Logic

Good luck with this taxing but effective look into the study of Logic.


An excellent introduction   December 19, 2002
 8 out of 9 found this review helpful

Wilfrid Hodges' book is a comprehensive introduction to its subject, it's attractive presentation making the complexities and abstract qualities of his themes far more accessible. The book conveys something of the history of the subject through references to key names (e.g. Carnap and Russell) and suggests the relevance of logical thought to everyday activities. An excellent introduction to the Philosophy of Logic which invites the reader though clear explanations, rather than leaving them at a distance through what might otherwise be the daunting, mathematical-style appearance of numbers and symbols.


An excellent introduction to formal logic.   December 3, 2002
 7 out of 9 found this review helpful

Presuming no prior knowledge neither of philosophy nor logic, Hodges' book is an excellent, non technical, introduction to the subject. Although some sections of the book are mathematical, these are clearly indicated by the author and may be skipped if the reader wishes, without detriment to the rest of the book. This book presents the classical system of formal logic, introducing the reader to both propositonal and first order predicate calculi. Unlike most introductory texts, this book uses the semantic tree tableau method of deduction which some students find easier to understand than N.D.. Although I find this method a little cumbersome, it has the advantage of translating truth tables to deduction. Hodges the reader through some elementary meta-theory up to the interpolation theorem. The book concludes with a brief outline of some non-clasical logics such as modle logic and tense logic. I would recommend this book to anybody.


The Logical Choice   April 10, 2002
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Logic can be a funny and confusing subject, but this is the introduction I used for the first year of my degree course. There are different Logic systems out there, and if you're being taught you'll have to consult your syllabus - obviously this is only any good if doing Hodges' Logic, not, for example, Newton-Smith's.

I found this a good clear introduction for someone with no background in philosophy. Obviously not the most advanced text, but a simple introduction for beginners with definitions and plenty of question sets for you to try (answers in the back).