Thinking About Logic: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Logic (OPUS) [Paperback]

Stephen Read (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 1995 | ISBN-10: 019289238X | ISBN-13: 978-0192892386

In this book, Stephen Read sets out to rescue logic from its undeserved reputation as an inflexible, dogmatic discipline by demonstrating that its technicalities and processes are founded on assumptions which are themselves amenable to philosophical investigation. He examines the fundamental principles of consequence, logical truth and correct inference within the context of logic, and shows that the principles by which we delineate consequences are themselves not guaranteed free from error. Central to the notion of truth is the beguiling issue of paradox. Its philosophical value, Read shows, lies in exposing the invalid assumption on which the paradox is built. Thinking About Logic also discusses logical puzzles which introduce questions relating to language, the world, and their relationship.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...intelligent, informed, and provocative.....this is a worthy book. I hope it is found by its appropriate audience."--Teaching Philosophy

"Highly recommended."--Choice

About the Author

Stephen Read is Head, School of Philosophical and Anthropological Studies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 23, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019289238X
• ISBN-13: 978-0192892386
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,296 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of interesting issues, January 8, 2001

By 

Greg Restall (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thinking About Logic: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Logic (OPUS) (Paperback)

Stephen Read is a great philosopher and logician, and he shows in this book that logic is philosophically <em>alive</em>. There's lots of insight in this book, and it's an ideal companion for anyone who is learning logic at a university level and who has a niggling feeling that not everything is as clear-cut as it's sometimes taught.

The book is wide ranging, with excellent chapters on conditionality, truth, vagueness, names and non-referring terms. My upper level logic students love it, and my intro students use it to see where logic can take them and why it's such an interesting field. Read it!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes reader behind the logical scenes, March 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Thinking About Logic: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Logic (OPUS) (Paperback)

I checked this book out of the library to do a basic review of intuitionistic vs. classical logic. It was so readable and so useful, I had to buy a copy of my own. Undergrad students often balk at some of the assumptions they meet in introductory logic classes. What, for instance, is the rationale behind the truth values for material implication? Why is every proposition either true or false? Why can we reason from a double-negation to the affirmative? If you are familiar with classical logic already, this book is an extremely accessible introduction to long-standing debates among professional logicians.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reason Returns to Logic, December 11, 1999

By 

Arthur L. Fisher (Great Falls, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thinking About Logic: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Logic (OPUS) (Paperback)

This book is one of the best I have read on the philosophy of logic. The best chapters are 1, 2, and 3 on truth, logical consequence, and conditionals. The author espouses moderate realism, a commonsense approach. He reviews the existing scholarship on topics before proffering his own well-reasoned opinions.

Most modern basic logic texts go off a cliff in accepting bizarre definitions of validity and truth conditons for conditional propositions. Most explain that conditional propositions can be treated as truth functional material conditionals. Read corrects these errors.