Customer Reviews

Introductory Logic: Student (4th edition)

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This workbook is designed to teach logic, and to do it from an unapologetically Christian slant. Chocked full of easy-to-understand lessons, each section ends with one (and sometimes two) exercises. This book is well designed, and should be considered by anyone interested in teaching his or her children formal logic.

My one and only complaint against this book is that the exercises do not include an answer page. But, I found the exercises easy enough that I could do my own correcting. So, I must say that I found this to be a great book and an excellent tool. I highly recommend it.

I used this program with a gifted sixth grader this year. He found it interesting and challenging. That's pretty unusual! Since there are only 28 exercise sets, there was only just enough practice to begin to learn the concepts. I would like to see a lot more practice included for those of us who use it as a year's course in logic.

Well written material based on a Christian format. This will challenge you to think and reason your arguments. It is challenging for High School, but fun and interesting.

In a day where feelings are often thought to be more important than truth, Christians need to be prepared. This book begins that process. Taking the basics of formal logic from a Christian perspective, this Mars Hill text is easy to use and is suited for ages 13+. The explanation of concepts is done adequately, and the review exercises are helpful in mastering each lesson. There is also a book on intermediate logic to supplement the ideas learned in this introduction. This book has been written for Christians, so non-Christians may have a different opinion on its quality than I do. However, I would highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to begin learning formal logic.

In "Introductory Logic: Student" one discovers a practical and effective system of logic for students designed to help young people rationally navigate through the maze of irrationality promoted by the post modern worldview. Relativists attempt to dominate the culture, academia, and the marketplace and thinking parents should teach their kids critical thinking skills and logic. Herein Douglas Wilson (pastor of Christ Church, Logos School board, and successful public debater) and James Nance (author: "Intermediate Logic for Christian and Home Schools") furnish a potent tool to help equip students in the art of logic. This volume is basic and straightforward as it is written from the perspective of Christian theism; it is especially useful for home school and tutoring.

In this exceptional introduction to logic one discovers How to:

- Discern and apply of the art of logical thinking and the utility of a Christian system of reasoning
- How to "think God's thoughts after him" as Van Til taught
- Learn and affirm the only immutable and rationally consistent wellspring of logic: Christian Theism
- Identify essential types of assertions
- Form a valid syllogism employing premises and conclusions
- Distinguish and classify informal fallacies.

The authors are Christian school and home school advocates whereas they place a powerful and truly helpful text in the hands of Christian and non-Christian families. Each section has instructive review questions and logic drills and it makes an outstanding resource for Middle School and High School students, or even adults who aim to grow in rational precision.
Review written by Mike A Robinson author of the Children's book: "Presuppositional Apologetics for Kids" ("Who Made Truth") found at the site: Mike A Robinson.
or try my book for adults:
Letter to an Atheist Nation: Presupositional Apologetics Responds To: Letter to a Christian

Outstanding book. Excellent approach to logic. Makes logic very understandable. I highly recommend this book for Jr. High and high school. It is also a great book for adults who have not had this subject. I have BS and masters degrees, but have never had a class in logic. I am loving studying this with my Jr. High daughter. It is written at a level that she can easily understand, yet is very interesting and educational for me, too.

I purchased this curriculum for an advanced sixth grader. It is very poorly organized. There is no schedule to follow to complete the text in a set amount of time. There are no helps for teachers who are not well-versed in logic. The DVD's are a presentation of Mr. Nance reading the student text - an expensive yet completely unnecessary purchase unless your student is solely an auditory learner. My student is trudging through it simply to satisfy diploma requirements. He is an excellent writer, organizes his thoughts well, argues well, and excels in public speaking. This logic course did not enhance his education in any way.

This was my first book on Logic. Since reading and doing all of the exercises in this text my interest in, and fascination with, logic has grown enormously. As a complete beginner, this text was not that easy to follow, and I needed some help from Wikipedia and other sites. Since then I have been reading many other logic texts, and IMO, the best one I have found so far is The Discovery of Deduction, which is less "dry" and has a lot of interesting background information about logic. The Nance books are more mathematical, and I guess it depends what you like. But I am really glad I bought Introductory Logic and completed the entire course, as I feel as though it has really improved my thinking skills. I intent to introduce it to my children, but will use Discovery of Deduction workbook instead.

Although the basic priciples of logic are presented in a clear and orderly manner, this otherwise well-written text is marred by its overtly Christian agenda. A large percentage of the statements used as examples within the text are biblically derived. The secular student is not likely to have sufficient familiarity with these biblical references to judge whether a given statement is accurate or inaccurate (something the author seems to take for granted). Additionally, and most importantly, matters of faith are, by definition, beyond reason and logic and are therefore incompatible with the aims of a logic text. How is a secular student to judge the "truth value" of a statement such as, "Jesus healed the blind," or "The Bible is the word of God?"

My daughter needed this book sooner than the typical mailing time through the Amazon website. I emailed the seller and they arranged to Priority Mail it so that I received it in 3 days! Very much appreciated!