About Philosophy 101

Logic Lab

The Department of Philosophy offers free tutoring for students of PHL 101 -- Logic and Inquiry, in the Philosophy Conference and Resource Room (GAC 463), during the hours listed below. Logic Tutors are available to help students with their difficulties and to answer questions. The Tutors are typically philosophy majors who have completed both PHL 101 and PHL 201, and who have displayed an aptitude for teaching.

Logic Lab Hours for Fall 2008

...Coming Soon...

About PHL101 - Logic and Inquiry

PHL 101 -- Logic and Inquiry -- is the Department of Philosophy's introductory philosophy course. All students at Nazareth College must complete this course as part of the core curriculum. This page provides some information about the course and its role in the foundation of a Nazareth education. The philosophical method, as discussed in this course, is highly applicable to virtually all other fields of study and, indeed, to nearly any pursuit after college.

This course is neither a course in Symbolic Logic, nor is it a Critical Thinking course. Instead it is an introduction to philosophy by means of an exploration of Aristotle's views on language, logic, metaphysics and epistemology, Plato's Euthyphro and Apology, and Stoic logic.

As a Perspectives I (PI) course, PHL 101 serves as the foundation for upper-level courses in the Department of Philosophy. In this course, not only are students introduced to the distinctive domain (i.e., dialectical questions) and method of philosophical inquiry (i.e., dialectical inquiry as the gathering of endoxa, and the logical assessment of these opinions) which is the method used in PII-level courses and above, but the many terms and distinctions introduced in PHL 101 are used in upper-level courses. These terms and distinctions are those of the tradition. They have not been 'updated' to conform to 20th century philosophical terminology. Since our department's programmatic mission is to introduce students to philosophy through the history of philosophy, students need to be able to recognize and understand the terminology as they find it in ancient, medieval, early modern and modern writers.

The following SKILL OBJECTIVES of the core curriculum are addressed in this course:

1. Critical thinking skills (analysis, synthesis, evaluation...)
2. Interactive reading skills
3. Written communication skills

The KNOWLEDGE OBJECTIVES of the core curriculum that are relevant to this course are as follows:

1. To introduce students to a discipline's distinctive subject matter
2. To introduce students to a discipline's mode(s) of inquiry emphasizing qualitative exposure
3. To foster an appreciation for multiple perspectives within a discipline
4. To foster an appreciation of the past through a knowledge of historical context
5. To foster an awareness, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity

The course typically uses a variety of teaching methods (lecture, discussion, writing, etc.) and is designed to "provide students with opportunities for listening and reading carefully and perceptively, speaking and writing with clarity and precision using writing as a mode of learning; analyzing and synthesizing information and knowledge, and formulating rational arguments" (Core, Summary of Goals and Objectives).