Philosophy 221

Critical Thinking

Course Syllabus and Requirements for Spring 2005
(Print this out and save it for future reference. )

Notification: Very important! After you register for the course, send an email message to Dr. Redmon (rbredmon@comcast.net) letting him know that you have registered and what your email address will be for the course.

Text: Each student is required to have a copy of the course text, A Concise Introduction to Logic (8th edition), by Patrick Hurley. The book can be purchased from the Carriage House Bookstore. There is a CD that comes with the text which contains the program Logic Coach 4 along with a very useful Shockwave program. We will be using a special version of Logic Coach, however, and not the one that comes with the text.  After you have registered and received passwords, you can obtain Logic Coach by downloading it from this link (click here).  You will download a zip file. After you open it by clicking on it. You will see an installation program.  Clicking on it will install Logic Coach on your computer.

Internet and mail connection: The second thing you will need is some connection to the Internet along with either the Netscape or Microsoft Explorer browser. In order to properly send homework files, some mailing program must be used.

Note: If you have a Macintosh computer, and a Windows emulation program, such as Virtual PC, I would recommend using that. Another possibility is to download a Mac version which has some different exercises. If you are using a Mac, please inform Dr. Redmon.

Information on how to begin working in Logic Coach can be found by clicking on the Logic Coach icon at the bottom of this page.

Logic Coach ID: When you first open Logic Coach click on "New User" under "Sign In". Type in your ID on the line provided next to "File Name" and hit "Save". (Ignore the second line.) Your ID for Logic coach is 1, followed by the first six letters of your last name, followed by the last digit of your social security number. (For example, mine would be "1redmon2".) After the first time you sign in, you hit "Returning". This is important, since you do not want to erase your old homework file. The file is cumulative and contains your only record of all your work. (You might want to copy it for safe keeping from time to time.) After hitting "Returning" you can click on your homework file to begin again. I recommend that you store your homework file on your desk top for easy reference.

Course Schedule: Each "class" is listed on the Course Schedule Page accessed from the Course Home Page. (You will be ask for username and password at this point.) At the top of each class page will be an assignment to be read from the text, as well as work to be completed from Logic Coach. There are detailed instructions in the program itself for each exercise set, but additional suggestions are found by clicking the computer icon at the bottom of each class. (Suggestion: since the program is run from your computer, there is no need to be on-line when you do your assignment.) For information on how to begin work in Logic Coach, click on the computer icon at the bottom of this page.

Sending Homework: When you complete your work in Logic Coach, before you start the next class, send the results to Dr. Redmon. This is accomplished by clicking on the "send homework" icon found at the bottom of each class. (If you will be using a mailing program not associated with your browser, then use that instead.) This will bring up the mail program of Explorer (or whatever mailing program is connected to your browser) with the correct mailing address already present. Always use this address (RChwork@comcast.net) to submit homework. Next click on the attachment menu and find the homework file (the file with your identification) in the Logic Coach folder, and click on it to attach the homework and hit the "send now" button. Different mailing programs and Internet providers react differently to these files, so you need to try to send a class file early to see how everything works. If you wish to send additional comments, feel free to do so. Remember, you will send the same file each time, the one with your Logic Coach ID.

Course grade, final exam, and time requirements: Your course grade will be based on two factors: your work in Logic Coach (50%) and the final exam (50%). Grades are assigned as follows: A's are 90's, B's are 80's, etc.

Your Logic Coach grade is based on the quantity of your work. Thus if you complete every assignment, no matter how many times it takes you to get a correct answer, you will get 100% for that part of your grade.

In order to ensure that homework is completed in a timely fashion and you can be successful in the course, you must submit homework for Classes 1-4 by February 19, and Classes 5-7 by March 23 and Classes 8-12 by May 2.  You will get no credit for homework submitted after these dates. Those who have submitted no homework, or who have not contacted me will be withdrawn.  The last day to withdraw from any course is March 25.

The final exam will be with paper and pencil and will be held on May 4th.  You will be notified of the time and location.

Philosophy 221: Critical Thinking

Course Program

For instructions on how to begin Logic Coach, click on the computer: