Logic and Philosophy
Nanjing University
Winter 2011/12
The aim of this course is to get you to understand some of the basic ideas of non-classical logic, their relevance to various issue in philosophy, and to engage with some of these issues in the light of the logical techniques. We will be using (parts of) my book Introduction to Non-Classical Logic: from If to Is (
There will be 10 3-hour sessions, 2pm-5pm every day, place to be announced. The sessions will be part lecture, part discussion, and part problems class. I will set exercises every session, and you are expected to have attempted these before the next session. The exact topics covered are flexible to a certain extent, and can be determined in part of participant-interests. However, the provisional programme is as follows. The section references are to Introduction to Non-Classical Logic.
Introduction
Session 1, December 29. Review of classical logic, the material conditional and the existential quantifier. (1.1-1.10, 12.1-12.7)
Conditionals
Session 2, December 30. Modal logic and the strict conditional. (2.1-2.8, 3.1-3.6, 4.5-4.9)
Session 3, January 3. Conditional logic. (5.1-5.5, and maybe 5.6-5.8)
Session 4, January 4. Intuitionist logic and its conditional. (6.1-6.6)
Session 5, January 5. Many-valued logics and their conditionals. (7.1-7.10)
Session 6, January 7. Relevant logic. (8.1-8.6, 10.1-10.4)
Session 7, January 9. Fuzzy logic, and modus ponens. (11.1-11.6)
Existence
Session 8, January 9. Free logic. (13.1-13.5)
Session 9, January 11. Quantified modal logic. (14.1-14.5, 15.1-15.4)
Session 10 January 12. Existence in intuitionistic logic and many-valued logics. (20.1-20.6, 21.1-21.7)
Graham Priest