Module manager: Dr Jack Woods
Email: j.woods@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
One of: PHIL2122 Formal Logic; PHIL2542 Introduction to Metaphysics MATH2041 Logic
| MATH3021 | Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics |
| MATH5021M | Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics |
This module is not approved as an Elective
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Understand and discuss critically in detail the philosophical issues concerning the nature and application of logic or mathematics;
- Read, interpret and criticise historical and contemporary research work on the subject.
Students will study a selection from the following/relevantly similar topics:
- Philosophy of Mathematics Logicism (Frege, Russell, etc) Intuitionism (Kant and Kantians, Brouwer)
- Formalism (Hilbert) The metaphysics of mathematical objects: realism and nominalism The epistemology of mathematics The (unreasonable?) effectiveness of mathematics in the sciences.
- Philosophy of Logic What is logic?
- Logical constants; the scope of logic; higher order logic.
- Logical concepts: philosophical analysis of one or more of: the conditional, quantifiers, negation, definite descriptions etc.
- Alternative logics: free logic; many-valued and fuzzy logics; intuitionistic logic; relevance logics.
- Modern theories of truth from Russell to the present: correspondence, redundancy, Tarski, minimalism, truthmaker theory.
- Theories of vagueness: fuzzy logic, supervaluation, epistemic theories. Intensional logics, their uses and justifications.
- Paradoxes: types and avoidance strategies.
- Expanding logic: Generalised Quantifiers; Indexicals; Tense; Logic Diagrams.
- Approached to logic: formalist; semantic; logic in use.
- Logic and ontology.
- Logic, cognition and natural language; non-monotonic logics.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Tutorial | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 179 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 21 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Lecture preparation: 59 hours
Tutorial preparation: 60 hours
Assessment preparation: 60 hours
Students will have the opportunity to submit a draft of their essay for feedback mid-module (maximum 2000 words).
Students will be invited to prepare and present material during seminars.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | 3000 words (end of module) | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 9/18/2024
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team