Open & Free
This course includes self-guiding materials and activities, and is ideal for independent learners, or instructors trying out this course package.
OLI does not provide any verification of completion. If you would like to receive credits for completing this course, please make arrangements with your local institution.
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Logic & Proofs is an introduction to modern symbolic logic. It provides a rigorous presentation of the syntax and semantics of sentential and predicate logic. The distinctive emphasis is on strategic argumentation.
Published research for this course
The Open & Free Logic & Proofs course provides access to a course on sentential logic. This is part of a full course that includes predicate logic and has been taught at Carnegie Mellon University in iteratively improved versions every semester since Fall 2003. You have access to the expository text, comprehension tests, computer tutors, and the Carnegie Proof Lab.
At Carnegie Mellon, Logic & Proofs is taught in combination with instructor-led discussion sections. At other institutions, the course is offered as a self-paced course with TA support but no regular class meetings. The Open & Free Logic & Proofs course does NOT include access to the end-of-module graded exams or to the course instructor. No credit is awarded for completing the Open & Free Logic & Proofs course.
Academic versions of this course offer a full course on modern logic including predicate logic. It is offered for a fee by OLI, but academic credit is awarded by the student's home institution. Students taking an Academic Course have access to the same course materials as the students taking the Open & Free Course; however, they take additional exams at the end of each module. The Academic courses track student's learning of key concepts and give the student and the instructor formative feedback to improve learning outcomes.
Course Description
Logic & Proofs is an introduction to modern symbolic logic. It provides a rigorous presentation of the syntax and semantics of sentential and predicate logic. However, the distinctive emphasis is on strategic argumentation. Students learn effective strategies for constructing natural deduction proofs. This learning is supported by the Carnegie Proof Lab: it provides a sophisticated interface, in which students can give arguments by strategically guided forward and backward steps.
Logic & Proofs has been developed in the Laboratory for Symbolic and Educational Computability (LSEC) as part of the APROS project. That project is being directed by Wilfried Sieg. http://www.phil.cmu.edu/projects/apros/.