“Introduction to Logic” was held (Hokkaido Summer Institute 2018)

Japanese version of this article

The course “Introduction to Logic” was held as one class for Hokkaido Summer Institute 2018. The course lasted for 5 days, and was held from August 20th to August 24th.

This course was an introduction for students who wanted to study logic starting from square one. It also served as a preparatory course for students participating in the following week’s “Dynamic Epistemic Logic and its Applications.”

As was the case last year as well, the main lecturer continued to be Professor Katsuhiko Sano from the Philosophy Department in the Faculty of Letters. Professor Sano’s riveting and easy-to-understand lectures helped students to proactively enter into the difficult field of logic. During their break time, one could even see the students asking each other questions about the material. The second course-coordinator – as well as the instructor responsible for the course, Professor Tomoyuki Yamada – also lectured to students.

Associate Professor Katsuhiko Sano (Hokkaido University Faculty of Letters – Philosophy Department)

Professor Tomoyuki Yamada (Hokkaido University Faculty of Letters – Philosophy Department)

The class had both lectures and practical discussions. At the end of each day, students would be given an assignment to complete by the next day. At the beginning of the next class, students would then present their answers and work together to check if their work was correct. Time was also allotted in class for students to work on their assignment. By letting students get right to work on their assignments, they were able to get a better understanding of the course content.

Students presenting their answers

Students solving problems after getting advice from the instructor

Students could ask their professors questions while working on the assignment

While some wrote in on the class-survey that this class was quite difficult due to the symbols and formulas in logic, the specialist terminology, and the numerous class-assignments, many students also said that, thanks to the instructor’s helpful answers to their questions and the active-learning style class, they were able to, “gain a comprehensive understanding of logic,” “deepen their basic knowledge [of logic],” and “go beyond a particular specialty field and expand” their understanding of logic. This shows the high level of satisfaction achieved in this course. One could also tell how fulfilling this week-long course was just by looking at the peaceful atmosphere and sense of accomplishment that the students achieved after overcoming a week of difficult assignments.
Next year, Professor Sano is scheduled to continue the course as the main instructor.