Basic Logic 1: Beginning Steps to Argument Evaluation

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RockSinCity
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This lecture series covers the most basic aspects of philosophy. It is designed merely as an introduction to the central topics: logic, knowledge, ethical theories, mind-body relation, moral freedom, and God. In addition to learning what distinguishes philosophy from other disciplines and what makes philosophy worthwhile, here you will develop the skills needed to think analytically and charitably about the central questions of these topics. What is an argument? What makes for a successful argument? What are some effective tools for assessing whether the reasons provided for a claim adequately support that claim? What is knowledge? Is knowledge possible? Does knowledge come from reason or experience? What is free will? Do humans have free will? Is free will compatible with determinism? Are mind and body identical? Are they different entities entirely? Is the mind-body relation like that between software and hardware? What is the nature of God? Does God exist? Is God’s existence compatible with the extreme suffering of innocent creatures? The goal of this course, in effect, is for you (1) to understand the merits and resourcefulness of the various positions on these and related questions, (2) to develop arguments for positions while accommodating the insights of competing positions, (3) to consider objections to your arguments, and (4) to formulate replies to those objections.

In this lecture I start with a discussion of why we should trust reason. Afterwards I lay out the basic concepts of logic and the steps beginners should consider taking prior to evaluating an argument. At the end we limit our focus to deductive logic, which is the focus of the majority of the logic videos.
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