With his customary incisiveness, W. V. Quine presents logic as the product of two factors, truth and grammar--but argues against the doctrine that the logical truths are true because of grammar or language. Rather, in presenting a general theory of grammar and discussing the boundaries and possible extensions of logic, Quine argues that logic is not a mere matter of words.
such questions for centuries (unrestricted by the capabilities of any hard ware). The principles governing the interaction of several processes, for example, are abstract an similar to principles governing the cooperation of two large organisation. A detailed rule based effective but rigid bureaucracy is very much similar to a complex computer program handling and manipulating data. My guess is that the principles underlying one are very much the same as those underlying the other. I believe the day is not far away in the future when the computer scientist will wake up one morning with the realisation that he is actually a kind of formal philosopher! The projected number of volumes for this Handbook is about 18. The subject has evolved and its areas have become interrelated to such an extent that it no longer makes sense to dedicate volumes to topics. However, the volumes do follow some natural groupings of chapters. I would like to thank our authors are readers for their contributions and their commitment in making this Handbook a success. Thanks also to our publication administrator Mrs J. Spurr for her usual dedication and excellence and to Kluwer Academic Publishers for their continuing support for the Handbook.
Formal logic provides us with a powerful set of techniques for criticizing some arguments and showing others to be valid. These techniques are relevant to all of us with an interest in being skilful and accurate reasoners. In this highly accessible book, Peter Smith presents a guide to the fundamental aims and basic elements of formal logic. He introduces the reader to the languages of propositional and predicate logic, and then develops formal systems for evaluating arguments translated into these languages, concentrating on the easily comprehensible 'tree' method. His discussion is richly illustrated with worked examples and exercises. A distinctive feature is that, alongside the formal work, there is illuminating philosophical commentary. This book will make an ideal text for a first logic course, and will provide a firm basis for further work in formal and philosophical logic.
The papers presented in this volume examine topics of central interest in contemporary philosophy of logic. They include reflections on the nature of logic and its relevance for philosophy today, and explore in depth developments in informal logic and the relation of informal to symbolic logic, mathematical metatheory and the limiting metatheorems, modal logic, many-valued logic, relevance and paraconsistent logic, free logics, extensional v. intensional logics, the logic of fiction, epistemic logic, formal logical and semantic paradoxes, the concept of truth, the formal theory of entailment, objectual and substitutional interpretation of the quantifiers, infinity and domain constraints, the Löwenheim-Skolem theorem and Skolem paradox, vagueness, modal realism v. actualism, counterfactuals and the logic of causation, applications of logic and mathematics to the physical sciences, logically possible worlds and counterpart semantics, and the legacy of Hilbert's program and logicism. The handbook is meant to be both a compendium of new work in symbolic logic and an authoritative resource for students and researchers, a book to be consulted for specific information about recent developments in logic and to be read with pleasure for its technical acumen and philosophical insights.- Written by leading logicians and philosophers- Comprehensive authoritative coverage of all major areas of contemporary research in symbolic logic- Clear, in-depth expositions of technical detail- Progressive organization from general considerations to informal to symbolic logic to nonclassical logics- Presents current work in symbolic logic within a unified framework- Accessible to students, engaging for experts and professionals- Insightful philosophical discussions of all aspects of logic- Useful bibliographies in every chapter
This revised and considerably expanded 2nd edition brings together a wide range of topics, including modal, tense, conditional, intuitionist, many-valued, paraconsistent, relevant, and fuzzy logics. Part 1, on propositional logic, is the old Introduction, but contains much new material. Part 2 is entirely new, and covers quantification and identity for all the logics in Part 1. The material is unified by the underlying theme of world semantics. All of the topics are explained clearly using devices such as tableau proofs, and their relation to current philosophical issues and debates are discussed. Students with a basic understanding of classical logic will find this book an invaluable introduction to an area that has become of central importance in both logic and philosophy. It will also interest people working in mathematics and computer science who wish to know about the area.
An inexpensive but comprehensive introduction. Examples and homework problems touch on philosophical issues much more so than standard texts, providing instructors an opportunity to ease into philosophical discussions as desired and piquing student interest. Homework assignments are on tear-out pages for ease of use. While Critical Thinking and Logic: A Philosophical Workbook covers standard issues of critical thinking such as argument types and fallacies, it also provides a solid foundation for an advanced course in formal logic. The final chapter includes a complete translation of Descartes’s Meditations, allowing students to put their newly acquired skills to work on a classic work of philosophy.
Logical Forms examines the formal languages of classical first order logic and modal logic, and some alternatives and in each case takes as the central question: how can natural language best be formalized in this formal language? The approach involves close encounters with issues in the philosophy of logic and the philosophy of logic and the philosophy of language.
