Customer Reviews

Practical Reasoning In Natural Language (4th Edition)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was privileged to be a student of Professor Thomas back in the 1980s. He was one of the frontline thinkers that brought us "fuzzy logic"--precise, defined means of reasoning to a conclusion in non-deductive and even confusing situations.

It has to be understood that this sort of reasoning is NOT like your typicial logic text. This is beyond syllogisms and modus ponens, etc. This is logic that can take on more complex arguments and situations.

And as such, Professor Thomas was indeed very precise (some might even call it tedious) in making sure we "got it." This was necessary to ensure that we could truly reason out the "weird stuff" that might come our way (on a test, say).

I remember we gave values to the premises of arguments, etc., and used that to "score" the argument, and, thus, draw a conclusion.

What makes "fuzzy logic" tough is that there is not that clean, absolute, certainty that comes with deductive logic. Rather, one has to learn to settle for the notion of "probably true" or "probably false" at times. And that's just why the subject requires the hand-holding it does.

It's been a long time since I've seen or heard of Professor Thomas, but I'm glad to see he's still making waves in the world of logic!

This book has lots of exercises, but there is no answer key. So, unless you have a teacher's edition, or you are in a class with someone who does, it's got limited usefulness.

This book is the best! I had to buy it for school, but I would have bought it anyway. It's the greatest. It teaches you all about logic and arguments and other useful stuff. Some words I didn't understand; but I skipped those. Now, I can beat anyone in an argument. Try me! Go ahead.
Buy this book!

The reviewer who gave this book 5 stars and called it "the best" is either an impressionable young newcomer to logic (and to writing, for that matter), or a close family member of the author. Never before in my life had I felt that I've been completely ripped off by a textbook for school.

Yes, they are expensive, and yes they can be mediocre. But rarely could you find a book that gives you so little bang for the buck. The author spends entire pages repeating himself and saying something that could have been said in one small paragraph. Here's just one example (I hope you're sitting down for this):

(from page 174) "Remember this: When reasoning is valid, then it is unlikely or impossible for the conclusion to be false IF the reasons are true. Thus, reasoning can be shown to be invalid by showing that it would be a genuine possibility for the conclusion to be false even if the reasons were true..."

This is just one mercifully short example of how this author gets his highschool-level book to achieve the thickness of a college-level text. He repeats himself so much that I began to get the impression that the concepts in the book were unclear to HIM, and he had to work through them to understand them himself.

Whatever the case, only get this book new if you have no other choice. You should be able to get a decent used copy for $10 or so. Just be careful that all the pages are there: similar to those of the Phonix books I had when I was in grade school, the pages in this book are perforated, and the previous owner might have torn some of them out. Your best bet is to buy the book new at your college bookstore, make copies of the pages you need (find out from the instructor which exercises will be assigned), and return the book before the return deadline. This book is so overpriced for what it is, that this is the only LOGICAL thing to do.

If you are simply interested in Logic, avoid this book. You will get a MUCH better introduction in a book by Hurley, or another REAL logician. Stephen Thomas comes across as an M.A. student in his early twenties who has all the zeal of someone who has recently discovered logic, and all the arrogance of someone young who thinks he is an expert but doesn't even come close... and if this book even HAD an editor, he/she should be fired immediately!

At this point I would have given it 2 stars because of the book's good points (thoroughness is one of the few I can think of). But I ended up reducing that because the author decides to use examples, in the text, that hint at a political agenda. His decision to use the power he has (being assigned as a mandatory text in some college courses) to promote a political/moral ideology in a book that should be an unbiased learning tool for serious students knocked him down to 1 star.

The fact that there is not even a hint of the author's academic credentials to be found anywhere in the book makes it look like his uncle must be an executive at Prentice Hall. Go get your PhD, Mr. Thomas, and then get a real editor; then review the good, quality logic books that are out there, and get yourself a mentor. Maybe when you turn 30, you'll be ready to write a serious textbook.