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This course is a thorough introduction to formal logic and is designed to both acquaint you with the elements of formal logic and equip you to teach formal logic to upper-school students. In our view, every classical educator should be familiar with the main elements of formal logic and how they apply to all learning. This course will provide that skill and also familiarize educators with this fundamental liberal art. In addition, you will learn from a veteran logic teacher and author of two logic books: Joelle Hodge.

This course carefully follows the book The Discovery of Deduction: An Introduction to Formal Logic. We highly recommend purchasing the text for reference throughout the course.

Instructional Hours: 20.33, CEU Credits: 3.39

This course follows the organizational theme of the book The Discovery of Deduction.  We recommend The Art of Argument for those not yet familiar with the informal fallacies. You may also take a course on the logical fallacies (informal logic) right here on ClassicalU.

Here is the outline of the course:

  • Course Introduction: Essentials of Formal Logic
  • Lesson 1: Chapter 1.1 Formal vs. Informal Logic
  • Lesson 2: Chapter 1.2 Deductive vs. Inductive Reasoning
  • Lesson 3: Chapter 1.3 Categorical vs. Propositional Logic
  • Lesson 4: Chapter 2.1 Part I: Aristotle Gets the Ball Rolling: Classical Origins and Medieval Recovery
  • Lesson 5: Chapter 2.2 Part II: Aristotle Is Lost and Then Found: The Growth and Divergence of Modern Logic
  • Lesson 6: Chapter 3.1 Thinking About Thinking: The Nature of Formal Logic
  • Lesson 7: Chapter 3.2 The Three Acts of the Mind
  • Lesson 8: Chapter 4.1 Introduction to Argument Translation
  • Lesson 9: Chapter 4.2 Categorical Form Introduced
  • Lesson 10: Chapter 4.3 Propositions
  • Lesson 11: Chapter 4.4 Translating Arguments Step 1: Finding the Propositions
  • Lesson 12: Chapter 4.5 Translating Arguments Step 2: Finding the Subject Term and the Predicate Term
  • Lesson 13: Chapter 4.6 Translating Arguments Step 3: Affirmo and Nego
  • Lesson 14: Chapter 4.7 Translating Arguments Step 4: Supply the Proper Quantifier
  • Lesson 15: Chapter 4.8 Translating Arguments Step 5: Propositions Translated into Categorical Form
  • Lesson 16: Chapter 5.1 Introduction to the Square of Opposition
  • Lesson 17: Chapter 5.2 The Square of Opposition
  • Lesson 18: Chapter 5.3 Contradiction
  • Lesson 19: Chapter 5.4 Contrariety and Subcontrariety
  • Lesson 20: Chapter 5.5-5.6 Subimplication and Superimplication, The Square of Opposition and Inference Analysis
  • Lesson 21: Chapter 6.1-6.3 Introduction to the Relationships of Equivalence, Logical Equations, The Obverse Relationship
  • Lesson 22: Chapter 6.4 The Converse Relationship
  • Lesson 23: Chapter 6.5 The Relationship of Contraposition
  • Lesson 24: Chapter 7.1 Introduction to Syllogisms and Validity
  • Lesson 25: Chapter 7.2-7.3 Arranging the Syllogism, Categorical Syllogisms
  • Lesson 26: Chapter 7.4 Enthymemes
  • Lesson 27: Chapter 7.5 Moods and Figures
  • Lesson 28: Chapter 8.1 Validity and the Counterexample Method
  • Lesson 29: Chapter 8.2 Evaluating Validity: Terminological Rules 1 and 2
  • Lesson 30: Chapter 8.3 Evaluating Validity: Terminological Rules 3 and 4
  • Lesson 31: Chapter 8.4 Evaluating Validity: Qualitative Rules
  • Lesson 32: Chapter 8.5 An Introduction to the Venn Diagramming Method of Establishing Validity
  • Lesson 33: Chapter 8.6 Combining the Skills
  • Lesson 34: Chapter 9 Preamble
  • Lesson 35: Chapter 9.1 Introduction to Definitions and Disagreement
  • Lesson 36: Chapter 9.2 Types of Disagreement
  • Lesson 37: Chapter 9.3 Rules for Defining Words
  • Lesson 38: Chapter 9.4 Types of Definitions
  • Lesson 39: Chapter 9.5 Extension vs. Intention
  • Lesson 40: Chapter 9.6 Presuppositional Disputes
  • Lesson 41: Chapter 9.7 Pursuing Truth
Joelle Hodge holds a BA in history/political science from Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, and is currently enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Eastern University’s Templeton Honors College. She began her career as a staffer to United States Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa) before finding her professional home in the world of classical education in 1999. She has 20 years of teaching experience—several of which were spent at a classical school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There she also developed much of their logic and rhetoric curricula. She has coauthored two logic books, The Art of Argument: An Introduction to the Informal Fallacies and The Discovery of Deduction: An Introduction to Formal Logic, both published by Classical Academic Press (CAP), and continues to support various editorial projects at CAP, but her primary focus is on the growth and development of Scholé Academy, where she serves as the principal. Since the inception of Scholé Academy in 2014, Joelle has taught courses across a variety of disciplines, including math, logic, and rhetoric, as well as a course in student-skills development (How to Be a Student). She served as senior teacher for Scholé Academy before stepping into the role of academy principal in 2018. Additionally, Classical Academic Press hosts Joelle’s consultant offerings, where she engages with educators across the country, tailoring workshops for classical schools and co-ops that seek to train their teachers in the fundamentals of dialectic- and rhetoric-stage pedagogy.

To obtain a certification credit for this course, simply complete each presentation lesson or discussion in the course (by marking it complete or by taking the quiz) and then also take the certification test at the end of the course. The quizzes are designed to ensure that you have understood the essential content of each presentation, and they can be taken more than once if necessary. The cumulative certification test at the end of the course is given as a pass/fail test and requires that you upload one or more essays demonstrating your understanding of the course. (Please note that essays are simply evaluated by word count.) When you have completed the course, a certificate that you can print or email will become available within “My Courses” (accessible under “Courses” in the main menu when you are signed in as an active subscriber).

We recommend previewing the essay question within the end of course test before starting the course. This will help in guiding your note taking as you progress through the course. Please allow approximately 2 weeks for essay submissions to be reviewed.

By taking the course for certification credit, you also will be on your way to obtaining a Level 2 certification.

Note: This information is not needed by any current subscribers. (This tab provides an alternative way into just some of our courses that is used by independent consultants.)

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