Introduction to Deductive Reasoning

I did not realize how much Philosophy was intertwined with Mathematics. (Turns out there WAS a reason for me to take that class...)

Conditional statements (if-then) are really effective when used with venn diagrams. Let me explain:

Premises:

1. All humpbacks are whales.

2. All whales are mammals.

Conclusion:

3. All humpbacks are mammals.

(If all humpbacks are whales, and all whales are mammals, then all humpbacks are mammals.)

I'm sure you can imagine what a venn would look like using this statement.

So there you have it. Venn-Philosophy (not an actual term). :)

Until Next Time,

Rose

Discussed today were sets, elements, complements, venn diagrams, etc. This was a refresh for me (its been, oh, about 3 years since my last math course. I now understand the worry of returning to college after being out of highschool for 10, 15, or maybe even 20 years, even if my time has been significantly shorter. I sympathize.)

Anyways, venn diagrams are not just things used in elementary school, which is mostly what I thought of when someone mentioned one. They are useful tools for many things that are more diverse than just math. They are used to describe things that are more efficiently drawn than described in text.

A great way to find resources to see this applied is, of course, Google (on the web anyway). If you type in Venn diagrams (maybe funny venn diagrams to see some more entertaining versions) a lot of different examples will show up. One site, used in class today was Indexed. Funny, but probably not recommended for little eyes.