UPMSP Intermediate Logic study plan
UPMSP Intermediate Logic · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Categorical Syllogism and Fallacies
Distinguish the four figures of the categorical syllogism and identify the position of the middle term in each
Memorize the 24 valid moods and state the special rules governing each figure
Apply the five rules for validity testing (distribution of middle term, illicit major/minor, two negative premises, negative premise with affirmative conclusion) to decide validity of syllogisms
Detect formal fallacies such as undistributed middle, illicit process, and four terms
Your checkpoint
A handwritten validity-check sheet of 30 syllogisms (10 valid, 20 invalid) with the violated rule named for each invalid case, scored against an answer key at 90% or better
Categorical Syllogism and Fallacies & Categorical Propositions and Immediate Inference
Convert ordinary-language arguments into standard form by identifying premises, conclusion, and missing terms
Test syllogisms by Venn diagram for all four figures and compare results with rule-based verdicts
Classify informal fallacies of relevance, ambiguity, and presumption with one original example each
Perform conversion, obversion, and contraposition on A, E, I, and O propositions and state which are valid
Your checkpoint
A fallacy-and-inference log of 25 items: each entry gives the original argument, the fallacy or inference type, and a one-line justification
Categorical Propositions and Immediate Inference & Terms, Concepts, and Definition
Map the square of opposition and derive all immediate inferences including contradictories, contraries, subcontraries, and subalternation
Analyze categorical propositions into quantity, quality, subject, copula, and predicate and translate into standard form
Distinguish denotation from connotation, and define terms by genus and difference, enumerative, and operational definition
Identify rules for good definition and flag circular, too broad, too narrow, and obscure definitions
Your checkpoint
A one-page square-of-opposition reference plus a set of 20 definition exercises where you write the definition type and any rule violated
Symbolic Logic: Propositional Calculus & Nature and Scope of Logic
Translate English statements into propositional symbols using negation, conjunction, disjunction, conditional, and biconditional
Construct full truth tables for compound propositions and classify as tautology, contradiction, or contingent
Test argument validity by the truth-table method and by the short truth-table (indirect) method
State the nature and scope of logic: form versus content, deductive versus inductive, and the role of validity and soundness
Your checkpoint
A truth-table workbook of 15 arguments with verdicts, plus a 300-word written note distinguishing validity, truth, and soundness
Symbolic Logic: Propositional Calculus & Predicate Logic and Quantification
Apply the rules of inference (modus ponens, modus tollens, hypothetical syllogism, disjunctive syllogism, constructive and destructive dilemma) in natural deduction proofs
Use the rules of replacement (De Morgan, commutation, association, distribution, exportation, contraposition, implication, equivalence) to complete proofs
Translate quantified statements using universal and existential quantifiers and identify bound versus free variables
Prove validity of simple quantified arguments using universal instantiation, existential generalization, and quantifier negation
Your checkpoint
Ten completed natural-deduction proofs (six propositional, four quantified) with every step justified by rule name
Inductive Reasoning and Scientific Method
Distinguish induction by enumeration, analogy, and causal inference, and state the strength conditions for each
Explain Mill's five methods of experimental inquiry and construct an original example of each
Outline the stages of the scientific method from hypothesis formation through testing and confirmation
Identify inductive fallacies including hasty generalization, false cause, and biased sample
Your checkpoint
A 600-word case study applying Mill's methods and the hypothetico-deductive model to one everyday or scientific example, with the method used named at each step
Indian Logic (Nyaya and Allied Systems)
State the sixteen categories of Nyaya and explain the role of pramana in Nyaya epistemology
Compare the four pramanas (pratyaksha, anumana, upamana, shabda) and note which schools accept which
Analyze the five-membered Nyaya syllogism (pratijna, hetu, udaharana, upanaya, nigamana) and contrast it with the Aristotelian form
Explain hetvabhasa (fallacies of inference) and the Nyaya theory of vyapti
Your checkpoint
A comparative table of Nyaya and Aristotelian inference with at least five points of contrast and one worked example in both formats
Nature and Scope of Logic & Terms, Concepts, and Definition & Categorical Propositions and Immediate Inference & Categorical Syllogism and Fallacies & Symbolic Logic: Propositional Calculus & Predicate Logic and Quantification & Inductive Reasoning and Scientific Method & Indian Logic (Nyaya and Allied Systems)
Review all eight domains using a weighted checklist that gives extra time to domains 4, 3, and 5
Re-solve every previously missed item and confirm the underlying rule is now stated correctly
Complete two timed full-length mock papers under exam conditions
Consolidate a one-page formula and rule sheet covering syllogism moods, truth-table rules, and Nyaya categories
Your checkpoint
Two timed mock papers scored, with a written error analysis listing each mistake by domain and the corrective rule
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 85% on a self-made 20-item syllogism validity quiz and correctly name the violated rule in every invalid case
Week 4: Build correct truth tables for ten compound propositions without reference notes, and state the validity verdict for five arguments
Week 6: Complete eight of ten natural-deduction proofs unaided and explain all five of Mill's methods from memory
Week 8: Average 75% or higher across two timed mock papers, with no domain scoring below 60%