Learn critical thinking and logical reasoning to create valid arguments, avoid logical fallacies, and solve real-world problems using tools like if-then implications and Aristotle’s logic.

Critical and logical thinking are essential in today’s democratic society and professional organizations. This course lays a foundation for these skills by embedding logic into everyday language and situations.

You will learn to create logically valid arguments, recognize and avoid logical fallacies, and focus on the form of an argument rather than its content. You’ll explore how to prove the validity or invalidity of arguments and understand the historical development of logic from Aristotle’s syllogism to modern predicate logic.

By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to tackle real-world problems more effectively using logical operators, if-then implications, and other tools in logical reasoning. You’ll gain skills in using logic and language judiciously in both your professional and civic life.

Logical Thinking

# Proposition
$$``\text{Today is Wednesday}"$$

When writing this very lesson, the simple sentence above was true. But is it also true when you're reading this? Is it Wednesday today? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing we can safely say is that no matter which day of the week it is, this sentence is strictly going to be either true or false.

## Predicate and proposition
The simplistic structure of the sentence above points our attention toward something. Its subject ("today") associates a claim about it or assigns a property to it. This property is termed as the predicate ("Wednesday"). All such sentences that a) have a subject and predicate, and b) resolve to either true or false are called **propositions**. Propositions are the fundamental building blocks of logic.

## Exercise
Create a simple sentence that's *not* a proposition.


Learn about the building blocks of logic.

Introduction to Logical Thinking

Fallacies in Logic

Logical Argument

What Is Logic?

First Theory of Logic: Aristotle’s Logic

Second Theory of Logic: Propositional Logic

Third Theory of Logic: Predicate Logic

Logical Reasoning in Action

Wrap Up

Building Blocks of Logic

Proposition

Predicate and proposition

Exercise