Low Mark in Logic?

[aftervirtue]

Hi. Next year will be my final year of undergrad and I will be completing an honours degree in Philosophy and minor in Psychology. I have a 3.89 and have no idea what my writing sample will be like as I don't plan on starting it until May; however, I unfortunately earned a B- in Logic this semester and am worried about how this might affect my chances in applying to MA and PhD programs.

Given the sheer competitiveness of PhD programs, would this be enough to sway admissions committees? I am primarily interested in Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Mind and Feminist Philosophy. Specifically, I am worried that competence in Logic is valued enough in Mind and Cognitive Science that a poor mark may seriously hurt my chances. As so, should I look into retaking Logic?

Edit: I don't mean to imply that Feminist Philosophers do not value Logic; surely, they do.

Edited April 20, 2020 by aftervirtue

[Duns Eith]

  

8 hours ago, aftervirtue said:

Hi. Next year will be my final year of undergrad and I will be completing an honours degree in Philosophy and minor in Psychology. I have a 3.89 and have no idea what my writing sample will be like as I don't plan on starting it until May; however, I unfortunately earned a B- in Logic this semester and am worried about how this might affect my chances in applying to MA and PhD programs.

Given the sheer competitiveness of PhD programs, would this be enough to sway admissions committees? I am primarily interested in Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Mind and Feminist Philosophy. Specifically, I am worried that competence in Logic is valued enough in Mind and Cognitive Science that a poor mark may seriously hurt my chances. As so, should I look into retaking Logic?

You don't need to worry. There are people who are accepted into programs having little more than Critical Thinking. Expect to kick it up a notch though. Graduate level logic courses are significantly harder, as they resemble more analysis in math departments than philosophy. Depending on the program, they might have you take a remedial logic course, accept what you've got as fine as long as you can pass a standardized exam (which you may have a semester to prepare), or they may have a very high bar and you will need to sort out your remedial logic chops before you attempt the grad level. Really, each program is different. You shouldn't worry too much.

8 hours ago, aftervirtue said:

Edit: I don't mean to imply that Feminist Philosophers do not value Logic; surely, they do.

That's funny

[Real_Skeptic76]

I received a B+ in Formal Logic and got accepted into terminal MA programs at Uni AZ, AZ St, Uni Houston, and TX Tech for Fall 2020. I also got funding and a TA position at two of those schools. But I don’t think my school choices really emphasize logic too much. I think it depends on where you apply. If you wanted to go to Stanford or Rutgers it might be different. 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Real_Skeptic76

[thursday]

I have been just reading threads on here for YEARS and am finally making an account to say that in this past cycle I got into one of the schools mentioned in the post above me (and a few other top leiter-ranked phd programs) with a grade in my undergrad logic class lower than a B+. Do not sweat a B in logic! It's fine.

[you'll_never_get_to_heaven]

Let's be honest: how many schools have a full-time tenured or tenure-track professor who is proficient at teaching logic? I wouldn't imagine a low mark would hurt, if only because I'd think that at most schools a student who received an A+ in an introductory logic course at School X isn't necessarily all that more well-versed in the subject than a student with with a C at School Y.  Every field in philosophy is so fucking broad. There are people in "subfield" A who read entire groups of people in philosophy and other fields that other individuals in said subfield do not read much at all.