LPS/PHIL 31: Inductive Logic
Professor: Kenny Easwaran (k.easwaran@uci.edu)
Lecture: Tu/Th 2-3:20 pm, EH 1200
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 11-12:30 in SST 759
TAs: Orestis Dimou Belegratis, Ava Bruckner-Kockel, Chelsea Choi
(section assignments TBA)
Sections do not meet in week 0 or week 1.
Class times and locations
| Section | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday 9-9:50 am | SSL 145 |
| 2 | Monday 12-12:50 pm | SSL 145 |
| 3 | Monday 2-2:50 pm | SST 122 |
| 5 | Tuesday 1-1:50 pm | PSCB 210 |
| 6 | Tuesday 5-5:50 pm | SSL 145 |
| 8 | Wednesday 11-11:50 am | SSL 145 |
| 9 | Wednesday 4-4:50 pm | SSL 145 |
| 11 | Thursday 10-10:50 am | SSTR 100 |
| 12 | Thursday 5-5:50 pm | SSL 145 |
Sections 4, 7, and 10 have been cancelled.
Exams (all in EH 1200, the regular classroom):
- Midterm 1: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2-3:20
- Midterm 2: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2-3:20
- Final: Thursday, Dec. 10, 1:30-3:30 pm
Schedule
| Dates | Reading | In-section | Homework | Exams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 24 | Ch. I | (none) | (none) | |
| Sept. 29, Oct. 1 | Ch. I | (none) | (none) | |
| Oct. 6, 8 | Ch. II | Section 1 | HW1 | |
| Oct. 13, 15 | Ch. III.1, III.2 | Section 2 | HW2 | |
| Oct. 20, 22 | Ch. VI.1, VI.2 | Section 3 | (none) | Tues., Oct. 20 — first midterm (sample) |
| Oct. 27, 29 | Ch. VI.3, VI.4 | Section 4 | HW4 | |
| Nov. 3, 5 | Ch. VI.5, VI.6 | Section 5 | HW5 | |
| Nov. 10, 12 | Ch. VI.7 | Section 6 | (none) | Thurs., Nov. 12 — second midterm (sample) |
| Nov. 17, 19 | Ch. VII | Section 7 | HW7 | |
| Nov. 24 (no class Thanksgiving) | Ch. VIII | Section 8 | HW8 | |
| Dec. 1, 3 | Review | Section 9 | (none) | |
| Thurs., Dec. 10, 1:30-3:30 — Final Exam |
Textbook and study materials
Textbook: Brian Skyrms, Choice and Chance, 4th Edition
I have made an AI study guide, along with some other study tools for this class. The study guide is a document that you can upload to an AI assistant like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, so that it can give you targeted help for this class. If you have any feedback about how your AI assistant is (mis)interpreting things, I may revise it in light of that. (I recommend trying out all three of these different AI systems, either by creating accounts with them, or using them in the more data-secure way through UCI’s private ZotGPT version. These different AI systems, and various others, all have different personalities. ChatGPT tends to optimize more for engagement, while Claude optimizes for helping you think philosophically, and the others have other features.)
Sample finals: 1 (accessible version), 2, 3
Assignments and grading
Section and homework assignments are submitted on Gradescope. Individual assignment links will be added to the schedule as they are set up.
Section assignments must be done in-person during section, unless you let me know in advance that you have to miss it, or can provide documentation for an unexpected absence.
Homework assignments are due on Sunday at midnight, at the end of the week in which it is listed.
Section and homework assignments all cover material discussed in lectures before the current week - new material is only relevant for the following week’s assignments.
The final grade will be 25% sections, 25% homework, 25% from the two midterms, 25% from the final.