecture on Tuesday (4-5 p.m., Old Choral Hall, Room 124) and a longer practical session on Wednesday (4-6 p.m., Commerce A, Room G13), in which you will be working individually and in groups, applying the techniques we are learning to various problems. Attending all the classes is recommended. Bring paper and writing material, especially for the Wednesday class. 

Course Material

There is no textbook for the course, but links to written material relevant to each topic covered will be distributed.  Model Logic for Open Minds by Johan van Benthem (CSLI Press 2010) serves as a background reference for many of the topics covered, but is not essential.  

Slides from the Tuesday lecture will be posted but there is no lecture recording facility in our assigned room. (There is recording in the Wednesday room but that won't be much help.) You are welcome to make your own recordings.  You are also strongly encouraged to take your own notes, a summary of which you will be permitted to take into the exam.   

Assessment

Written Assignments: 30%

Group Project: 20%

Final Exam: 50%