Non-classical and conditional logics

WiSe 2013/14, Konstanz

Time & place: Mondays from 10-11:30 in room E - E405
Office hours: By appointment
URL: http://michaelde.com/teaching/non-classical_logics/non-classical_logics.html

Description

This course provides an introduction to non-classical (propositional) logics and their applications, with a focus on conditionals. Some of the logics covered include logics of counterfactual conditionals, as well as relevant, many-valued, and paraconsistent logics. We will look at both the formal (semantic and proof-theoretic) aspects of non-classical logics, as well as their philosophical applications and motivations. In particular, we will evaluate how well non-classical approaches to the semantic paradoxes fair against each other.

Prerequisites: Some familiarity with introductory logic is assumed
Evaluation: Exercise sets on formal logic (50%); Essay (50%)
Texts: Everything will be made available online

Readings

Week 1

• Dorothy Edginton, "Conditionals", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2013), Edward Zalta (ed.), URL = http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conditionals/, sections 1-2
• Frank Jackson, "On assertion and indicative conditionals", The Philosophical Review, 88 (4), 1979

Week 2

• Brian Chellas, "Modal logic: an introduction", CUP, 1980, pp. 67-82

Week 3

• DeVidi & Solomon, "Knowability and intuitionistic logic", Philosophia, June 2001, Volume 28, pp. 319-334

Week 4

• Timothy Williamson, "Never say never", Topoi, Vol. 13, 1994, pp. 135--145

Week 5

• Michael De, "Empirical negation", Acta Analytica, Vol. No. 1, 2013, pp. 49-69

Week 6

• John Burgess, "Common sense and relevance", Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic, Vol. 24, No. 1, 1983, pp. 41-53

Week 7

• David Lewis, "Logic for equivocators", Nous, Vol. 16, No. 3, 1982, pp. 431-441

Week 8

• Heinrich Wansing, "Diamonds are a philosopher's best friends: The knowability paradox and modal epistemic relevance logic", Journal of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 31, 2002, pp. 591-612

Week 9

• Robert Stalnaker, "A theory of conditionals", in Studies in logical theory (ed. Nicholas Rescher), Blackwell, pp. 98-112
• Brian Chellas, "Basic conditional logic", Journal of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 4, 1975, pp. 133-153

Week 10

• Peter Mott, "On Chisholm's paradox", The Journal of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 2, 1973, pp. 197-211

Week 11

• David Lewis, "Counterfacuals", Blackwell Publishing, 1973, Ch. 1 excluding section 1.9.

Week 12

• Graham Priest,"The logic of paradox", Journal of Philosophical Logic, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1979, pp. 219-241.

Week 13

• B. J. Copeland, "Vagueness and bivalence: a discussion of Williamson and Simon", Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Vol. 95, 1995, pp. 193-200
• Peter Simons, "Multivalence and Vagueness: A Reply to Copeland", Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Vol. 95, 1995, pp. 201-209

Exercises

Slides

Week 1; Week 2; Week 3; Week 4; Week 5; Week 6; Week 7; Week 8; Week 9; Week 10; Week 11; Week 12; Week 13

Course notes

Click here. These are being updated each week as the course progresses. Please let me know of any mistakes/errata you find, or if you have any other suggestions.

Essay

See the essay guidelines.