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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good logic book, February 24, 2000
This review is from: The Logic Book with Student Solutions Manual (Hardcover)
I used this for my sophomore level logic course, as the previous reviewer. I do agree that trees get large, but I think tree is the right method for showing some statements are consistent, equivalent etc. This book spends too many words (and examples) on the trivial issues and it is sometimes difficult to find the key points. I am very quick to get bored with trivial examples and tend to stop reading before I get all important points. This book poorly utilizes graphics. I wish the book summarized key points using simple tables or lists. Perhaps you like to make your own graphic summary as you read (I did). I give four stars because the coverage is good but not five because of the reasons I said above.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
It Depends..., November 15, 2005
This logic textbook covers sentential and predicate logic. There are chapters on semantics, syntax, derivations, truth-trees and metatheory. Each chapter also contains many examples and exercises.
In my opinion, the chapters on truth-trees and derivations are the best. I found this book's method for universal and existential generalization and instantiation much easier to apply than the method introduced in some other textbooks. The most difficult chapters are those on metatheory.
I would have liked more guidance on constructing proofs in English and a more general outline of the method for mathematical induction. Standard paraphrases are introduced and rigorously applied for translating from English to SL but unfortunately not for translating from English to PL, which is more difficult.
I agree with a previous reviewer that this book could have made better use of graphics. There are some tables and boxes for definitions, strategies and lists of rules, but perhaps not enough. There are glossaries at the end of most chapters, but these could be extended.
While this book does not require any previous exposure to logic, it may prove difficult for many without this exposure or a patient instructor. Whether this textbook will be helpful to you probably also depends on your interests in logic. I was not interested in the chapters on metatheory. The book does not cover inductive, traditional, modal, epistemic or deontic logic.
Copi's "Introduction to Logic", Gensler's "Introduction to Logic" and Kahane and Tidman's "Logic and Philosophy: A Modern Introduction" are easier and more user friendly than this book and introduce some important areas of logic not covered in this book. If you want a good introduction to logic to help you evaluate and construct arguments for philosophy, then I recommend any of these three books. For those who want a more difficult and focused introduction I recommend "The Logic Book".
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Classic for No Reason, May 18, 2003
This review is from: The Logic Book with Student Solutions Manual (Hardcover)
It is unfortunate that Mr. Morriss had such difficulty with his logic course, especially since he is both a philosophy student and has been able to maintain a respectable GPA. As any student of philosophy knows, however, any one of a number of things could have brought about the 'D' on the midterm for the unfortunate fifty percent of his fellow students. My experience with this text and (perhaps, therefore) with my undergraduate logic class in general was considerably more enjoyable than Mr. Morriss's experience. Certainly my professor was very good at presenting the material, but presumably he was not making up for a poorly written book. For, when I needed to consult the text, I found it actually to be quite clear and helpful. Turning to the book itself, since I am not a fan of truth trees, when I have the opportunity to teach my own logic course, I will utilize proofs. I have viewed many undergraduate logic texts, and the proof method presented in this text seems the clearest. Furthermore, as my logic professor told me and his professor told him: Logic is not in the head; it's in the fingers. Therefore, I think that the considerable amount of exercises contained in this text is greatly beneficial. Third, definitions of terms and important points are presented clearly in text boxes throughout the book. Students will benefit greatly by committing these terms and points to memory. Finally, although the price is prohibitive (hence, four stars), Bergmann, Moor, and Nelson's text has withstood the test of time. (In fact, the 4th edition is supposed to be out this summer.) Such evidence is not conclusive, but it suggests that perhaps lying behind Mr. Morriss's frustration is a cause more complex than merely this classic text.
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