Introducing Logic

by Sharron Shatil, Dan Cryan, Bill Mayblin

Book Overview

Introducing Logic follows the historical development of this intriguing subject, explaining its symbols and methods, exploring complex philosophical issues and intricate mathematics with the help of Bill Mayblin's insightful artwork. Are computers and digital technology just another case of logic in action? What are the difficulties and limitations of logical systems? Logic is, too, a hidden part of our everyday lives - from the "fuzzy logic" used...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1840463457
• ISBN13: 9781840463453
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Icon Books
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

very well done

Of course, it's only an overview, like everything in the Introducing... series, but this is one of the best.

making complicated things simple

If this book is representative of the series I will look for the others. For a non-philosopher as myself, this book really made a difficult subject easy to follow in its historic development.

Great Introduction to Logic

While the comic-strip style of the "Introducing..." series can be entertaining and beneficial when it comes to breaking up the monotony of dense philosophy, it also tends to be rather distracting and can make the survey of Logic more difficult to understand. HOWEVER, I think this volume is well done! I feel very comfortable recommending this volume to anyone who is looking for a survey of the philosophy of Logic. While some find this to rudimentary, I believe that is the entire point. This little book is a great afternoon read that outlines the philosophy of Logic in a very approachable manner. Pick this book up!

This is a great little book.

Sketching the evolution of civilization's thoughts about Logic, from Aristotle to Chomsky, this book touches on just about every question that is likely to occur to you about this fundamental topic. Logic is key to our technology - yesteday, today and tomorrow - and key to a more profound understanding of ourselves. This is a worthwhile book. It's a bargain. And the level of sophistication is appropriate for a wide audience.

An enjoyable and fun overview of logic

If you have had any sort of encounter with logic (I've had propositional, predicate, and a touch of modal logic) this book will be a fun overview of the history of logic and important figures in the science. It covers classical, fuzzy, and quantum logic and explores the attempts to found mathematics on logical foundations (Frege, Russell). The ideas of all the greats are introduced with ease (Leibniz, Godel, Hilbert, Aristotle, Quine, Davidson, Turing, Wittgenstein, etc). And it details how computers have their basis in logical systems.It's presented in cartoonish fashion, but is an intelligent (and not a dumbed down) overview of the subject. Someone who has not had logic will benefit from a couple of readings. As the book is not long this shouldn't be difficult (it might just be all you'd ever need or want to know about the subject).There is a section of further reading that recommends one of the best 1st order logic book - Tomassi - that I've encountered. The other recommendations are perfect for one who wants to delve deeper into this fascinating field.