Logical Reasoning Philosophy class

chicaryss

I'm wondering if anyone has taken a philosophy course in logical reasoning. If you have, how did you find it? Did you feel it gave you a stronger foundation going into your LSAT prep, or is 7Sage (and any other prep material) sufficient for you? Was it different enough from the LSAT that it wasn't helpful? I ask because I'm considering such a course if it will strengthen my understanding of "lawgic."

I'm still feeling intimidated by the games, even after going through the lawgic lessons and the lessons on the various types of games. This course is offered at my university. Based on the description of the course, it addresses the kind of logic used in the games. It would be helpful to know if it will benefit my studying before I sign up.

(I apologize of this question came up already and has been buried by newer threads).

Pacifico

If you're struggling with games then check out this guide I wrote up to break it down into manageable units:

http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy

As for the class, I couldn't really help you there. I showed up to my intro to philosophy midterm having not read anything and having not been to class since the first week and wrote an essay on the horrible injustice of testing people on philosophy. My professor liked it enough to not fail me and so my whole grade was based on the final. I passed, but I didn't learn any useful logic, though YMMV. What's the worst that could happen?

allison.gill.sanford

I was a Philosophy major in school, and have some experience with symbolic logic. I think learning "lawgic" is sufficient for the games; this test is so particular and narrow that the course 7Sage provides will give you all the skills you need. I suppose it's possible that taking a formal logic class could help you in that it may give you other ways of approaching the theoretical understanding behind "lawgic", but you may also end up spending a lot of time on the homework for that class that ultimately does not end up benefiting your LSAT score. In my opinion, your time is better spent learning the LSAT well, not coming at lawgic from a different angle.

c.janson35

@allison.gill.sanford a solid and informed perspective. Thanks for sharing!

chicaryss

Thanks for your responses. I wanted to know if the time and money was going to be worth it. I'd rather devote as much time as I can studying for the LSAT if extraneous prep won't to be as helpful.

c.janson35

Just thought of this, too: unless you're on a full scholarship and don't have to pay for classes, then the 7sage curriculum is probably much cheaper and can definitely meet all of your lawgic needs. Take a class that will be memorable and challenge you to think. Expose yourself to new things! Don't worry about making the LSAT the focus/part of your undergrad.

nordeend

I have taken that course and I second the notions above. It won't be of particular advantage. Perhaps a little, but certainly not enought to warrent needing it. Plus, games are the easiest to improve on and the more you do them the better you get.

petitigre

I took a quantitative logic course years ago and can say that it has made translating/completing arguments using universal and existential qualifiers on the LSAT much easier. The rest of the course materials (proofs, truth tables, probability) will not be directly useful for the LSAT. You should look into what your logic course will cover as there was another logic course offered at my university that covered qualitative logic.

bSM45LSAT

This Fall I actually had to take a formal reasoning class as required by my degree, so I'm taking Elementary Formal Logic, and when I read the syllabus, "This course is an introduction to contemporary symbolic or formal logic. Students explore the fundamentals of good reasoning by learning sentence and predicate logic. Students translate English sentences into logical notation, and use truth tables and derivations to demonstrate the validity of arguments"-- I'm literally overjoyed. This will be perfect to kinda review basic core logic right before Oct one more time after the 7Sage course.