Logic is the formal study of correct patterns of reasoning. When we engage in logical argumentation, we care about the logical form of the inferences made from the set of sentences taken to be premises. In order to characterize these inferences, we will need to develop a particular vocabulary that captures its features.
In this course, we will mainly be learning Aristotelian Logic. This means that we will be using Aristotle’s interpretive system to understand the meanings of terms, propositions, and syllogisms. In order to understand which conclusions follow from certain premises and which do not, we will need to conduct an in-depth study of these three things – the three building blocks of logic.