Sherlock's Logic [Paperback]

William Neblett (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Amer (January 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819149624
• ISBN-13: 978-0819149626
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Teaching logic via the analysis of a murder mystery with the help of Sherlock Holmes III, March 31, 2007

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sherlock's logic

This is one of the most unusual logic books I have ever encountered. The first third of the book is a rather weak murder mystery starring the grandson of the great detective Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately for the grandson, he bears the same name as his famous grandfather. A murder takes place and Holmes III is part of the investigation. However, unlike the original stories, the Scotland Yard detective is very sharp, occasionally outdoing Holmes III in the realm of logic. The mystery is of course solved and that begins the remainder of the book.
The balance is designed to teach formal logic, using references to the mystery story that has just been solved. It begins with propositions and then formal reasoning using deduction rules such as modus ponens. Predicate logic, the most common types of fallacious reasoning and equivalent logical forms are presented. As such it is a complete introduction to the predicate calculus, propositional calculus and formal reasoning. It could possibly be used as a text in such a course.
However, the course would have to be presented at the lower end of the mathematical spectrum if this book were used as a textbook. The level of mathematical rigor is not what is needed for logic courses with a more mathematical structure. Nevertheless, it does present logic in an unusual way and it can be used for self-study of this important mathematical field.