Customer Reviews

Introduction to Logic

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This timeless classic by one of the five greatest logicians of all time should be owned by anyone who cares about logic - especially at this illogically low price. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE), the English mathematician George Boole (1815-1864), the German mathematician Gottlob Frege (1848-1925), the Austrian-American mathematician Kurt Gödel and the Polish mathematician Alfred Tarski (1901-1983) are considered to be the five greatest logicians of history. Today it is difficult to appreciate the astounding permanence of what is accomplished in the works of Aristotle, Boole, and Frege without seeing their ideas surviving in the work of a modern master. Of the two modern master logicians Tarski is by far the most suitable for this purpose since he was by far the one most interested in the articulation of the conceptual basis of logic, he was by far the one most interested in history and philosophy of logic, and he was the only one to write an introductory book attempting to explain his perspective in accessible terms. This book, together with Aristotle's Prior Analytics and Boole's Laws of Thought, should form the core of any logic library. All three are still in print and available in inexpensive paperback editions. Hackett publishes an excellent up-to-date translation of Prior Analytics by Robin Smith and Prometheus recently reprinted Laws of Thought with an introduction by John Corcoran.- Frango Nabrasa.

This is one of the classic introductory mathematics books. When I was learning logic, I relied on it heavily, although it was not the text for the course. Over my years as a teacher, I have consulted it often and when I was working on a recent book on logic, there were very few days when I did not open it in search of an idea or clarification.
All of the basics of logic are covered in one of the most readable texts I have ever opened. Exercises are given at the end of each chapter, although no solutions are included. This is one of those books that will always be on my key shelves of reference works and it will no doubt receive a great deal of use.

I bought the book just because my teacher of elementary philosophy in the university respected Tarski as a master of formal logic. It took me 26 years to get this book in my hands. What makes Tarski unique is, that he was a great logician and a great teacher, too.

I belive that there still are no better guide for a student who wants to understand logic, not just try to remember basic rules of it. The beauty of logic has never been exposed in a better way.

The fifth star was spared to a new, annotated edition of this classic among the field of logic. I hope I can find one some day.

Logic is just one of those subjects prone to bad, unclear writing. This book is completely on the other side, written amazingly well and ideas are presented very clearly.

This is the first book that any logic student should read. I even recommend it for those studying logic for a philosophy major. Tarski was a great logician, and this book clearly shows that he was a great teacher as well. The book is small, but dense with information. The author easily explains intricate ideas such that even the beginner should have no problem in understanding them. The footnotes included are also very valuable. Finally, I loved how Tarski used the ideas presented in part 1 to develop those in part 2. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this book. I just wish that there were solutions to some of the problems. Buy it and you wont regret it.

Recommended to all levels, for novice maybe a little to difficult advance will always find great and clear explanations. FIVE stars! Enjoy!

Having read four logic books before, some of which I've read a couple of times, made reading this book easier than if I had approached the book without prior learning. I think that beginners will struggle with this book and would have to reread many of the later portions over and over until concepts sink in, which is not a bad way of learning either.

I don't think that many of the rules of inference have been explicitly laid out.

Another thing I didn't like is that there are no answers for the exercises at the end of each chapter.

One thing I liked was the use of math to demonstrate logical arguments. It's also easy to read.

In any event, the book still has value and is worth getting.

This is a pure jewel and it definitely surpasses Quine's and Hodges's books on the same subject : in fact, I enjoyed reading the three of them.

I'm new to "logic" and expected this book to teach me new materials on logic. I got through 40 pages in one sitting and still have not learned anything new but a few definitions. If you have taken any college introductory proof-based math course, then you'll probably already have learned most of the ideas offered in this book. Here's the table of contents:

1. Use of variables
2. Sentential Calculus
3. Identity
4. Class
5. Relations
6. Deductive Method
7. Laws of order for numbers
8. Laws of addition and subtraction
9. Constructing Theory
10. Arithmetic of Real

This book is so wordy. It's filled with wide mumbo-jumbo text that has little depth. I feel like the first 40 pages could've been condensed into 4 pages. It does not read like a typical math textbook.

This book has a lot of interesting remarks. I, however, feel that it is a bit too wordy.