The Logic Book

by Merrie Bergmann, Jack Nelson, James Moor

This outstanding book is a leading text for symbolic or formal logic courses. All techniques and concepts are presented with clear, comprehensive explanations and numerous, carefully constructed examples. Its flexible organization (all chapters are complete and self-contained) allows instructors the freedom to cover the topics they want in the order they choose.

Genres: Philosophy, Logic, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Mathematics, Reference, School

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Y]

Provides all the intricate explanations necessary to understand every component used in the formal logic paradigm. I personally like and appreciate that the book is "very wordy," although it can be difficult to get through the entire thing in a school setting, i.e. while you're pressed for time. This book does not take a succinct, "bare bones" approach to teaching the philosophy of formal logic. There are also plenty of problems in this book; you will not run out of opportunities for practice. Lastly, there are some minor typos in the book, and this, in the scope of formal logic, is a significant issue given the direction of a single symbol or a different letter can change the interpretation of an entire derivation.

[Kelly]

This book is an absolute lifesaver. I've been so lost in lectures, and even the internet has been completely talking over my head, but after a half hour of staring at the page I've been able to understand these concepts with only moderate frustration.

[C]

Pure evil.

[Thomas Maher]

Found the different notation to be very irritating but the chapters on metatheory are accessible and very useful for teaching induction, expressive adequacy, and the soundness/completeness of natural deduction.

[Amelia and John]

Very easy to follow along, but there were quite a few typos that could get distracting.

[Lou Rocama]

It's adequate to its purpose; namely learning symbolic logic. However, the exercises are fairly generic and didn't add any enjoyment to the book, unlike the exercises we received as worksheets in class (translate: If Frodo is weak Middle Earth will fall, but Frodo is not weak).

The computer knew that Frodo needed capitalized. How cool is that?

The book also has some issues with bold print, in that it uses bold print contrary to how it specifies it will use bold print. This is Not Good when it changes the meaning of a phrase.

A couple of obvious typos in tables; if something seems wonky, ask your professor if it's a typo. What is it with math books and typos, anyway?

[Stryker]

I know there are only so many ways to present formal logic to students, but this book is no substitute for a good instructor. It's calculations and formulas are precise, but its explanations are extremely wordy. What takes this book three or four chapters to explain could easily be explained by an articulate logician in about ten minutes. Still, it can be a very handy reference, so I may shelf it for future use.

[Phillip]

I have worn out my copy of this book and am holding it together with duct tape. This book covers the subjects of symbolic logic and meta-logic.

This is accessible without talking down to the students.

[Albie]

The Logic Book with Student Solutions Manual by Merrie Bergmann (1997)

[Erik]

tedious. I'll only assign four chapters out of this and there is too much text.

[Randy Hulshizer]

Good introduction to symbolic logic.

[Cynbel]

Great for an introduction to symbolic logic felt some of the later chapters weren't as easy to get through.

[Curtis Debaun]

What did I just read?

[Tim Yam]

Very clearly explained.

[Jonathan Magat]

okay

[Sana]

Generally good, but beware of some horrendous typos.