The Logic Book with Student Solutions Manual (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author), (Author) "This is a text in deductive logic-more specifically, in symbolic deductive logic..." (more)
Key Phrases: Identity Decomposition, Universal Introduction, Existential Elimination (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This outstanding book is a leading text for symbolic or formal logic courses All techniques and concepts are presented with clear, comprehensive explanations and numerous, carefully constructed examples. Its flexible organization (all chapters are complete and self-contained) allows instructors the freedom to cover the topics they want in the order they choose.

The third edition incorporates many new and updated exercises and expanded discussions on evaluating arguments and symbolization in predicate logic. A free Student Solutions Manual is packaged with every copy of the textbook. Two logic programs, Bertie III and Twootie, are available as a free download from the University of Connecticut Philosophy Department's Web site.Bertie 3 is a proof checker for the natural deduction method and Twootie is a proof checker for the truth tree method.

About the Author

Merrie Bermann received her Ph.D. in philosophy from the United of Toronto and is currently an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at Smith College. She has published articles in formal semantics and logic, philosophy of language, and computational linguistics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 3 edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0079130836
• ISBN-13: 978-0079130839
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #839,917 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good logic book, February 24, 2000

By	Ryuji Suzuki (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It Depends..., November 15, 2005

By	TiZ - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Logic Book with Student Solutions CD-ROM (Hardcover)

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".

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not concise, but still a good learning aide, May 21, 2004

By	dartmouthbiomajor "dartmouthbiomajor" (Hanover, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Logic Book with Student Solutions CD-ROM (Hardcover)

This book might be a good addition to the library of a self-studier who has an ample amount of time or perhaps has little experience in logic or mathematics. Its explicitness really helps on the more difficult chapters, although this can frustrate, too, because it's hard to study when the rules aren't laid out in one particular spot. But overall, it's not so bad.