Logic, an introduction

by Lionel Ruby

Excerpt from the A word now as to the general plan and contents of this book. There are three parts, each of which discusses and indispensable aspect of the enterprise of rational thinking. The careful thinker will be interested in language, the instrument of thinking; in the soundness of his arguments; and in the truth of his assertions. Part One is concerned with linguistic and semantical problems; in Part Two we shall discuss the principles of valid inference or sound reasoning; and in Part Three we shall examine the methods employed by the sciences of nature and society, seeking to determine the methods whereby these disciplines attempt to furnish us with logically justifiable beliefs.

Genres: Philosophy, Logic

522 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2000

Reviews

[Myron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The definitive introduction to logic, not the mush published today which embraces the notion of illogic such as the occasional violation of the law of excluded middle--anything is either A or not-A, or anything is either A or its contradictory. Absolute truth, syllogisms, Euclidean geometry, etc. An important read and reference.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 2 is useless nominalist nonsense, but the rest of the book is an enlightening treatise of the power of reason to guide man's life to flourishing. I know this is rather vague but I don't have time to write a longer review because I have a life to live. Read the book and reap the rewards that I have described.

[Gerardo B. Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I learned so much from this book. I will definitely read it again.

[Berry Muhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more concise and elementary than Joseph's introductory work. I would reverse the order in which I read these, making this one the true introduction. It covers much the same ground, but with far fewer parenthetical digressions and footnotes, and with less focus on philosophy and its history. As a bonus, it provides some coverage on symbolic logic and statistics.