Propositional calculus

 Logic is from the Greek word “logos”

interpreted “word”.
 It is the study of words that make up a
statement, sentence, a discourse, etc.
E.G.
 “I am going to the market”.
 Logic is the “vehicle” with which
man moves from one idea to another
and expresses himself adequately.
 E. g. I enjoy taking care of children,
therefore I am going to be a
pediatrician.
 Logic is concerned with the aim of
clarifying arguments, distinguishing
good reasoning from bad reasoning.
 Logic is the science of valid reasoning.

 E.g. farm tools do not include

stethoscope, slide rule, mirror, but
tractor, rake, hoe, cutlass etc.
 Inferences: are conclusions arrived at
from arguments termed premises.
 E.g

All men are mortals,(premise1)

Adamu is a man,(premise2)
Therefore Adamu is a
mortal.(inference/conclusion.)
e.g.
Basketball is a game for tall
persons,(premise1)
Musa is a tall man,(premise2)
Therefore Musa plays
basketball.(inference/ conclusion.)
 A sentence is tagged proposition in
logic.
 Logic guides the human mind in arriving
at truth.
 It helps man to engage in a consistent
reasoning pattern.
 It helps man to express himself with
clarity, precision and certainty.
 Helps to detect faulty reasoning
patterns.
 Helps to correct inadequacies in
the presentations of others.
A fallacy is an inference
made based on an illogical
conclusion.
 A fallacy is making a
conclusion with an intent to
deceive.
 According to Aristotle there are two
types of fallacies:
 Formal fallacy is a formal reasoning
pattern with errors.
 Informal fallacy is that which is
concerned with the content or facts
employed in the argument.
 These are made up of two types:
 Fallacies of ambiguity are arguments
that employ words that change meaning
as the argument progresses.
 Material fallacies sometimes called
fallacies of irrelevance are arguments
that deliberately avoid the issue at hand
 Ignoring the Question (Argumentum ad
Hominem): is when the point of
discussion is intentionally avoided and
the person’s character or circumstance is
attacked.
 E.g. Theresa May is not the right
candidate for the post of P.M. in U.K
 Because she does not have a child.
This involves arguments that are made to involve the
emotions of people. It is also called the “bandwagon
fallacy”. It is often employed by politicians, advertisers
and propagandists to win the emotions of their audience
instead of arguing to prove their points.
Wise men bank with UBA
Every right thinking person knows that my argument
is correct.
Everybody will agree with me.
LG, life’s good.
Join the winning side.
This fallacy is committed when one cites an
authority in an attempt to sway his audience to
either refute or accept an idea or argument.
The person’s only reason for reaching his
conclusion is because “so and so” said it and not
because he has thought about it thoroughly and
reached the same conclusion as the person in
question.
The stock exchange market is going to boom
next year because Prof. Wole Soyinka said so.
This fallacy attempts to sway a person by
appealing to his emotions. It is common in Law
Courts and when a person is to face sanctions.
Examples are-
He stole the money because he lost his father
last year.
The mother will die if she hears that he has
been rusticated from the university.
He was deformed from birth.
He has never seen the four walls of a school.
 This fallacy comes to bear when the same statement
is used both as premise as well as conclusion.
Sometimes the conclusion is accorded a truth in
order for one of the premises to be accepted as truth.
e.g.
 Atheists are all ignorant,
 How are you sure?
 Because the Bible says so.
 Faulty generalization: is the fallacy
committed when what is observed in an
individual is equated to all others in a
group. E.g.
 All Ibadan indigenes are uneducated.
 This fallacy occurs when only two
alternatives to an issue is presented
and made to appear as if that is all
that are available. E. g.
 Its either you write this exam now or
never.
 Occur when statistics that are
guessed or made up are presented as
if they are authentic, or
approximations are presented as if
they are precise,etc.
 These are arguments that are
formulated with words or phrases or
sentences that are vague.
 These are intentionally used to
confuse and deceive the hearer.
 is in place when a word with more than one
meaning is used giving rise to confusion.
- “ better is the end of a thing,
- death is the end of life,
- therefore death is better than life.

- Every writer needs a pen,

- animals are kept in pens,
- therefore every writer needs a place for animals.
 This fallacy arises from careless use of
grammar. It is when a whole statement ,
contrasted with words has more than one
meaning. It is the use of words
awkwardly or loosely.
- I met the king riding his horse,
- he was looking tired,
- I offered him a bottle of coke.
 Is common in speech.
 Occurs when a word is stressed instead of
another, thereby making a prohibited item to
be permissible.
 E.g.

-we can get rid of the Gibeonites,

-we signed an agreement with them,
-They deceived us into it,
-we can kill them then.
 Is when properties that are applicable to
individuals are applied to a group.
 E.g.
- Babangida is a “maradona”,
- All leaders from Niger state are
“maradonas”.
- Ojukwu was a leader, Azikiwe was a
leader, All Igbo men are leaders.
 Is the opposite of composition.
 When the attributes of a group are conferred
on the individuals.
 e. g.

-- All Igbos are businessmen and women.

- All Yorubas serve their soup and swallow
together in one bowl.
- All Niger Delta indigenes are militants.
 Is the attempt to make descriptive
qualities into real objects.
 E.g.

- The sunrise is “beautiful”.

- The sunset is “fiery”

 How to detect a fallacy,
 How to avoid committing fallacy.
 Types of sentences in logic.
 Types of laws guiding logic.