PHIL 736

Logic 1

Please note: this is archived course information from 2012 for PHIL 736.

Description

The mathematics of rational agency: the modal perspective. This course presents the mathematics behind modal logic needed for current research on rational agency. We will study concepts from contemporary modal logic and apply them to specific issues, such as the formalisation of preferences studied in social choice theory. We will emphasise model theoretic techniques and investigate how to choose logical languages for modelling purposes. The upshot of the course is that modal logic, seen as a fragment of First-order Logic, provides an ideal balance between expressivity and complexity for practical investigations.

The course will be aimed at a practical mastery and will be assessed by an exam based on exercises completed during the semester.

Availability 2012

Semester 1

Lecturer(s)

Coordinator(s) Dr Patrick Girard

Reading/Texts

Title: Modal logic Author(s): Patrick Blackburn 1959- Maarten de Rijke ; Yde Venema 1963- Published: New York : Cambridge University Press, 2001. Description: xxii, 554 p. ISBN: 0521802008. Subjects: Modality (Logic). Data Source: Voyager.

Points

PHIL 736: 15 points