Introduction to Logic [Paperback]

Harry J. Gensler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415996511 | ISBN-13: 978-0415996518 | Publication Date: January 23, 2010 | Edition: 2

Introduction to Logic combines likely the broadest scope of any logic textbook available with clear, concise writing and interesting examples and arguments.  Its key features, all retained in the Second Edition, include:

• simpler ways to test arguments than those available in competing textbooks, including the star test for syllogisms
• a wide scope of materials, making it suitable for introductory logic courses (as the primary text) or intermediate classes (as the primary or supplementary book)
• engaging and easy-to-understand examples and arguments, drawn from everyday life as well as from the great philosophers
• a suitability for self-study and for preparation for standardized tests, like the LSAT
• a reasonable price (a third of the cost of many competitors)
• exercises that correspond to the LogiCola program, which may be downloaded for free from the web.

This Second Edition also:

• arranges chapters in a more useful way for students, starting with the easiest material and then gradually increasing in difficulty
• provides an even broader scope with new chapters on the history of logic, deviant logic, and the philosophy of logic
• expands the section on informal fallacies
• includes a more exhaustive index and a new appendix on suggested further readings
• updates the LogiCola instructional program, which is now more visually attractive as well as easier to download, install, update, and use.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This new edition is a significant improvement on an already excellent text.  The virtues of the original remain, including clear expositions, an intuitive proof procedure that generalizes naturally from propositional logic to more advanced logics, and a wealth of problems drawn from philosophical sources.  There are new chapters on the history of logic, deviant logics and the philosophy of logic, and the accompanying LogiCola program has been improved. This is a student-friendly approach to logic.”  –Michael Bradie, Bowling Green State University

"Professor Gensler's Introduction to Logic is superb!  Students are given a first-rate, accessible introduction to the fundamentals of logic through extensive examples from some of the great questions in the history of philosophy.  Thus, students are learning philosophy even as they're doing logic. The free program accompanying the text, with its game format, is a genuine tutorial that enables students to master the concepts of each section through new examples and instant feedback.  I strongly recommend this fine text for basic and more advanced courses in logic."–Jay Aultman-Moore, Waynesburg University

“This new edition of Introduction to Logic is truly a revision and not just an update.  The book has been reorganized in a much more logical sequence.  Virtually every chapter in the first edition has been significantly revised for greater clarity…I believe that Gensler’s Introduction to Logic is the best text available today for teaching logic.  I look forward to using his book for several years to come.”–Darian C. De Bolt, University of Central Oklahoma

About the Author

Harry J. Gensler, S.J., is Professor of Philosophy at John Carroll University in Cleveland. Some of his other books include Gödel’s Theorem Simplified (1984), Formal Ethics (1996), Anthology of Catholic Philosophy (2005), Historical Dictionary of Ethics (2008), and Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction, Second Edition (2011).

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 2 edition (January 23, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415996511
• ISBN-13: 978-0415996518
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional guide to logic for philosophy students, May 18, 2005

By 

Nathan Andersen "film lover, philosophy profe... (Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Logic (Paperback)

I agree with the other reviewers of this text that it is the best I've encountered (I have taught several different sections of logic over nearly ten years, using 6 or 7 different texts, and have reviewed countless others). The writing is admirably clear and precise, and reads well. Nothing extraneous here, but there is enough to elucidate ideas and strategies. There are two key features that distinguish this text from others, and render it extremely valuable.

(1) the examples and logic problems are INTERESTING, mostly because they are invariably drawn from philosophical arguments; this gives me an opportunity to tie the teaching of logic to discussion of philosophy and makes the relevance of logic to philosophy very clear; I often find students who are interested in philosophy because they have read existentialism or even Plato, and who appreciate the play of ideas they find in these texts; what they do not understand is that the poetry of ideas must be tied to logic, and, more importantly, that there is a kind of poetic rigor to logic; this text helps to make that clear.

(2) Gensler has developed a remarkably simple set of strategies for proof construction, that eliminates much of the confusion and ambiguity that students experience when encountering proofs for the first time; his "star test" for testing syllogisms is excellent, and a cinch to apply; it is even easier to grasp than Venn diagrams and is more versatile; his strategy for proofs in propositional and predicate logic is the best and easiest I've seen anywhere, and combines the merits of truth trees with standard deductive proofs, and has the advantage of yielding both proofs of validity and refutations by the very same method. The ease of the strategy means that it is possible to move much further in a single semester than usual. The content of the book goes further, too, than many of the standard textbooks. He goes into modal logic, belief logic, deontic logic and even has a chapter presenting a formalized ethical theory. Very cool stuff!!

(3) The only weakness I have found is in his explanation of translations; where he is very helpful and precise with strategies for producing proofs and refutations, his guidelines for producing translations into formal symbolism are a bit more vague and amount to only a few guidelines and a bit of hand waving. Still, even here I haven't seen much better elsewhere, so this is a minor quibble. In the context of my classroom, it just meant that this was something we spent more time on.

I really can't recommend this book highly enough for those who are interested in logic.

114 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best introductory logic book I have seen in 31 years!, January 3, 2003

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Logic (Paperback)

I have taught logic for 31 years in colleges and universities. This book, along with its logicola software prgram downloaded for free from the net, has allowed my students to learn more logic in a semester than any of the other standard books that I have ever used. I used an earlier edition of this book in 1989 and was sorry to see it go out of print. When it came back, I quickly ordered it. My students love it and the logicola program. If you want to know logic and cannot take a course, but have the will, get this book, download the logicola program, and get to work. You will not be sorry!!! Just a tremendous value and an excellent text book that covers enough material for two or even three courses in logic!!! Best wishes!

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant, Concise, Clear as Crystal, December 7, 2004

By 

James Colby (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Logic (Paperback)

This is the best introductory book on symbolic logic I have seen. It covers not only propositional and predicate logic, but also modal, deontic, and inductive (probabilistic) logic, and it does so with remarkable clarity and economy. Professor Gensler's proof method differs slightly from those in most textbooks, but I find it more intuitive and therefore more useful. His examples are drawn from everyday life and from arguments of the great philosophers. His exercises are well designed, too. And at one-third the cost of most other (and much inferior) textbooks, this book is a great bargain.

I am not sure what the previous reviewer was referring to in his complaint about the lack of an index. This edition contains an index to proper names, while the excellent glossary of logic terms also functions as an index by listing the section numbers where each term is defined and discussed.