Introduction to Logic [Hardcover]

Irving M. Copi (Author), Carl Cohen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131898345 | ISBN-13: 978-0131898349 | Publication Date: July 26, 2005 | Edition: 12th

Dedicated to the memory of Irving M. Copi, the twelfth edition of Introduction to Logic retains its breadth of coverage, while breaking new ground with a compelling new design and inclusion of new pedagogic features to help students in their study of logic. This new edition goes further than any previous edition-or competing logic text-in assisting students with their mastery of logic! NEW to Introduction to Logic, Twelfth Edition!* New material-Additional coverage of conditional proofs; new category for fallacies of defective induction; separated treatment of classic syllogistic logic and modern symbolic logic *"VISUAL LOGIC" feature-Clear and vivid illustrations provided to clarify challenging logic topics *Marginal definitions-Helps students define terms while reading *Summary tables-Over 30 "OVERVIEWS" to help students review material at a glance *New student supplemet-Available to package with new texts, LogicNotes with Practice Problems provides a Notebook with numerous practice problems and solutions (Package ISBN: 013-163729-0) eLogic-Prentice Hall's new CD-ROM-based logic tutorial Prentice Hall has revised its tutorial to provide students with over 800 exercises, drawn from the text, plus the tools students need to solve logic problems. Students can work problems, including diagramming arguments, creating Venn diagrams, constructing truth tables. And now students can build and check proofs! See the walk-through in this book or visit www.prenhall.com/philosophy for more information!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Dedicated to the memory of Irving M. Copi, the twelfth edition of Introduction to Logic retains its breadth of coverage, while breaking new ground with a compelling new design and inclusion of new pedagogic features to help students in their study of logic. This new edition goes further than any previous edition—or competing logic text—in assisting students with their mastery of logic!

NEW to Introduction to Logic, Twelfth Edition!

• New material—Additional coverage of conditional proofs; new category for fallacies of defective induction; separated treatment of classic syllogistic logic and modern symbolic logic
• "VISUAL LOGIC" feature—Clear and vivid illustrations provided to clarify challenging logic topics
• Marginal definitions—Helps students define terms while reading
• Summary tables—Over 30 "OVERVIEWS" to help students review material at a glance
• New student supplement—Available to package with new texts, LogicNotes with Practice Problems provides a Notebook with numerous practice problems and solutions (Package ISBN: 013-163729-0)

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Irving Copi first published Introduction to Logic in 1953, a little more than half a century ago. The book has grown mightily in the years since—but it is a mark of Professor Copi's power as thinker and teacher that this book has become the one work used by more people around the world in the study of logic than any other book ever written—with the possible exception of The Organon of Aristotle. Three reasons for this long-continuing success are justly noted as follows.

First, Professor Copi perfected the structure for a textbook in logic which was not only intellectually coherent, but also fit smoothly and usefully into the widely practiced patterns of college instruction. That original structure remains the architectonic of this twelfth edition: first, it presents the basic concepts of logic and the logical difficulties encountered in everyday uses of language; next, the methods of deductive reasoning are presented in a manner which an account of traditional syllogistics precedes an explanation of modern symbolic logic; and last, the methods of inductive reasoning are presented in a manner beginning with the analysis of simple arguments by analogy and advance to moderately sophisticated techniques in science and the theory of probability.

Second, Professor Copi was an understanding teacher who clearly saw that the mastery of the principles of logic could best be acquired by giving students many opportunities to exercise their skills and reinforce their satisfactions with materials whose contents are interesting and worthy. Logic, he would say, is an art as well as a science, and proficiency in its use requires practice as well as comprehension. Therefore, from the very beginning, every edition of Introduction to Logic has been rich with illustrative materials and exercises taken from arguments encountered in real life. The present edition retains that spirit, by introducing many fresh and intriguing exercises and illustrations which have been drawn from lively controversies-political, scientific, and moral-of the twenty-first century.

Third, Introduction to Logic became the most widely used of all textbooks in logic because Irving Copi had the talents that enabled him to combine great accuracy with clarity, and deep penetration with engaging exposition. This was, and is, a textbook—but a textbook that has been written well, and one that we hope does not loom before students as a parade of chores, but wins its readers as friends confronting a series of enjoyable intellectual challenges.

These merits are fairly claimed for the original manuscript of Irving Copi. Ensuing editions have always sought to preserve those merits and to find new ways to realize them. Instructors who use Introduction to Logic in their courses may be helped by a brief report in this preface of the manifestations of that continuing revitalization in this twelfth edition. The larger structure of the book has been retained as noted above, but some important changes have been introduced to that structure.

1. Organization of the Twelfth Edition

How best to present the basic conceptual material of the early chapters has been a perennial pedagogical concern. We must resolve the unavoidable tension between the need to put a series of related basic concepts before the student early on, and the competing need to follow the introduction of each of these concepts with exercises that can exhibit their use and complexity. We have tried several different approaches, sometimes breaking the exposition into several chapters, and in the eleventh edition we combined theoretical exposition and many exercises into one very long chapter. But this most recent pattern has been found to make the material somewhat more difficult to digest. We have consulted widely with our colleagues across the country on this matter; the resolution with which we now emerge is the following.

The first two chapters of the book are devoted to the presentation of basic conceptual materials. In the first of these we give a short account of the central ideas and their interconnections. A few exercises are included, but the need for an overall understanding of the terrain calls for a relatively speedy exposition of many critical topics: propositions and arguments, deduction and induction, validity and truth, and so on, without lengthy exercise sets. In the following chapter we address the complexities to which these central ideas quickly give rise: the techniques of argument analysis, the problems of recognizing arguments, incompletely stated arguments, intertwined and cascading arguments, and so on. This division, we believe, achieves the happiest result, allowing the instructor to introduce assorted fundamental concepts without delay at the outset, and subsequently to explore their ramifications and to work with the exercises that enrich this first account. For the twelfth edition, the text's organization retains three main parts, but each part is now separated into two sections (A & B), to help clarify the arrangement of material. Additionally, by breaking out the first two chapters of the text, the twelfth edition numbers 15 chapters.

2. Classification of Informal Fallacies

The classification of informal fallacies has been a matter much discussed among logicians, many different classifications having been proposed over the years. Our extended treatment of this matter in chapter 5 of the present edition, has been adjusted to reflect what we now conclude is the classification most helpful to students. Where previously we had distinguished three clusters of informal fallacies—those of relevance, of presumption, and of ambiguity, we add now a fourth category, fallacies of defective induction, which are also appropriately distinguished and grouped. This schematism must be qualified throughout by the realization that much depends, in almost every case, on context and interpretation. There is no one right way to classify these very slippery fish; no pattern of inclusion or exclusion satisfies everyone. Nor is it the case, for many mistakes in reasoning, that there is only one right category to which that mistake may be assigned. We try here to achieve reasonable sophistication in analysis, with more clarity and more modesty.

3. Inclusion of Indirect Proofs

Some of our colleagues have thought it a deficiency of our earlier editions that in presenting the deductive methods of modern logic, the method of indirect proof had been omitted. The study of symbolic logic only begins with the materials in this book, of course, and we have deliberately refrained from introducing methods (including conditional proofs) likely to prove burdensome but not very useful to the student in an introductory course in logic. We have been persuaded, however, that some techniques going beyond the standard method of formal proof by natural deduction are indeed useful to the introductory student, and are straightforward enough to be digestible. Therefore we have introduced in Chapter 10 (now renamed Methods of Deduction) a separate short section on the method of indirect proof, and another section on the shorter truth table method of proof. Either of these sections, or both, may be conveniently omitted by instructors who find them inappropriate for their students.

4. Science and Logic

From instructors who use this book we have received many helpful suggestions regarding the formulation of the logical issues presented on the hypothetico-deductive methods of science in what is now Chapter 14. There are so many intriguing possibilities in this realm, so many inviting complexities, that we have in the past been tempted to include more than is called for in an introductory text. In this edition we pare this down, compressing the account of evaluating scientific explanations, but enriching the larger account by presenting, in very short compass, the outlines of some of the most beautiful scientific investigations. This latter account, however fascinating, is necessarily historical, but it is complemented by the more extended analysis of the modern quest for the structure of DNA, whose importance has been underscored by the recent completion of the mapping of the human genome.

5. Additional Changes to the Twelfth Edition

We continue to search for, and to include, a wealth of exemplary materials from contemporary journals and periodicals—from Science and The New England Journal of Medicine, from decisions of appellate courts and from The New York Times—and from whatever source may offer the illustrations and exercises that have enabled Introduction to Logic to contribute to intellectual enrichment which goes beyond the realm of the strictly logical. It was deeply satisfying to us to encounter, among the remarks of one of the reviewers of Introduction to Logic, the observation that for his students the book had served, in itself, as one sort of liberal education. We have aimed for that. To advance this objective, the exercise sets in the early chapters of this edition, and also in the later chapters dealing with inductive logic, have been rejuvenated. It is important for students of logic to grasp, and to feel, the impact of reasoning on matters of genuine concern to them. In those sections of the book dealing with modern deductive logic, on the other hand, where exercise sets consist mainly of problems of a symbolic nature, there is no good reason to change them since they have served well as study materials. Those exercise sets, therefore, remain largely as they have been.

In selecting real-life illustrations of arguments good and bad, we try hard to avoid all partisanship. We have greatly benefited from the contributions of our users, for which we are truly appreciative. Here again we issue a standing invitation to all to send us the materials—examples, cartoons, illustrative quotations and suggestions of every sort—which we will certainly acknowledge, and which are sur...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 683 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education, Inc.; 12th edition (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131898345
• ISBN-13: 978-0131898349
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The latest and greatest..., April 17, 2006

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Logic (Hardcover)

Logic is not just for Spock; deduction (which, if you read this book, you'll discover is rather different) is not just for Sherlock Holmes. Many if not most students of philosophy over the past 50 years have had their beginning logic training from an edition of this book, 'Introduction to Logic' by Irving M. Copi, now in its twelfth edition, also now with a co-author listed, Carl Cohen.

I first learned logic in a two-semester sequence through the philosophy department at my university from the fifth edition of Copi's text in the early 1980s, supplemented by other material from Copi and a few others on symbolic logic. Logic was required of philosophy majors; it was strongly recommended of majors in sciences and mathematics; it was preferred for students in social sciences. Indeed, the principles of logic contained in Copi's text would not be out of place in most any discipline.

This introductory text is also recommended reading for those preparing for major placement examinations, such as the LSAT and the MCAT. Learning how to think, and recognising typical and non-so-typical flaws in argumentation and reasoning are vital in many professions; the applications for law and medicine are fairly clear.

This new twelfth edition of the text includes a lot of extras, including LogicNotes with Practice Problems, which occasionally comes bundled with the text. The Overviews, marginalia with definitions and clarifications, and Visual Logic features are all things I wish I'd had in the earlier text I used.

The text is divided into different sections, including Language, Induction, and Deduction. Each part is then subdivided into two parts, A and B (logical, isn't it?). Language issues look at aspects such as definitions, informal fallacies in language, the question of meaning, truth and validity, and how to recognise argument forms. Deduction, what Sherlock Holmes always claims to be engaging, is a method whereby the validity of the premises provide the truth of the conclusion. In fact, Holmes usually engages in Inductive reasoning, including arguments by analogy and establishing probabilities, but not certainties. Also, the first two chapters are now separated out to introduce key concepts earlier and more directly.

This book beyond the introductory chapters on language arguments engages in symbolic logic -- rather like mathematics, it uses non-linguistic tools to work out the framework. The pieces of symbolic logic (fairly standard across the discipline, like mathematics) are introduced in various stages as inductive and deductive reasoning are developed. Copi and Cohen look at both classical and modern symbolic logic systems.

Copi and Cohen look at real-life applications, particularly as logic relates to scientific reasoning and social science reasoning. While this is not a mathematics text, it introduces some elements useful in mathematics, particularly in probability and in elements used in statistical reasoning.

This text can be used for self-study, as some of the exercises are worked out in the back. There are also study guides available that have been produced for earlier editions; they are nonetheless useful, as much of the material remains the same from one edition to another.

A great text!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Overview of Philosophical Logic, October 11, 2005

By 

D. S. Heersink "D. Stephen Heersink" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Introduction to Logic (Hardcover)

Copi's introduction to both inductive and deductive logic is one of the best surveys of philosophical logic in print. It's highly accessible and covers a lot of territory, more than any other introduction I've encountered. It's only drawback is its superficiality, as it doesn't fully cover probability, mathematical calculus, boolean logic, decision trees, or theorems and proofs..

The book begins with the uses of language, fallacies, arguments in ordinary language, Venn Diagrams, and then proceeds to symbolic logic, Aristotlean and a cursory overview of predicate calculus, quantification, science and hypothesis, analogy and probability (especially Mill's four rules of causal inference), and concludes with logic and the law (as a practical example of the application of logic).

This book would make an excellent text for an introduction to philosophical logic and arguments. There are definitely superior books that deal with each of the above subjects individually, but none that I know that covers such broad terrain in a short amount of space. As more and more colleges and universities mandate some course in critical thinking, I cannot think of a better text for an introductory overview. If this is the text, take the course. (Eighth Edition)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Poor Choice for a Logic Book, November 21, 2010

By 

Dennis K. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Logic (Hardcover)

A bit of background on myself, I am a Philosophy PhD student who focuses primarily on Logic and Philosophy of Mathematics. I have taught numerous Intro Logic courses and have never once chosen this book. I was exposed to this book when I was 12 in a course I took at Johns Hopkins University with a Professor from Georgetown. I still have the book.

Ok, so my main beefs with this book are that it doesn't prepare you for "real" logic and it contains a whole bunch of material that is terribly outdated and not studied at all these days.

The irrelevant material: essentially everything except for the section on Modern Logic (classical logic is of no interest to anyone except for Aristotle scholars these days; the section on fallacies may be helpful for writing papers and analyzing ordinary, everyday arguments, but not for formal logic; the section on induction is way too informal (i.e. not at all rigorous) and doesn't reflect what people who work on induction talk/think about; the section on logic and language is almost entirely useless, the reasoning sub-section IS entirely useless and informal logic sub-section is useless except for the mild utility of the fallacy chapter)

Even the section on Modern Logic is a bit unorthodox. Their system of natural deduction is clunky and cumbersome, especially for the intro logic student. 19 rules of inference instead of simply the standard introduction and elimination rules for the connectives. Also, IMO no intro logic course should allow their students to use equivalences beyond the intro and elimination rules...you get a much better appreciation of the equivalences (e.g. DeMorgan's Law, Hypothetical Syllogism, Disjunctive Syllogism) if you are forced to prove them instead of assuming them up front. Also having so many rules makes proofs confusing to the student beginning his studies in logic.

Finally, perhaps the most damning thing about the book for me, is that it doesn't prepare you for continuing studies in logic. If you wish to learn more logic, you'll be forced to unlearn the Copi stuff and instead pick up a book in Mathematical Logic or at least a more mathematically minded book (some examples: The Logic Book by Marie and Bergmann, Language, Proof and Logic by Barwise and Etchemendy, and A Mathematical Introduction to Logic by Herbert Enderton).

Essentially, the book is a very lightweight introduction to logic. Useful for unambitious students with no interest in the subject, but unlikely to foster an interest or fuel the interest of already interested students.