Logic Certificate Program

“How critical is logic? I will tell you: In every corner of the known universe, you will find either the presence of logical arguments or, more significantly, the absence.”

— V. K. Samadar

Logic is a part of every discipline. There is reasoning in every field of inquiry. There are rules behind every work of art, behind every natural language. There is inference in every intelligence, human and inhuman. Every issue of law and public policy bends to the power of logic.

The study of logic itself is thus of the greatest importance. The Logic Certificate Program brings together aspects of logic from different regions of the curriculum: philosophy, mathematics, computer science and linguistics. The program is designed to acquaint students with the uses of logic and initiate them in the profound mysteries and discoveries of modern logic.

On This Page

    Faculty

    Michael Ching, Mathematics and Statistics

    Alexander George, Philosophy

     

    Lee Spector, Cognitive Science, Computer Science

    G. Lee Bowie, Philosophy (Emeritus)
    Samuel Mitchell, Philosophy

    Jay Garfield, Philosophy
    Theresa Helke, Philosophy
    Albert Mosley, Philosophy (Emeritus)
    Melissa Yates, Philosophy

    Phillip Bricker, Philosophy
    Gary Hardegree, Philosophy
    Neil Immerman, Computer Science
    Kevin Klement, Philosophy
    Angelika Kratzer, Linguistics
    Barbara Partee, Linguistics and Philosophy (Emerita)
    Alejandro Pérez Carballo, Philosophy

    Certificate Requirements

    The basic requirement for the logic certificate is six courses from the list of Five College logic courses.

    For more details, please review the Five College Logic Certificate Program Completion Form (below).

    No more than four courses can be counted toward the certificate from any single discipline (philosophy, linguistics, mathematics, computer science).

    At least two courses must be taken at an advanced level (500 or above at UMass, 300 or above at Smith, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke or Amherst).

    At least one course should expose students to the basic metatheory of first-order logic including incompleteness. Courses satisfying this requirement include:

    Smith: Philosophy 220
    Amherst: Math 385
    UMass Amherst: Philosophy 513, 514
    Mount Holyoke: Philosophy 327

    Students must receive grades of at least "B" in each course counting toward the certificate.

    Logic Certificate Completion Form

    Courses

    Spring 2022 Logic Courses

    01
    4.00

    Samuel Mitchell

    MWF 08:55AM-09:45AM

    Mount Holyoke College
    116556

    Cleveland 002L

    smitchel@mtholyoke.edu
    This course develops a symbolic system that can be used as the basis for inference in all fields. It will provide syntax and semantics for the language of this system and investigate its adequacy. It provides the basis for all further work in logic or in the philosophical foundations of mathematics. Much of the course has a mathematical flavor, but no knowledge of mathematics is necessary.
    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    01
    4.00

    Justin S. Dealy

    TU TH 4:10 PM - 5:25 PM

    Smith College
    PHI-101-01-202203

    Seelye 102

    jdealy@smith.edu
    The course provides an introduction to deductive and inductive logic. It introduces classical Aristotelian and modern truth-functional logic; explains the relationship between truth-functional logic, information science and probability; and it introduces basic features of statistical and causal reasoning in the sciences. This course is designed for students who are uncomfortable with symbolic systems. It is not a follow-up to PHI 102. Students who have taken PHI 102 cannot receive credit for taking PHI 101 subsequently. Students who have taken PHI 101 can subsequently receive credit for taking PHI 102. Enrollment limited to 24.
    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    01
    3.00

    Kevin Klement

    TU TH 1:00PM 2:15PM

    UMass Amherst
    33629

    Integ. Learning Center S240

    klement@philos.umass.edu
    An introduction to symbolic logic, including sentential and predicate logic. Its purpose is to familiarize you with certain formal methods for representing and evaluating arguments and reasoning. These methods can be used not only for philosophy, but for any subject matter. The focus is on translating English statements into symbolic notation, and evaluating arguments for validity using formal proof techniques. (Gen. Ed. R2)
    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    Fall 2022 Logic Courses

    01
    4.00

    Alexander George

    T 01:00 PM-02:20 PM

    Amherst College
    PHIL-213-01-2223F
    ageorge@amherst.edu

    "All philosophers are wise and Socrates is a philosopher; therefore, Socrates is wise." Our topic is this mysterious "therefore." We shall expose the hidden structure of everyday statements on which the correctness of our reasoning turns. To aid us, we shall develop a logical language that makes this underlying structure more perspicuous. We shall also examine fundamental concepts of logic and use them to explore the logical properties of statements and the logical relations between them. This is a first course in formal logic, the study of correct reasoning; no previous philosophical, mathematical, or logical training needed.

    One communal lecture and two small-group practice meetings each week.  There will be three practice sections, each limited to 15 students and section 1 being restricted to first-years.

    Fall semester. Professor A. George.

    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    01
    0.00

    Alexander George

    WF 10:00 AM-10:50 AM

    Amherst College
    PHIL-213F-01-2223F
    ageorge@amherst.edu

    02
    0.00

    Alexander George

    WF 11:00 AM-11:50 AM

    Amherst College
    PHIL-213F-02-2223F
    ageorge@amherst.edu

    03
    0.00

    Alexander George

    WF 12:00 PM-12:50 PM

    Amherst College
    PHIL-213F-03-2223F
    ageorge@amherst.edu

    01
    4.00

    Nina Emery

    MW 10:00AM-11:15AM

    Mount Holyoke College
    118434
    emery@mtholyoke.edu
    This course cultivates sound reasoning. Students will learn to see the structure of claims and arguments and to use those structures in developing strong arguments and exposing shoddy ones. We will learn to evaluate arguments on the strength of the reasoning rather than on the force of their associations and buzzwords.
    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    01
    4.00

    M W 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM

    Smith College
    PHI-220-01-202301

    Hatfield 202

    Among the most important and philosophically intriguing results in 20th-century logic are the limitative theorems such as Gödel’s incompleteness theorem and Tarski’s demonstration of the indefinability of truth in certain languages. A wide variety of approaches to resolving fundamental mathematical and semantical paradoxes have emerged in the wake of these results, as well as a variety of alternative logics including paraconsistent logics in which contradictions are tolerated. This course examines logical and semantic paradoxes and their philosophical significance, as well as the choice between accepting incompleteness and inconsistency in logic and knowledge. Prerequisite: one course in logic.
    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    01
    3.00

    Kevin Klement

    TU TH 10:00AM 11:15AM

    UMass Amherst
    51885

    South College Room E301

    klement@philos.umass.edu
    Elementary metamathematics. Completeness and Lowenhein-Skolem theorems. Elementary number theory. Godel's incompleteness theorems. Prerequisite for undergraduates: PHIL 310, or consent of the instructor.
    Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

    Regularly Offered Logic Courses

    Introductory symbolic logic courses:
    Smith: Logic 100, Philosophy 202
    Amherst: Philosophy 213
    UMass Amherst: Philosophy 110

    Critical thinking courses:
    Mount Holyoke: Philosophy 210

    Introductory symbolic logic for mathematics students:
    Amherst: Mathematics 385
    UMass Amherst: Philosophy 513, 514
    Mount Holyoke: Philosophy 225

    Incompleteness:
    Smith: Philosophy 220
    Amherst: Mathematics 385
    UMass Amherst: Philosophy 513, 514
    Mount Holyoke: Philosophy 327

    Various topics in logic and philosophy:
    Smith: Philosophy 203
    Amherst: Philosophy 350
    UMass Amherst: Philosophy 310, 511, 512, 594, 710
    Hampshire: Computer Science 210
    Mount Holyoke: Philosophy 328 

    Various topics in computer science: 
    Smith: Computer Science 250, 270, 290, 294
    Amherst: Computer Science 161, 241, 401
    UMass Amherst: Computer Science 250, 401, 513, 601
    Hampshire: Computer Science 175, 263
    Mount Holyoke: Computer Science 311

    Various topics in mathematics: 
    Smith: Mathematics 217
    Amherst: Mathematics 380

    Various topics in linguistics: 
    Smith: Computer Science 294
    UMass Amherst: Linguistics 510, 610, 620, 720
    Hampshire: Computer Science 166, 210

    Contact Us

    Five College Staff Liaison:

    Ray Rennard, Director of Academic Programs