Logic for Mathematicians

by J. Barkley Rosser

Hailed by the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society as "undoubtedly a major addition to the literature of mathematical logic," this volume examines the essential topics and theorems of mathematical reasoning. No background in logic is assumed, and the examples are chosen from a variety of mathematical fields.
Starting with an introduction to symbolic logic, the first eight chapters develop logic through the restricted predicate calculus. Topics include the statement calculus, the use of names, an axiomatic treatment of the statement calculus, descriptions, and equality. Succeeding chapters explore abstract set theory—with examinations of class membership as well as relations and functions—cardinal and ordinal arithmetic, and the axiom of choice. An invaluable reference book for all mathematicians, this text is suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Numerous exercises make it particularly appropriate for classroom use.

Genres: Science, Logic, Textbooks

590 pages, Paperback

Published December 18, 2008

About the author

John Barkley Rosser Sr. (December 6, 1907 – September 5, 1989) was an American logician, a student of Alonzo Church, and known for his part in the Church–Rosser theorem, in lambda calculus. He also developed what is now called the Rosser sieve, in number theory. He was later director of the Army Mathematics Research Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Rosser wrote mathematical textbooks as well.

Rosser's son, John Barkley Rosser, Jr., is a mathematical economist and professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.