Beginning Logic [Paperback]

E. J. Lemmon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0412380900 | ISBN-13: 978-0412380907 | Publication Date: September 30, 1971 | Edition: 1

The aim of this book is to provide an exposition of elementary formal logic. The course, which is primarily intended for first-year students who have no previous knowledge of the subject, forms a working basis for more advanced reading and is presented in such a way as to be intelligible to the layman. The nature of logic is examined with the gradual introduction of worked samples showing how to distinguish the sound statement from the unsound. Arguments whose soundness cannot be proved by propositional calculus are discussed, and it is shown how formalization can reveal the logical form of arguments. The final section of the book deals with the application of the predicate calculus as applied in various other fields of logic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (September 30, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0412380900
• ISBN-13: 978-0412380907
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,347,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent logical system., October 11, 2002

By 

"gcappelli" (Oxford, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Logic (Paperback)

While there is currently a variety of logical systems about, Lemmon's is well balanced and fairly intuitive. His approach is to limit his formal system to a few simple rules. The advantage is that it makes his meta-logic much easier, and the reader can grasp the whole system very quickly. The downside it that the system becomes cumbersome when trying to prove more difficult problems. To help simplify the longer proofs, Lemmon provides a list of already proven theorems, which one can substitute into the proof. His approach is elegant, and in my view, successful. While the text tends to be dense, his liberal use of examples clarifies many of the finer points. Still, the reader does have to work at it so I cannot recommend this text to beginning logic students. Davis' "Introduction to Logic" is much more straightforward, and much simpler. However, for serious students of logic, with a solid analytical background, or a good foundation in mathematics, this text provides a very good logical system.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars jumping right in the pool, March 14, 2001

By 

David Witt (delaware) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beginning Logic (Paperback)

I used this book as part of an independent study of logic. It is dense, so unless you are willing to sit down and study it exhaustively or you have an experienced teacher (as I did), start with something lighter. That said, once I gained some knowledge in the area, the book was a pleasure to use, as Lemmon's precise language made it easier to clarify certain points. The largest drawback to this book is that it doesn't have solutions to its exercises, and these methods are not mechanical-you must know or learn how to make intuitive leaps or you will not be able to solve the problems. [e-mail]

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear demonstration of logical rules, explanation is odd, February 22, 2011

By 

RandieB - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginning Logic (Paperback)

This is an older book, so it is a little wordy. The wording of explanations for rules is a bit strange, but its okay because Lemmon follows all explanations with examples.