This volume offers a serious study of the fundamentals of symbolic logic that will neither frustrate nor bore the reader. The emphasis is on developing the students grasp of standard techniques and concepts rather than on achieving a high degree of sophistication. Coverage embraces all of the standard topics in sentential and quantificational logic, including multiple quantification, relations, and identity. Semantic and deductive topics are carefully distinguished, and appendices include an optional discussion of metatheory for sentential logic and truth trees.
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.
Problems that beset Archimedes, Newton, Euler, Cauchy, Gauss, Monge, Steiner, and other great mathematical minds. Features squaring the circle, pi, and similar problems. No advanced math is required. Includes 100 problems with proofs.
Most aspects of our private and social lives—our safety, the integrity of the financial system, the functioning of utilities and other services, and national security—now depend on computing. But how can we know that this computing is trustworthy? In Mechanizing Proof, Donald MacKenzie addresses this key issue by investigating the interrelations of computing, risk, and mathematical proof over the last half century from the perspectives of history and sociology. His discussion draws on the technical literature of computer science and artificial intelligence and on extensive interviews with participants. MacKenzie argues that our culture now contains two ideals of proof: proof as traditionally conducted by human mathematicians, and formal, mechanized proof. He describes the systems constructed by those committed to the latter ideal and the many questions those systems raise about the nature of proof. He looks at the primary social influence on the development of automated proof—the need to predict the behavior of the computer systems upon which human life and security depend—and explores the involvement of powerful organizations such as the National Security Agency. He concludes that in mechanizing proof, and in pursuing dependable computer systems, we do not obviate the need for trust in our collective human judgment.
This is an up-to-date textbook of model theory taking the reader from first definitions to Morley's theorem and the elementary parts of stability theory. Besides standard results such as the compactness and omitting types theorems, it also describes various links with algebra, including the Skolem-Tarski method of quantifier elimination, model completeness, automorphism groups and omega-categoricity, ultraproducts, O-minimality and structures of finite Morley rank. The material on back-and-forth equivalences, interpretations and zero-one laws can serve as an introduction to applications of model theory in computer science. Each chapter finishes with a brief commentary on the literature and suggestions for further reading. This book will benefit graduate students with an interest in model theory.
Fascinating study of the origin and nature of mathematical thought, including relation of mathematics and science, 20th-century developments, impact of computers, and more.Includes 34 illustrations. 1968 edition."
This book is an introduction to the language and standard proof methods of mathematics. It is a bridge from the computational courses (such as calculus or differential equations) that students typically encounter in their first year of college to a more abstract outlook. It lays a foundation for more theoretical courses such as topology, analysis and abstract algebra. Although it may be more meaningful to the student who has had some calculus, there is really no prerequisite other than a measure of mathematical maturity.
