The Language of First-Order Logic: Including the Windows Program Tarski's World 4.0 for use with IBM-compatible computers (Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes) [Paperback]

Jon Barwise (Author), John Etchemendy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1992 | Series: Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes (Book 34)

This text/courseware package presents a new approach to teaching first-order logic. Taking advantage of Tarski's World 4.0, the text skilfully balances the semantic conception of logic with methods of proof. The book contains eleven chapters, in four parts. Part I is about propositional logic, Part II about quantifier logic. Part III contains chapters on set theory and inductive definitions. Part IV contains advanced topics in logic, including topics of importance in applications of logic in computer science. The Language of First-order Logic contains hundreds of problems and exercises for the user to work through.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'The emphasis throughout is on the user doing logic be working the many problems in the text. Recommended unreservedly as a fascinating approach to a fascinating subject.' R. J. Wernick

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Center for the Study of Language and Inf; 3 edition (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0937073903
• ISBN-13: 978-0937073902
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good intro (Tarski's World!), limited to standard models., September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Language of First-Order Logic: Including the Windows Program Tarski's World 4.0 for use with IBM-compatible computers (Center for the Study of Language and Information - Lecture Notes) (Paperback)

This is an excellent introduction to first order predicate logic. The book is most valuable because of the supplementary Tarski's World program which helps the reader to visualize and practise logic. The only drawback is that without much comment the authors use an *interpreted* language, i.e. the intended meaning of, for example, "left of" is represented in the models, in other words, only standard models are considered. This also leads to ad hoc distinctions between, e.g., "tautology" and "logical validity". However, in school or university, this disadvantage can be repaired by giving the complementary view in the lectures.

The book has been used in our curriculum (major Language and AI, Tilburg University) over a number of years and with considerable success. For the novice, I even prefer it over our own Dutch text book (van Eijck & Thijsse - Logica voor Alfa's en Informatici, Academic Serice, 1989).