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Aims to transform logic into a reflection on the nature of language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Difficulty translating shouldn't (always) make for difficult reading!
Heidegger is best read in German. That said, translations can often be illuminating, especially where Heidegger is at his most elusive, grammatically and philosophically. The present English translation of Band 38 of Heidegger's Gesamtausgabe, however, is disappointing on a number of accounts. Problems both of translation and of overall readability beset the text, many of which, on the whole, could have been allayed by a process of critical and thoroughgoing editing.
While aware of the difficulties which assail any translation of Heidegger, the translators often compromise clarity of expression for the sake of a very suspect literality (the "propinquity of the English to the German" mentioned in the blurb on the back cover), which betrays the "nuances" of the original and the integrity of the English. Elision and at times unnatural German-like constructions and word ordering give rise to new complications of meaning, where the German text reads quite comfortably and unaffectedly. I will give a few examples below. First, however, let me briefly state why the stakes are so high for the translator of this text in particular. (Thus, I will not deal explicitly with the themes, concepts and arguments set forth by Heidegger.)
Because of the biographical intrigue which surrounds this text, the translator ideally has to equilibrate competing demands of conveying a conceptually more abstruse employment of language, and the more mundane, colloquial uses of which Heidegger often avails himself. The course is concerned with 'Sprache,' language (a seemingly simpler term to translate than 'Rede,' discourse, with which Being and Time was concerned), the nature of which is unfolded through a lengthy interrogation of logos. The text, however, based on student transcripts of lectures delivered in the summer course of 1934 at Freiburg, reveals the growing strategic importance of such concepts as 'das Volk,' 'der Fuehrer,' 'das Reich' (all left untranslated in the text)'and so forth, for the overall engagement in the attempt to attain a more originary experience of language, its constitutive role in the determination of the being that Dasein is, and in waging the 'battle' (Kampf) against the traditional elaboration of logic, wherein "our spiritual and historical destiny is decided," as Heidegger puts it.
These themes, while not unknown to 'fundamental ontology,' are nonetheless elaborated here at the height of Heidegger's own political/polemical engagement with National Socialism, after his resignation from the Rectorship, yet during the period in which politics and philosophy are said to become almost indiscernible, his alleged 'Nazism' supposed (according to some) to have assumed a fully legible identity in the guise of philosophical conceptuality. Even 'Arbeit' (labor) and 'Arbeitslosigkeit' (unemployment) figure prominently, which no longer merely refer to "tools" and the artisan's workshop, but take on a directly political significance. The contemporary, if somewhat earlier themes, of re-founding the organization of the university and the sciences on a new principle (decided by ontology) are present as well.
Even here, however, where the vocabulary seems most ordinary, the translators fail to balance the competing demands mentioned above. Does 'Arbeitslosigkeit,' for instance, designate 'unemployment,' entailing a promiscuous foray into the psychology and sociology of the economic hardship of early twentieth-century Germany (whose reality would have weighed so heavily at that time, even to Heidegger's students), as the English text renders it, or a new elaboration of the 'worklessness' of Dasein, whose precise status is undecidable within the economy of these few passages alone. Judging from Heidegger's elaboration of 'Arbeit,' its connection to 'Stimmung' and the 'transferring into the midst of beings' which 'Arbeit' puts into work, it would seem that Heidegger undoubtedly has in mind something that elide mere 'ontic' reification. The translators fail to do justice to the ontological implications of some of these key terms. An injustice which, unfortunately, does not help salve the wound which accusations levied against Heideggerian's of the left and the right, and those averring neutrality on this point, have inflicted, but rather has the adverse effect of adding to the charge of esotericism, and the so-called mysticism which was to abet manifestations of political monstrosity. It is the lack of critical readership, and laisser-aller adoption of Heideggerian terminology, more than anything, more perhaps than Heidegger himself, which has helped detractors lance this spear into the Heideggerian corpus.
Besides this, the text should serve as a solid counterpoint to temper some reductive readings of Heidegger, particularly those which see in the trajectory of his thinking a single straight line, issuing from the rather fragmentary sketches of 'Rede,' discourse, in Being and Time to the so-called mature 'linguistic idealism' of his On the Way to Language, which is said to reveal the truth of the earlier, as yet un- or underdeveloped analyses. We find here a sort of bridge between the Heidegger of 'fundamental ontology' and his later 'turning,' revealing an entirely rich and varied period of reflection whose themes can be detected in his later pronunciations on 'ontotheology,' his contemporary preoccupations with the poetic word, and the earlier seminars dealing with logic and categorial intuition.
As for the more minute points concerning the translation, I aim neither at exhaustiveness nor comprehensiveness; I will limit myself to the more salient oddities of the first few pages, and will simply let the reader take my word that these are rather representative of the translation as a whole.
p.1: 'die Entdeckung des rechten Vollzugs derselben und ein Sichauskennen darin,' is translated 'the discovery of the right execution of the same and a being familiar within.' To translate 'derselben' with 'the same,' without the accompanying noun or noun phrase of which it is 'the same,' introduces an unnecessary ambiguity into the English which is not there for the German reader, who has the added clarity of gender and case. Also, 'darin' is not simply 'within,' but '(with)in it,' referring to the same 'it' to which 'derselben' refers. Where the German can economize by use of pronouns, the English, suffering from a deficit of gender and case, calls for elaboration: here, the tedium of repetition is a small price to pay for clarity.
p.2: 'Die Ordnung von Grund und Folge,' where 'Grund und Folge' are translated as 'Reason and Consequence.' Granted, 'Der Satz vom Grund' is known to English readers the world over as 'The Principle of Reason.' However, it presumes a more imaginative reader, where no further incitation is given, to realize what the relation between 'reason' and 'consequence' is, i.e. that every thing that is a consequence of something has a reason, i.e. a ground, for being (the consequence that it is). But here, the relation of determination is lost in such a formula as 'reason' and 'consequence.'
p.3: 'in seiner bzw. ihrer Selbigkeit,' reads the German, where the translators give: 'in its respective self-sameness.' The 'bzw.' (beziehungsweise), which simply means 'or,' or 'or, as the case may be,' etc., here refers to the differentiation of gender which the dualnoun-subject of 'Selbigkeit,' mentioned just prior, calls for in German. No such distinction obtains in English, which does not differentiate between gender. Thus, 'bzw.' is made, in the English, to refer to the 'Selbigkeit' itself, rather than to the possibility that the subject of this 'Selbigkeit' may be either masculine or feminine.
p.3: 'd.h.,' (das heisst), is rendered 'that means,' a very un-English way of saying 'that is, i.e.' and which makes the sentence as a whole improbable to an English reader.
p.4: 'Das Aussagen begegnet uns...' is rendered: 'Asserting encounters us...' Literal, yes. But this is a very simple construction in German, which ought simply to be rendered: 'We encounter, come across... etc.'
p.6: 'und mit uns gehen' is translated: 'and [they] go with us.' Literal to a tee. The context, however, implies not that the 'adversaries' accompany 'us' somewhere, but that they are in agreement, i.e., are 'allies' in the argument on this particular point.
p.7: 'gegen etwas zu Felde ziehen' is again a rather colloquial way of saying 'to take up arms against something,' 'to crusade or wage battle against.' The translation, 'to take the field against,' wanting to preserve the 'propinquity' of English to German, would better be rendered: 'to take to the (battle) field against...' The literality misses the militaristic, and once more historically fateful rhetoric of H.'s 'mandate' and 'Kampf.'
p.7: 'und damit alle Auseinandersetzung' is translated: 'and with this all confrontation.' Although 'damit' can serve as a conjunction, meaning 'thereby,' and so forth, here it is undoubtedly the object of 'Auseinanderstzung,' which would be better translated as something like: 'and all attempts to come to terms with this,' i.e. to enter into a confrontational explication of it.
The reader may find some of the objections listed above excessively critical, but these very simple grammatical errors add up. 'Dann' is obsessively rendered 'then' on almost every occasion where it appears, which is often entirely expendable in the English. Of course, this text is not geared toward the Heideggerian scholarly community in particular, but for those readers looking for a greater acquaintance with Heidegger, and to do so through the facility of their native tongue. The English reader will, I suspect, find himself tripping over some of the more awkward constructions in this book, and will even be left wondering as to the very enigmatic meaning of some passages, even when H. seems to assert himself quite clearly and without obfuscation: where Heidegger simply asserts, the English sounds oracular.
Overall, a strong addition to the Heideggerian English corpus, but a less than savory treat for Anglophones. For those wishing to gain a greater grasp of Heidegger's treatment of language and logos, I would suggest consulting the German. To those looking for an introduction to Heidegger's views, start with 'The Metaphysical Foundations of Logic,' whose concerns are, it is true, different, but which will serve in the long run as a much better guide.
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Still one of the most felicitous of Hegelian translations, Wallace's version of the Logic brings out, with matchless skill, the spirit and sense of the original.The translation covers the Zusatze added by Leopold von Henning, which include some of Hegel's most memorable utterances.An introduction by J.N. Findlay throws light on the logical pattern of the work and its relation to the pattern of the whole system of which it is the notional anticipation, and corrects a small number of errors in the translation itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Buy the Newer Translation
Wallace's translation of Hegel's "Encyclopaedia Logic" is terrible. Buy the newer--and much more faithful--translation by Gereats, Suchting and Harris, available through Hackett Publishing Company.

Buy the other edition
Anyone interested in buying a copy of the so-called 'Lesser Logic" would be better off getting a copy of the newer translation by Harris etc.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
This is the book Aleister Crowley mentions to be studied in " Liber OS ABYSMI vel DAATH." Via the reason, this man has gathered all systems of philosophy together into one gigantic fulfilment ofbewilderment: if one actually contemplates what he means, one will justcause a destruction of the precepts which had accumulated to the point offervour, thus causing one to feel worse after experiencing thisannihilating tragedy of a text-book. Still, there must be some sort ofsufficient synthesis inherent in the reading, as to cause a fantastic foamof brewing thoughts in the reflection mode of the Memory phase of the Mind,utterly beyond mere positive thinking. ... Read more

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No matter how good an idea sounds, if it's logically invalid it won't hold up. A LOGIC BOOK: FUNDAMENTALS OF REASONING takes you inside the world of debate and shows you how to flawlessly structure your arguments. And because A LOGIC BOOK: FUNDAMENTALS OF REASONING is clear and easy to follow, you'll be up-to-speed in class as well. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

On time.
I was really glad that the product reached on-time although I had to make some adjustments into the shipping address. The only problem was that the book wasn't in a very nice condition. Other then than, everything was perfectly fine. I am happy.

Order came as expected.
I would order from this seller again.The product was represented properly in the listing.

M.S. in computer Science and Artificial Intelligence
This is a straighforward and easily understandable introduction to formal logic.Especially important is the clear statement of the relationship between deductive logic, and probabilistic reasoning -- a relationship that is poorly understood in America's engineering community.with the number of artificial intelligenc publications in 2006 exploding, it is important for engineers to know the limitations of probabilistic reasoning.

I had rather that the book left out the older Aristotelian syllogistic approach, as this tends to alienate modern technical people who are trying to evaluate the worth of modern symbolic logic. ... Read more

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Justus Hartnack provides a highly accessible, philosopically astute Introduction to Hegel's Logic, one of those rare books that rewards readers at any level of sophistication, and the ideal text for students about to embark on the study of this challenging topic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Recommended
I just wanted to recommend this book to anyone embarking on taking on Hegel's Logic. Beware, though, the book, despite being an introduction, is challenging and demands slow, concentrated reading (this is also due in part to its condensed nature; a mere 124 pages covering each and every section of the Logic). This is no fault of Hartnack; The Science of Logic demands nothing less. Hartnack, in fact, provides the gist of Hegel's arguments in an exceptionally clear form. His "analytic" orientation doesn't matter much to me, nor should it pose a problem for you; if the arguments provided are sound, they're sound. The book holds rewards for the engaged reader on almost every page. Another observation I'd like to make is that the book is designed, in my judgment, for a reader already familiar with some basic concepts in philosophy (think upper-undergraduate level), though I think that a reader below that level may also find it useful with enough effort. In sum, I'd use this book as a steroid supplement before entering the ring and facing the beast itself.

Terrific!
I've read a few introductions to the Logic and Hartnack's is by far the clearest without sacrificing too much depth. While I doubt this book will be of much aid to a person who knows little philosophy, if you are familiar with Hegel and German philosophy, this is a wonderful introduction and guide to a very difficult text. An achievement!

Another Hartnack success
Like all of Hartnack's expositions of the idealists, this is a clearly written, easy-to-follow introduction to a difficult philosophy text.It
is highly recommended.

Clearest introduction to the Logic available
This is a remarkable piece of philosophical exegesis.In a mere 124 pages, Hartnack explicates the arguments of the Science of Logic.What is particularly interesting is that the Danish author is apparently trained in analytic philosophy, which is notoriously hostile to Hegel and all things Continental.Hartnack makes many references to philosophers such as Strawson, Wittgenstein, Russell, Carnap, and Frege.This is not a mere matter of saying "here's the Analytic Hegel."These references are used conservatively, and only to bring clarity to Hegel's own text.This is not a book that contains the next great "reading" of Hegel a la Kojeve or Hyppolite.But it is perhaps the book that one should seek out if he or she wishes to achieve a nuts and bolts understanding of what is perhaps the most difficult work in the history of philosophy. ... Read more

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Classic introduction to objectives and methods of schools of empiricism and linguistic analysis, especially of the logical positivism derived from the Vienna Circle. Topics: elimination of metaphysics, function of philosophy, nature of philosophical analysis, the a priori, truth and probability, critique of ethics and theology, self and the common world, more. "A delightful book...I should like to have written it myself."—Bertrand Russell.
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Customer Reviews (25)

Doesn't replace history of philosophy!
I saw the reviews and I think you may be miss-lead. This book does not replaces a good introduction to history of philosophy. It is certain that this books lacks of originality, but he gives the idea that everything is well-established, and he puts everything within his range of classification, which ir really doubtful for someone trying to begin with philosophy.

I don't see anything particularly new in this book. He has a scheme to classify others' philosophy. It can be dangerous appealing, in the sense that it tries to remove some of disputes of the philosophers.

I would say that is a good protection from the problems of the philosophy, not a good philosophy book. He does not solve the problems, he does not say where is the origin of the problem, or the miss use of the language.

Epiphany
This book, originally written in 1935, is, as Ayer says in his introduction, 'very much a young man's book'; that's his way of saying that perhaps he was a little strident at the time. As many of us know, the young tend to believe that everything they stumble across is revealed truth, and it's only after living for many more years that one finds that what they felt they had originally discovered was already known by most other people.
Ayer was one of the most famous logical positivists, had the gift of clear and concise writing and is able to maintain your interest throughout this not-too-long book, especially if you are interested in this sort of thing.
His epiphany? Well, if we refer to Anthony Lewis' characterization of Wittgenstein's early work, we find that 'Language consists of propositions that picture the world; propositions are the perceptible expressions of thoughts, and thoughts are logical pictures of facts'. Therefore, if we analyze propositions, we analyze the 'truth of existence' as it seems to humans, anyway. Ayer takes propositions, determines them to be either synthetic or analytic, and judges their truth; i.e. determines reality.
Looking back through the history of Philosophy, the idea of the synthetic and analytic, of the one and the many, of induction and deduction, and of subjective and objective universalism have been fully explored in ancient times, and as (I think) Plato said 'Once a young man discovers the 'One and the Many' he finds it everywhere and there's no stopping him'. It's basically what it's all about, and every 'new' idea in philosophy is some variant of it. Ayer calls it a 'little book', but I think it's a great book, and a good guide on how to look at things and think about them.

logical read
I have enjoyed reading Language, Truth and Logic very much.The book was in great shape when it got to me and it arrived very quickly!The low price will have me back looking for more.

Read Hume Instead
"Language, Truth and Logic" burst on the philosophical world in the 1930s.A logical positivist manifesto, it rides hard a very simple thesis (inspired by Hume):that all meaningful statements are either analytic (i.e., are tautologies) or are empirical (i.e., are verifiable through sense experience) -- and that everything else is junk.This dichotomy led the author to embrace some radical positions on metaphysics, ethics, and consciousness, which, because of the book's brevity, come across as underargued and dogmatic, especially when joined to the outlandish claim that the book is the last word on questions that have perplexed philosophers for millennia.On the other hand, the writing is brisk and iconoclastic, and the reader is genuinely challenged to to figure out how exactly the arguments go wrong. Bottomline:"Language, Truth and Logic" is a fun read but readers interested in these issues would be better off going directly to Hume.He made similar arguments with more style, sensitivity, and nuance.

A very important book
Ayer is gifted as a clear, precise writer.
Agree or disagree with Ayer, this is a book every contemporary analytic philosopher should read. ... Read more

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"[This book] proposes new foundations for the Bayesian principle of rational action, and goes on to develop a new logic of desirability and probabtility."--Frederic Schick, Journal of Philosophy ... Read more

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Solid philosophical introduction to foundational issues
The outlines of modern decision theory were laid down by Ramsay, di Finetti, von Neumann, and Savage in the mid-Twentieth century. Their treatments tended to be inspired either by mathematical or behavioral concerns. Jeffery's contribution is that it takes a philosopher's viewpoint, and while by no means ignoring mathematical arguments, is accessible to readers with a limited tolerance for or proficiency in mathematical analysis.

The introductory student will find this book hospitable, but for an appreciation of the classics of the field and the varied intentions of its architects, the student will have to refer to the original sources. Jeffrey does not provide such an overview. This book was written in 1965 and updated in 1983, so it is not surprising that it does not deal with some of the salient issues in decision theory today. In particular, it does not deal with the now huge literature in experimental psychology and behavioral game theory that sheds much light on how people actually make decisions. The reader interested in such issues will be forced to go elsewhere for such an analysis. Similarly, it does not deal with the bounded rationality literature, such as Gigerenzer's contributions to "fast and frugal" decision-making.

Several of the behavioral sciences do not include the rational actor described by decision theory in its general toolbox, and most practitioners in these fields are swift to condemn this model, usually on clearly spurious grounds. For instance, many sociologists believe that Bayesian rationality presupposes that beliefs (a.k.a. subjective priors) must be "rationally justifiable,'' and reject the model because beliefs in the real world cannot be accurately described through the criterion of rational justifiability. In fact, as Jeffrey's argument makes clear, subjective priors are just that---priors. They must be updated using Bayes' Rule, but that is all. Many psychologists reject decision theory because experimental results indicates that there are important biases in human decision-making that are not accounted for by the Savage-von-Neumann axioms. This is correct and important, but it does not follow that decision theory should be rejected as a contribution to understanding human behavior. These and related contemporary arguments are not treated in Jeffrey, but he does give the reader a solid set of insights into the meaning and operation of modern decision theory.
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This study provides a unified theory of properties, relations, and propositions (PRPs).Two conceptions of PRPs have emerged in the history of philosophy.The author explores both of these traditional conceptions and shows how they can be captured by a single theory. ... Read more

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With clear explanations and many examples drawn right out of day-to-day life, Paul Herrick untangles the complexities of logical theory in The Many Worlds of Logic. This new edition adds new chapters on informal logic and critical thinking. It also breaks out longer chapters from the previous edition into shorter, more focused chapters. Herrick has added many new explanations and examples; in each chapter, he covers the fundamentals completely before moving on to more challenging areas.

Features
* Difficult terms are highlighted and explained carefully
* End-of-chapter glossaries help students remember important terms
* Hundreds of examples demonstrate the application of concepts
* Hundreds of exercises help students learn logic by actually doing it
* Truth-trees in an appendix help students go beyond the basics ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Nice Book Owner
I can't comment on the book as it was ordered by mistake for my college son. However, this small book owner in Oregon was very quick in her email response ref my returning it. It was hassle free and my refund promptly credited. For that reason, I have given her 5 stars and would order from her again .Logic (Prentice-Hall Foundations of Philosophy Series)

Great Explanations by an Acknowledged Authority
Not a textbook (there are no exercises or drills) but an exceedingly clear and tightly written primer explaining the fundamental principles of deductive and inductive logic, replete with interesting examples. Packs a lot into its 150 pages without getting crabbed or elliptical, which is no easy trick. The section on induction and the philosophy of science is particularly good, which is not surprising, since the late Professor Salmon was a leading authority on this subject. Highly recommended as a supplement to your introductory logic textbook.

The Best Book on Inductive Logic
This is book is the best book on inductive logic I have seen. It's unfortunate, therefore, that it has gone out of print. Salmon describes the many different types of inductive arguments, including induction by enumeration, statistical syllogism, analogy, and the hypothetico-deductive method. He also provides a good introduction to inductive fallacies, including insufficient statistics, biased statistics, the fallacy of incomplete evidence, misuses of the argument from authority, and causal fallacies. If you read only one book on inductive logic, read this book!

Easy to be understood. Must-read for Logic!
Logic is a hard topic, before one read this book. I read the Chinesetranslation several years ago and find it very precise and concise. Plussuitable examples and good elaboration, nobody can explain logic betterwith the same amount of words than the author of this book. ... Read more

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This text provides a straightforward, lively but rigorous, introduction to truth-functional and predicate logic, complete with lucid examples and incisive exercises, for which Warren Goldfarb is renowned. ... Read more

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The best introduction to logic that I know of
I confess I've never seen the published version of Goldfarb's Deductive Logic, but I've held on for more than a decade to his class notes, and that's saying something, given my aversion to accumulating schtuff.The "modern classic" review on this page makes the book sound just like the notes.If so, the review is right on.It's hard to make such a dry subject interersting, to avoid a pedantic tone, to give a cumulative impression (rather than a brute dictum) that the study of logic follows naturally from the universal human duty to think clearly (and maybe even from the more basic duty to live well).Goldfarb manages to do all of this.Read his book.

Goldfarb produces a modern classic.
This is one of the kindest, most avuncular logic books I have ever seen. Every page is evidence of the author's warmth toward his students and his dedication to conveying logic to them in a way that respects them as mature persons.His thorough mastery of the subject and its philosophy is another feature that distinguishes this book from the mountain of logic texts written by inexperienced assistant professors and by persons for whom logic is a mere sideline, not a professional specialty as it is with Goldfarb, an accomplished and respected logician who has been teaching this material for over twenty years.No logic book I know of conveys kind warmth toward the readers or deeply modest non-dogmatic competence in the field more than Goldfarb's 2003 DEDUCTIVE LOGIC.The usual scientistic hocus-pocus, formalistic pedantry and breezy dogmatism are nowhere to be found in this book.Its examples are chosen to appeal to the intelligent humanities student, not merely to the mathematical science or computer engineering student. They are carefully and tastefully crafted to avoid irrelevant linguistic complexities, both logical and sociological.

The author took over responsibility for Harvard's legendary introductory logic course Philosophy 140 in 1979 when W. V. Quine retired.A form of Quine's distinctive, if not idiosyncratic, philosophy and organization of logic has been meticulously and creatively implemented.Accordingly, but perhaps to the surprise of readers not familiar with the Quinean approach, deduction in the sense of step-by-step inferring of conclusions implied by given premises is substantially deferred until Section 33 of the books 44 Sections. The 44 sections averaging six pages in length are unequally divided into four Parts titled respectively: Truth-functional Logic, Monadic Quantification Theory, Polyadic Quantification Theory, and Identity and Names.The material in this book has been thoroughly classroom-tested.Most first-edition logic texts are loaded with errors that are exasperating to students and instructors alike. My reading has turned only one (non-exasperating) error: on pages 18, 69, and 289 the space in Augustus De Morgan's last name is omitted.Despite an honest effort to detect further errors typographical and otherwise the reviewer, to his amazement, has found none.

If a college instructor wants to present a Quinean form of modern first-order logic with identity and names but without functions in a competent, accurate and thoughtful way while avoiding patronizing spoon-feeding, this might be the best text.No other book I know comes close.On the other hand, if an instructor wants to convey the sometimes agonizing rough-and-tumble of contemporary or historical philosophy of logic, or the astounding struggles, dead-ends, missed opportunities, lapses in objectivity and embarrassing errors, even inconsistencies, involved in the historical development of currently accepted versions of the science painfully born in Ancient Athens, this book is not even a candidate.The words `Aristotle', `Boole', `contradiction', `epistemic', `ontic', `paradox', proof', `speech-act', `Tarski' and `tautology' do not occur in the index.There is no bibliography of readings in history and philosophy of logic and no list of current journals in the field.From the study of this excellent text, some students might infer that logic is a fascinating, rewarding and useful science that is virtually complete and uncontroversial.But they might also get the impression that it has no past and no future, that it will persist eternally in its present perfect form, and that it is an island of peaceful rationality.Logic may seem to lift the mind's eye toward the Platonic Form of Reason. ... Read more

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Making sense of LOGIC just got a whole lot EASIER!

Stumped trying to understand logic? It's time to listen to reason! There's no doubt that Logic Demystified will help you master this challenging subject.

Written in a step-by-step format, this practical guide begins by covering arguments, validity, and truth tables. You'll move on to propositional and predicate logic, rigor, fallacies, paradoxes, and revelations. Proofs, Boolean algebra, the logic of machines, and sets are discussed as is the illogic of time, matter, space, and chaos. Detailed examples and concise explanations make it easy to understand the material, and end-of-chapter quizzes and a final exam help reinforce learning.

It's a no-brainer! You'll get:

• Rules for reasoning
• Quantified statements and theorems
• Simple and classical paradoxes
• Strategies for proofs
• Basic set theory and machine logic
• A time-saving approach to performing better on homework, an exam, or at work

Simple enough for a beginner, but challenging enough for an advanced student, Logic Demystified helps you validate your knowledge of this multidisciplinary topic. ... Read more

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Strengthen your reasoning skills with LOGIC AND CONTEMPORARY RHETORIC: THE USE OF REASON IN EVERYDAY LIFE, 11E. This logic book puts critical-thinking skills into a context that you'll remember and use throughout your life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Doesn't suit my needs.
I am in a college logic course. This was the book given by the instructor to read. I fall asleep reading it, honestly. It has good material, however it has some inconsistencies (only one definition I know of is incorrect)with other texts and uses a lot of politics. I just don't care for the writing style. Good material though.

Excellent Service
I placed my order for this book on a Monday afternoon and received it on Wednesday. I really appreciate the quick service.

Get it if you can
.

I would acknowledge what other reviewers indicate,which is thatthis book, in its 11th Edition,may have identifiable faults and inconsistences.However the earlier editionsare very useful.I have a copy of the Third Edition, and it is an excellent introduction to logic.

For example,on the very first page,the author breaks down the information as to the ARGUMENT, thePREMISE, and the CONCLUSION.

The author,Howard Kahane, expeditesthe learning of logic by eliminatingall of the unnecessary rhetoricwhich frequently padsthe books about the subject. A like new copy sells for over fifty dollars on the used market, andI think the book is worth itbecause the author teaches by examples, and manyexamples for what he teaches fill the book. This avoids the flawed, but common methodology by which authors teach only the technical aspect of logicbut give few real world examples of the arguments.

Morevoer,the author also teaches about Logical Fallacies, andshows moreover,how to analyze"extendedarguments". This is important,of course,becauseone has to cultivate the method forreducinglong sentencesor paragraphs,down to reducedstatement to get the rudimentary premise and so forth.

. The book is worth the money.There are far more bad books published, on the subject of logic.

.

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Neither Recommended Nor Refused
I want to think better of this book.I want to say it approaches rhetoric and public discourse in a manner useful for freshman comp and other introductory classes.But reading through, I find so many limits that my qualms battle my love of rhetoric.The sad fact is, I can neither recommend nor oppose this book.I can only spell out my qualifications.

This book's first edition appeared at a time when mathematical modeling dominated logic.It posited that the issues we face in life seldom conform to numerical precision.Sometimes we must consider ideas that cannot be abstracted from their context, or do not exist independently from the language in which we present them.Though that concept is no longer controversial, too few undergraduates still really understand it.

Unfortunately, this book emphasizes identifying others' faulty reasoning over constructing new, valid arguments.After two short chapters on sound reasoning, the authors launch into over a hundred pages on spotting fallacious reasoning, and why people cling to bad ideas.The authors pause a little on use of language and writing, before a long excoriation of how admen, news media and textbooks obscure important debates.

I support everything the authors say.Undergraduates need to know this content, much of which I never learned until I was in grad school.But everything is out of balance.The authors put logic "out there," and touch fleetingly on the answer to bad public discourse: good personal reasoning.Only when students can reason for themselves can they resist abuse of logic, much less answer back to it.

This lopsidedness comes across strongest in the critical thinking exercises.Consider this, from the chapter on advertizing: "Examine a political commercial for the visual effects, the pacing, and other nonverbal elements, and analyze how they either enhance a candidate's image or undermine it (in a negative ad)."I'm not sure I could do that, much less an undergraduate armed only with this mere outline of the salient parts.

Howard Kahane, who wrote the first edition alone in 1971, died in 2001.Nancy Cavender presumably keeps sources timely in new editions.But if so, she needs to police her process.To cite just two examples, a text box in Chapter 12 makes three references to content not in the text.An anecdote about Britney Spears refers to evidence on a dress; her story must have been subbed for Monica Lewinsky, and the editing left visible scars.

These examples stick in my brain, but are not exhaustive.The index and bibliography are hit-or-miss, the footnotes have only a casual relationship with some of the text, and the authors admit much of the text recaps other books.Much of chapter 12 is cribbed, if not plagiarized, from James Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me.I know mistakes happen, but holy moley, in a college text that lists for nearly $100, I expect better.

Parts of this book are quite good.If the authors dropped the lame classroom exercises and listed the book for a reasonable price, I bet they'd find a good general audience.But I struggle to imagine how I could make this book useful in a course.Maybe a class on political discourse or media analysis could use this book.But it just lacks what my gen-ed students need in the classroom.

Logic & Contemporary Rhetoric...
I ordered this textbook for my college freshman daughter.The book she received was very good quality (just as posted) and delivered very promptly! ... Read more

Product Description

For courses in Formal Logic. The general approach of this book to logic remains the same as in earlier editions. Following Aristotle, we regard logic from two different points of view: on the one hand, logic is an instrument or organon for appraising the correctness of reasoning; on the other hand, the principles and methods of logic used as organon are interesting and important topics to be themselves systematically investigated.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

A classic, for better or worse
PROS:
- Treatment of just about everything, from rules of inference to foundations of mathematical logic.
- A "concise" handbook excellently laid out and organized.

CONS:
- Poorly written: unnecessarily convoluted grammar and sentence structure make some relatively simple issues tough to understand at first. It is NOT a cliche that philosophers are some of the worst writers in academia.
- Some sections have ridiculously long exercises (validity proofs well into the 50 steps); others have practically none.

For traditional education lovers
Anyone who is looking for reassurance and confirmation for what they have picked up from different logic books will eventually come across Copi's Symbolic Logic. True, the explanations can be a bit ungenerous for some of the exercises - aren't they always in any textbook for a recreational logic student - but the clarity of style and the selection of examples motivate the reader to push themselves harder. The examples themselves are neither modern nor outdated. They appeal to the basic building blocks of language, shorn of pretence and ornament. In the treatment of the matter Copi heads off the reader and asks the vexing questions himself. The notation is user friendly and will not deter a non-maths graduate. Where the book comes short is a cheap cover and sparse answers to the exercises - kind of understandable given the scope of some answers in logic. Help is at hand from Peter Suber's website where there are more copious translation tips from English into symbolic logic and answers to the exercises which Copi doesn't give. Symbolic Logic is a classic - a book for a discerning student.

Wonderful
Irving Copi's Symbolic Logic is a classic text book.My comments refer to an earlier edition.

I had been looking for a rigorous and well laid out reference text on logical notation.This book has been tremendous in this regard, it is comprehensive (in a classic overview sense), and extremely well written.In addition to the discussion of symbolic notation that I was seeking, I also greatly enjoyed Copi's discussion of the relationships between meta and object languages.One minor drawback (later editions may have addressed this point) is the absence of answers at the back of the text.

I highly recommend this book to anyone like my self that is looking for either a reference or a review of symbolic logic.Copi also has an excellent introductory text on logic that provides a more basic and holistic look at the subject.

Classical Foundations of Formal Logic
S. Wuest, M.S. in Computer Science, AI, Data Fusion

Caveats to the Rating:
1. You had better be willing to work at this book
2. This is a classical, analytical approach
3. The terminology is not the easiest

Strengths of this book:
1. Serial proof notation
2. Much emphasis on the accurate representation of ideas
3. The approach to formal logic is analytical (as opposed
to brute force, "sub-logical" algorithms such as
resolution). This provides a theoretical background for
sound algorithm design that is lacking in programmers only
familiar with resolution
4. The quantified exercises given begin to develop intuition
as to the most efficient ways to combine multiple
operations--such heuristics are key to designing automated
proof generators.
5. I have only found about 1 error in the answers.

I agree with the comment of Mayer: many technical people do not
know how to accurately represent English statements in a formal
logic notation.I work with engineers, and have observed the
confusion of cause and effect in their rule writing, and the
confusion of abductive pattern matching with deductive reasoning
(abductive pattern matching is not covered in the book).
Exercises in representing English sentences in symbolic logic
notation would soon fix this confusion.

I rate one of the strengths of Copi's notation to be the serial
proof (as opposed to tree).Tree notations blows up
combinatorially, and become useless for anything but toy
problems.Tree notations may be more intuitive, but have too low
a glass ceiling.

Warm Place in my Fireplace
This book has a warm place in my fireplace.I cannot believe anyone who thinks this book is fun.If you like sticking forks into your eyes, or drinking battery acid, you will love this book.I used this book in my college logic class 11 years ago, and I have been in therapy ever since to rid my nights of the awful dreams.This book was terribly written, the exercises were impossible, and the answers in the back of the book were wrong (was this some kind of sick joke?).

Anyway, if you have a warm place in your heart for this book, write to me and I will send you the ashes of my copy. ... Read more

Product Description

Providing students with a more understandable introduction to logic without sacrificing rigor, A First Course in Logic presents topics and methods in a highly accessible and integrated manner. By integrating and comparing topics throughout and using the same examples in different chapters, the author shows the utility and limitations of each method of logic. Consistent pedagogical structure helps students learn and study better; the introduction now emphasizes strategies and tactics for applying memorization rules. One-of-a-kind LSAT-type exercises apply logic to pre-professional exams. This Gold Edition of the text now uses more standard notation and has been thoroughly class-tested and revised for absolute accuracy of information.

Customer Reviews (4)

Hottest Logic Book on Earth
Great introductory logic course book that makes the concepts of formal logic easy for just about anybody.Carter has a great sense of humor, unfortunately some of that has been edited out by the publishers but it is still a great introductory text book.

The Hottest Logic Book Ever!!!
I was fortunate enough to not only learn from this clear, concise, excellent text, but to take the course with Dr. Carter himself. Just recently a friend saw it on my bookshelf and exclaimed, "OH, we used this in my deductive logic class at Harvard; it was so much more student-friendly than Copi's." Dr. Carter is a great writer, logician, and teacher. Due to these factors, this book can be used independently, or as part of a class, to learn the art of logic.

As a student, it's great.
I began my long logic study with this book. It does an excellent job of laying the ground work, teaching the student rule by rule and with examples that are easy to understand and sometimes entertaining even (e.g. there are a few linguistic proofs on Lord of the Rings). Carter does an excellent job of writing as a teacher to a student instead of a logician to other logicians. That is not to say that the text is remedial, only readable. As the student becomes more familiar with logic Carter goes into more depth and complexity. This logic book is being used in a lot of universities now and I hope it spreads to all of them.

No Words of Caution
Having used the previous edition for two years in my Deductive Logic class at Evangel University, I would recommend it wholeheartedly for Formal or Deductive Logic. As a guide to informal or natural language logic, it is useful (I use some of his categories of natural language fallacies,) but it lacks the depth of a dedicated text. This is not a weakness. For the students, this is a great text with plenty of examples and exercises. Not only is the layout useful for learning but also easy for teaching. Having used Irving Copi texts for a number of years, this is a tremendous improvement.

I lament the inclusion of Copi's favored notation for conditionals, because it seems less intuitive than the arrow for conditional statements and double arrow for bi-conditional statements Carter used in the previous edition. In logic texts I have seen both types of notation used with equal frequency. But this is probably a marketing issue.

In many cases he uses the same examples throughout the book. This is great, because not only does he engage the intuition of the student using familiar material, but shows how analysis can be taken to different depths and how different tools may be applied in various circumstances to the same problems.

The book needs to be studied well before used as a text. His formal rules, though perfectly apt for the material are used differently from Copi's. One can't leap easily from Copi to Carter without a bit of familiarization with Carter's method. I found myself wanting to use Copi's rules occasionally. The payoff is in staying with Carter's evenhanded, well-paced treatment of the topic. I found that few students were left behind in a class of 40, even when I blazed forward with new concepts every class. This book is a treat for the educator, and reveals the underlying elegance of the discipline for the student. ... Read more

Product Description
Designed to make logic interesting and accessible—without sacrificing content or rigor—this classic introduction to contemporary propositional logic explains the symbolization of English sentences and develops formal-proof, truth-table, and truth-tree techniques for evaluating arguments. An accompanying computer tutorial program, PropLogic, is available on CD-ROM in two versions: one version can be installed and run off a hard drive; one (identical) “portable” version can be run off the CD-ROM itself (allowing students/instructors flexibility on when/where they use the program). An appendix in the text describes program details.Tutors readers on formula construction, symbolization, formal proofs, full and brief truth tables, and truth trees. Also provides additional practice exercises. Content organized around natural-deduction formal-proof procedures, truth tables, and truth trees. Gradual presentation of logical statement connectives. Shows students how to symbolize sentences containing the connective and how to use proof rules involving that connective before introducing additional connectives. Examples of actual arguments similar to those readers encounter, and to which they can readily relate. Draws examples and exercises from newspapers, magazines, television, books, textbooks, term papers, posters, comic strips, television programs, films, records, and conversations. Increases students' awareness of the arguments they read and hear every day. Extensive exercise sets throughout provide solutions to about one-quarter of the exercises (in an appendix). Provides ample opportunities for assignments and practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

OK for a Logic Book
Up until maybe Chapter 4 or 5 everything's fairly well-explained, but after that, when you get into the longer proofs, it gets a bit muddied and our Prof had to side-step from the book a bit to keep everyone on-track. It has comic cells that help to illustrate the ideas, which was nice.

The most user-friendly book for Propositional Logic
This is a easy to use text for learning the basics of Propositional Logic. The rule set is simple and symmetrical, easy to use. The CD gives important feedback to the student and contains the answers to almost every exercise in the book plus additional practice exercises. I would recommend this textbook to any professor wishing to teach Propositional Logic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

High-powered essays on philosophical linguistic topics
I have been familiar with this book since college, and consider it one of the more important ones I have ever read.It contains important, and in some cases brilliant, insights into language, thought, logic, and the history of philosophy.I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to be rational and is ready for a challenge of deep thinking. ... Read more

Product Description
Rendered from the 11th Edition of Copi/Cohen, Introduction to Logic, the most respected introductory logic book on the market, this concise version presents a simplified yet rigorous introduction to the study of logic. It covers all major topics and approaches, using a three-part organization that outlines specific topics under logic and language, deduction, and induction. For individuals intrigued by the formal study of logic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

It does what it comes to do...
Concise and well written, my only gripe with it is that my professor uses a slightly different version so the page numbers he always rattles off in class for homework don't match mine. I looked into this before I bought it but because it's not considered a different edition I had no choice and wanted to save $50. It was well worth it.

It is useful using the site in good business
I am very pleased with the service & i hope for more progress in the future.

Ahmed Alaa

Good enough for some purposes
The previous reviewer was overly harsh.While this book is certainly not sufficient as a text for symbolic logic at a competitive four year university, it may be quite useful for, say, instructors at the community college or high school level.Along with Sinnott-Armstrong's Understanding Arguments, this is in fact one of the better books for such a course.Moreover, this volume has has more answers to the exercises that follow each section than the full version of Copi and Cohen's Introduction to Logic.

Genuine faux Copi and Cohen extract
I wish I had time to write a full review, because folks should really know what they are buying when they buy this book.Or at least they should know what they are *not* buying.They are *not* buying a distilled version of the classic Copi and Cohen text.

This book has some really unfortunate errors in it.Some are just typos, others are mistakes, but by far the most offensive are the philosophical errors.The philosophical errors are found in material that has been added to or completely reworked from the original C&C text.

I'll just give a couple examples (then I'll go try to prepare for tomorrow's class in which I'll need to correct the errors in this book without completely undermining it and myself):

1. On page 59, it is claimed that arguments that beg the question are always valid, but they are also *unsound* "unless the premise is already known to be true".Of course this weird epistemic notion of soundness isn't the usual one, and isn't the one that appears earlier in the book.It doesn't matter for soundness if you *know* that the premises are true, what matters is if they *are* true.So arguments that beg the question can be sound even if we don't know the premise(s) to be true.

2. Exercise 5 on page 61 asks the student to identify the fallacy of presumption in the following: "This computer game has lots of fighting in it.You'll like it."

The solution in the back of the book for this exercise says, "Converse accident.The generalization that most people like fighting and adventure-packed computer games is a hidden premise here and is being applied illegitimately to a case it does not necessarily govern."

Forget the fact that the original sentence doesn't obviously commit *any* fallacy (this is actually a problem with many of the new examples in the text).The solution in the back of the book accuses it of converse accident, but the justification given for this accusation really would have it as *accident* not *converse accident*.(Accident is when "a generalization is applied to individual cases that it does not govern" [p. 61].)

Imagine how confused students get checking their answers in the back of the book.

3. On the bottom of page 82 and the top of page 83, two charts are given to help summarize information about the distribution of terms in categorical propositions.Of course the two charts don't agree.One has S distributed in "All S are P"; the other has it undistributed.My students drew the most natural conclusion from this: truth is relative to page number.

I could go on and give many other examples.

Errors are inevitable, but not this kind of error.Advice: Have your students pay the extra 15 or 20 bucks and get Copi and Cohen.The real Copi and Cohen. ... Read more

Product Description
Studies causation both as a concept and as it is 'in the objects.' Offers new accounts of the logic of singular causal statements, the form of causal regularities, the detection of causal relationships, the asymmetry of cause and effect, and necessary connection, and it relates causation to functional and statistical laws and to teleology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Makcie INUS and other
I will keep this fairly short,I found the book not the best read ever, but it was quite good for the subject matter it contained.I wonder still if Mackiesexplanation of the "INUS -condtion" adequately explains causation.mackie has written some other interesting books this one, is a usful metaphysics book for anyone interested in the subject. it will give you a good opinion.I also suggest that one who is interested familliarize themselves with Armstrong, Wittgenstein,Bambrough, and others to help give a better context for the topics disscussed in the text. ... Read more