An Introduction to Logic [Hardcover]

H. W. B. Joseph (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Paper Tiger, Inc.; 2 edition (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889439177
• ISBN-13: 978-1889439174
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,945,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic exposition of logic, December 12, 2002

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Logic (Hardcover)

This is what philosophical logic used to look like before the linguistic philosophers got hold of it ;-). And the fact that the book is still in print is a very good sign.

H.W.B. Joseph was one of Oxford's leading philosophical lights in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This book, originally published in 1906 and republished in a revised second edition in 1916, is a classic exposition of the entire subject of logic. It's got everything you look for in a philosophy text: clarity and accuracy of exposition, breadth of scope, and a keen sense of the philosophical importance of every topic under discussion. I've had a battered copy of the second edition for many years now and I still refer to it fairly often.

The range of subjects will probably seem remarkable to the modern reader, who expects logic to have something to do with mathematics and set theory. There's not a truth table in sight; in fact, there's no discussion of formal, propositional logic at all. Instead there's discussion of e.g. the existence and nature of universals, the principles of the syllogism, the nature of the propositional judgment, the nature of causation (and whether it's reciprocating -- i.e., whether effects determine their causes too), the meaning of "explanation," and the nature of reasoning in mathematics and science.

Joseph's logic is a branch, not of mathematics, but of metaphysics. And one thing the reader will notice right away is that Joseph engages the metaphysicians of his day -- especially the neo-Hegelian idealists, like Bradley, Bosanquet, and Joachim. His criticisms are cogent and invariably well-taken. But in fact Joseph, a Platonist himself, is far closer to the "spirit" of the British idealists than he is to that of modern more or less analytic philosophy; my own view, at least, is that idealism could easily have taken up his criticisms and moved on.

At any rate, this is a fine, fine text, and when I noticed it was in print, I couldn't resist reviewing it. If you're interested in this subject, do yourself a favor and buy a copy.

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An odious read, October 31, 2008

By 

Dan Dascalescu "I've done my homework" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Logic (Hardcover)

I found this book very hard to parse. It's written in an archaic style. I'm sure there are much better books on logic around. Note that I haven't finished it (for the reasons above), so take my review lightly.