Return to Website Homepage philosophy.lander.edu


Title: Introduction to Logic


Links to Lecture Notes …

Table of Contents:

The Structure of Arguments



“Nonplussed Student” [woodcut by S.J. Swinbourne], _Picture_Logic_(London: Longmans, Green, 1875), 2.

“Nonplussed Student,” 1875, woodcut by Alfred James Swinbourne [1]

Whenever people offer reasons or evidence for the truth of a statement, they are advancing an argument.

In this part of our logic course, we investigate some of the ways that logical inferences can be evaluated.

In sum, logic is a study of sorting valid or reliable arguments from invalid or unreliable ones in accordance with specific rules.

From a logical point of view, the expression of strong feeling is termed emotive discourse, not argumentative discourse. So the definition of “argument” in this course is considerably narrower than its lexical definition indicates.

Most of ordinary discourse is not argumentative.

1. Alfred James Swinbourne, Image: “Nonplussed Student,” Picture Logic; or, The Grave Made Gay,” London: Longmans, Green: 1875), 2.


  • Philosophy and Logic

    The subjects of philosophy and logic are broadly characterized.

  • The Nature of Logic

    Some of the uses of logic are illustrated, and deductive arguments are briefly distinguished from inductive arguments.

  • The Structure of Arguments

    The concept of an argument is discussed together with the related concepts of premise, conclusion, inference, entailment, proposition, and statement.

  • Diagramming Arguments

    The representation of the structure of arguments by means of diagrams is explained and illustrated with examples.

  • Explanations and Nonarguments

    Several kinds of nonargumentative discourse are characterized, illustrated, and distinguished from argumentative discourse.

  • Deduction and Induction

    Deductive and inductive arguments are characterized and distinguished in some detail.

  • Truth, Validity, and Soundness

    The foundation-concepts of deductive logic are explained — truth, validity, and soundness.



Relay corrections or suggestions to philhelp@gmail
Read the disclaimer concerning this page.
1997-2025 Licensed under GFDL and Creative Commons 3.0

GNU General Public 
    License Creative Commons 3.0 License

The “Copyleft” copyright assures the user the freedom to use,
copy, redistribute, make modifications with the same terms.
Works for sale must link to a free copy.

The “Creative Commons” copyright assures the user the freedom
to copy, distribute, display, and modify on the same terms.
Works for sale must link to a free copy.


Arguments | Language | Fallacies | Propositions | Syllogisms | Ordinary Language | Symbolic