Traditional Logic Online Classes (Catholic)

Logic: Formal Logic I

(click on course title for registration page)

Class dates: Fridays, January 6 to March 30, 2012. No class February 24 (midterm).
Total classes: 12
Starting time: 10:00 am Eastern (9:00 am Central)
Duration: 1 hour
Fee: $190 if you register on or before November 1, 2011. $225 after Nov. 1 for all 12 classes.
Instructor: Robert Gotcher, Ph.D.
Prerequisite: None
Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th
Suggested high school credit: 1 full semester Logic
Course description: The emphasis on feelings and de-emphasis on proper, logical thinking has left many Americans prey to advertisers and demagogues. A training in logic can help a reader or listener see the truth and falsehood of statements made on the editorial page or on talk radio shows, so he can make proper judgments about important matters. This six-week course establishes the rudiments of formal logic—the construction and detection of valid syllogism and formal and informal fallacies. The emphasis will be on examples taken from popular media.
Course outline:
Class 1 to 2: Terms
Class 4 to 7: Propositions
Class 8 to 11: Syllogisms
Class 12: Practical applications and review
Course materials: Traditional Logic: Introduction to Formal Logic by Martin Cothran (Memoria Press).
Homework: Logic exercises each week. Final assignment to analyze a paragraph taken from a source for logic. Dr. Gotcher will grade assignments and give a final letter grade for the course.


Instructor's biography:  Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the homeschooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.
Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002.

Equipment requirements: Classes are online, live and interactive. Students are required to have high-speed internet and a headset with microphone.

Misc:
Dr. Gotcher will be available via email in between classes for questions and comments.
Recordings of classes are provided to students within 24 hours and available for 6 months.
Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping services. 

Logic: Formal Logic I

(click on course title for registration page)