Logic and Philosophy: A Modern Introduction [Paperback]

Alan Hausman (Author), Howard Kahane (Author), Paul Tidman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0495128449 | ISBN-13: 978-0495128441 | Edition: 10

This text is designed for those instructors who desire a comprehensive introduction to formal logic that is both rigorous and accessible to students encountering the subject for the first time. Numerous, carefully crafted exercise sets accompanied by clear, crisp exposition give students a firm grasp of basic concepts and take the student from sentential logic through first-order predicate logic, the theory of descriptions, and identity. As the title suggests, this is a book devoted not merely to logic; students will encounter an extraordinary amount of philosophy as well. Upon completing the first two parts of the text, a student will be well prepared for advanced courses in analytic philosophy. The last part deals with supplemental matters-informal fallacies, modal logic, and inductive logic, among others.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Tidman received his Ph.D. in philosophy from The University of Notre Dame and now teaches philosophy and is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Mount Union College.

Howard Kahane, who died in 2001, is considered one of the founders of the "critical thinking" movement--an approach to logic that makes it less abstract and more practical as a tool for analyzing political and social issues. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 525 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 10 edition (June 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0495128449
• ISBN-13: 978-0495128441
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resourse!, March 10, 2001

By 

Andrew McCaffrey "The Grumpy Young Man" (Satellite of Love, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logic and Philosophy (with LogicCoach III): A Modern Introduction (Spiral-bound)

This was the text book used in a logic class I took. The book covers truth functions, truth tables, conditional proofs, indirect proofs, predicate logic, truth trees, syllogistic logic, inductive logic, axiomatic systems and a few other lesser used logical systems. Each section is explained clearly and with great attention to detail. As it is a text-book, every chapter ends with several problems for the reader to solve. There are lots and lots of examples that help to hammer the concept home if the reader has become stuck on some of the more difficult passages. This book is a great teacher and is an excellent resource for anyone who is interested in logic.

Note: The book has a URL where one can find information about errors, corrections and updates. The first error listed on the web-page is a typographical error in the URL that's written in the book. If I did not know better, I'd swear that the authors were trying to demonstrate circular logic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exellent Introduction to Logic, June 9, 2006

By 

TiZ - See all my reviews

This review is from: Logic and Philosophy: A Modern Introduction (Hardcover)

This review refers to the seventh edition of this book; I suspect that the later editions advertised by amazon.com are even better.

This is a clear, comprehensive, well-organised and friendly introduction to logic. Part one of the book is on sentential logic, part two is on predicate logic, and part three is on traditional logic, inductive logic and modal, epistemic and deontic logic, among other topics. The book thus focuses on sentential and predicate logic, and the sections on modal, epistemic and deontic logic introduce these fields very briefly.

The parts on sentential and predicate logic cover symbolisation, truth tables, truth trees and derivations. The material is explained clearly, there are walk-though examples, glossaries, and exercises, with answers to even numbered exercises available at the back of the book.

The title of the book suggests that it is an introduction to both logic and philosophy. Of course, logical competence is crucial to the pursuit of analytic philosophy, and there are also sections on the problem of induction and philosophical problems with symbolic logic, but there are few other philosophical topics discussed. One must look elsewhere for an introduction to other philosophical problems, where one can begin to apply the logical techniques imparted by this book.

Popular introductions to logic with similar coverage to this book include Gensler's "Introduction to Logic" and Copi's "Introduction to Logic". I recommend either of these books or this book as an introduction to logic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Read on the Subject, December 4, 2005

By 

David B. McDonald Sr. (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Logic and Philosophy: A Modern Introduction (Hardcover)

This is the third textbook I've read since taking Logic and Critical Thinking in college more than ten years ago. All three of the textbooks I've owned have been very powerful tools in teaching what forms the basis for mathematical and scientific proofs. However, this one by far is the most accessible. Because logic is a mathematical field, abstract mathematical principles can be difficult to grasp. Furthermore, texbooks in general are rarely entertaining. Kahane and Tidman have done an incredible job not putting the readers to sleep. At no point is doing a chapter penance for being interested in logic.