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.

Faculty

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

Fall 2021 Courses

01
4.00

Alexander George

M 10:00AM-11:20AM

Amherst College
PHIL-213-01-2122F

CHAP 201

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 10:00AM-10:50AM

Amherst College
PHIL-213F-01-2122F

COOP 201

ageorge@amherst.edu

02
0.00

Alexander George

WF 11:00AM-11:50AM

Amherst College
PHIL-213F-02-2122F

COOP 201

ageorge@amherst.edu

03
0.00

Alexander George

WF 01:30PM-02:20PM

Amherst College
PHIL-213F-03-2122F

COOP 201

ageorge@amherst.edu

01
4.00

Nina Emery

MW 10:00AM-11:15AM

Mount Holyoke College
115218

Reese 324

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

Jay Lazar Garfield,Theresa Helke,Melissa Yates

M F 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM

Smith College
PHI-102-01-202201

Wright Weinstein

jgarfiel@smith.edu,thelke@smith.edu,myates@smith.edu
Formal logic and informal logic. The study of abstract logic together with the construction and deconstruction of everyday arguments. Logical symbolism and operations, deduction and induction, consistency and inconsistency, paradoxes and puzzles. Examples drawn from law, philosophy, politics, literary criticism, computer science, history, commercials, mathematics, economics and the popular press.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

D01
0.00

Theresa Helke

W 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM

Smith College
PHI-102-D01-202201

Wright 238

thelke@smith.edu
Formal logic and informal logic. The study of abstract logic together with the construction and deconstruction of everyday arguments. Logical symbolism and operations, deduction and induction, consistency and inconsistency, paradoxes and puzzles. Examples drawn from law, philosophy, politics, literary criticism, computer science, history, commercials, mathematics, economics and the popular press.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

D02
0.00

Jay Lazar Garfield

W 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM

Smith College
PHI-102-D02-202201

Hillyer L19

jgarfiel@smith.edu
Formal logic and informal logic. The study of abstract logic together with the construction and deconstruction of everyday arguments. Logical symbolism and operations, deduction and induction, consistency and inconsistency, paradoxes and puzzles. Examples drawn from law, philosophy, politics, literary criticism, computer science, history, commercials, mathematics, economics and the popular press.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

D03
0.00

Theresa Helke

W 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM

Smith College
PHI-102-D03-202201

Wright 238

thelke@smith.edu
Formal logic and informal logic. The study of abstract logic together with the construction and deconstruction of everyday arguments. Logical symbolism and operations, deduction and induction, consistency and inconsistency, paradoxes and puzzles. Examples drawn from law, philosophy, politics, literary criticism, computer science, history, commercials, mathematics, economics and the popular press.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

D04
0.00

Jay Lazar Garfield

W 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Smith College
PHI-102-D04-202201

Dewey 104

jgarfiel@smith.edu
Formal logic and informal logic. The study of abstract logic together with the construction and deconstruction of everyday arguments. Logical symbolism and operations, deduction and induction, consistency and inconsistency, paradoxes and puzzles. Examples drawn from law, philosophy, politics, literary criticism, computer science, history, commercials, mathematics, economics and the popular press.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

01
3.00

Neil Immerman

M W 9:05AM 10:20AM

UMass Amherst
22178

Computer Science Bldg rm 142

immerman@cs.umass.edu
22179,22186
Introduction to mathematical logic: propositional logic, first-order logic, completeness, emphasizing applications to computer science including SAT solvers, model checking, and resolution theorem proving.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

02
3.00

Neil Immerman

M W 9:05AM 10:20AM

UMass Amherst
22179

Computer Science Bldg rm 142

immerman@cs.umass.edu
22178,22186
Introduction to mathematical logic: propositional logic, first-order logic, completeness, emphasizing applications to computer science including SAT solvers, model checking, and resolution theorem proving.
Instructor Permission: Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.

01
3.00

Neil Immerman

M W 9:05AM 10:20AM

UMass Amherst
22186

Computer Science Bldg rm 142

immerman@cs.umass.edu
22178,22179
Rigorous introduction to mathematical logic from an algorithmic perspective. Topics include: Propositional logic: Horn clause satisfiability and SAT solvers; First Order Logic: soundness and completeness of resolution, compactness theorem. We will use various state-of-the-art tools for applying logic to automatically verifying correctness properties of programs or finding errors, including model checkers, SAT and SMT solvers and theorem provers.
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