HU Logic

Argument from Reason for Souls/Minds Here is a super quick and dirty attempt to state the argument from reason for the existence of immaterial souls or minds.   I am leaving out all sorts of details that would be needed to make the argument super tight and immune (or more immune) to objections.   Let’s pretend that the only stuff that exists is material or physical stuff.   So there are molecules and atoms, planets and stars, dogs and cats, etc.   But there are no minds or souls or spirits (I am using those terms synonymously); no angels or demons; no God. What would reasoning or inferring be in such a world? In such a world, mind and brains are the exact same thing. So any mental event is identical to a brain event. My wanting a Dr. Pepper is identical to some brain event. My believing that McDonalds has the best Dr. Pepper is identical to a different brain event, and so on. Now consider the process of inferring one statement ...

Nice job in class today! I especially love the pushback and always regret having to move on. This blog is a good way for us to continue thinking and dialoguing about interesting or controversial issues in our course. A few of you were not convinced that 1.2.I #11 is an argument. This is my attempt to convince you. Please feel free to push back: Here is #11: Mortality rates for women undergoing early abortions, where the procedure is legal, appear to be as low as or lower than the rates for normal childbirth. Consequently, any interest of the state in protecting the woman from an inherently hazardous procedure, except when it would be equally dangerous for her to forgo it, has largely disappeared.  I am going to rewrite #11 a few different times to help us see what is going on: This first rewrite simply eliminates non-essential clauses: Rewrite 1: Mortality rates for women undergoing early abortions … appear to be as low as or lower than the rates for normal...

I nstructor Information :          Professor: Dr. David E. Alexander Office Location: LBH Office Phone: 359-4305  Email: dalexander@huntington.edu Office Hours: Generally, MWF 4-5pm and TR 3:30-5pm; otherwise email for specific day and time.    Course Description:               All thinkers think.    That statement is a tautology.    All thinkers think well.    That statement is not.    My primary goal as a professor is to enable my students to think well.    This Introduction to Logic course is designed to do just that.    In addition to providing students with the standard tools of logic, this course will also teach students how to provide arguments for some of their own beliefs, and teach them how to discern and assess the beliefs of others.    Students should thereby see the app...