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80-150 The Nature of Reason

Summer Two 2001, Dirk Schlimm
 
Homework No. 10
 
Monday, July 16 
  1. Reading.
    TTT, Chapter 4, pages 95-113.

  2. Thinking.
    Think about the study and review questions of the chapter you've read.

  3. Prepare Tuesday class meeting (without instructor).

    Topic: Discussion of Chapter 4 of TTT.

    Goals: Clarify the questions formulated in Problem 4 of this assignment, discuss and answer all the study/review questions posed in the chapter.

    Note: Everybody is responsible for the success of the class. The better you are prepared, the better it is!

    Before you start discussing the text, please read the following rules of the game and try to follow them. If you notice a fellow student is not acting accordingly, feel free to remind him or her to the rules presented below.

    1. Although life can be much easier when there is one leader and the others follow her or him, the easiest way is not always the best. Thus, I'd suggest you try to run the class in a democratic way. To achieve this, here are some suggestions:

      • Sit in a circle - this way nobody is singled out just by where he or she is positioned.

      • Try to pay attention that everybody talks about roughly the same amount of time. (Be aware, studies have shown that men are likely to take up two times the time for talking than women do - don't let that happen to you!).

      • If you feel that somebody has not talked much so far, encourage him or her, by directly asking a question to him or her.

      • If you feel that you haven't said much so far, give yourself a kick, and say something.

      • If you feel that you have talked already pretty much, try to speak less for a while.

      • If you feel that somebody else has talked pretty much already, politely stop him or her, by saying something like "Let's hear what others have to say about this topic first".

      • Listen to each other. Do not interrupt while somebody else is speaking.

      • Avoid derogatory remarks about other's contributions to the discussion.

    2. When you speak, do not use notions or concepts, that haven't been introduced in class. For example, do not explain something using truth tables or conditional implication, if you cannot be sure that everybody understands you. Rather than going on to explain new notions, try to express yourself in terms that are familiar to the others.

    3. If a new notion or concept is introduced in the text, make sure to continue only after everybody has understood it; don't leave anybody behind!

    4. In general, try to stay close to the text in the discussions, don't digress too much, and keep in mind the goal of discussing all 15 study/review questions!

  4. Questions. (10 points)
    • Compile a list of terms and symbols that are mentioned in the text that you do not understand.
    • You should try to figure out the meanings in the meeting on Tuesday.
    • Write up the explanations/answers, and hand them in on Wednesday.