An Introduction to Logical Theory - Softcover

"If one has philosophically sophisticated students who need to learn elementary symbolic logic but would benefit from a discussion of topics in more advanced logic and in the philosophy of logic, this is the right book to use. It would be fun to take a course with this as the text."--Bernard Linsky, University of Alberta "Aladdin Yaqub's text artfully balances precision and clarity with an uncommon sensitivity to the philosophical issues that motivate interest in, and study of, formal logic. This is a first-rate introduction to an important and sometimes difficult subject."--Roy T. Cook, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities "I enjoyed logic when I first encountered it as an undergraduate, but I didn't understand it. I thought it was basically a game in which one moved around meaningless symbols in accordance with made up rules. That was fun, even rather challenging, but what was the point? What I needed was Professor Yaqub's book. In clear, careful prose he explains the real philosophical significance of logic. And he makes clear how the three historically important logical systems set out in the book, term logic, sentential logic, and predicate logic, attempt to deal with the deep issues of reasoning and thought that logic addresses. At the same time he somehow manages to keep the fun part. In fact, the exercises he provides look far more engaging than the ones I remember from my undergraduate days."--G.F. Schueler, University of Delaware "Aladdin Yaqub's text artfully balances precision and clarity with an uncommon sensitivity to the philosophical issues that motivate interest in, and study of, formal logic. This is a first-rate introduction to an important and sometimes difficult subject." -- Roy T. Cook, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities "If one has philosophically sophisticated students who need to learn elementary symbolic logic but would benefit from a discussion of topics in more advanced logic and in the philosophy of logic, this is the right book to use. It would be fun to take a course with this as the text." -- Bernard Linsky, University of Alberta "I enjoyed logic when I first encountered it as an undergraduate, but I didn't understand it. I thought it was basically a game in which one moved around meaningless symbols in accordance with made up rules. That was fun, even rather challenging, but what was the point? What I needed was Professor Yaqub's book. In clear, careful prose he explains the real philosophical significance of logic. And he makes clear how the three historically important logical systems set out in the book, term logic, sentential logic, and predicate logic, attempt to deal with the deep issues of reasoning and thought that logic addresses. At the same time he somehow manages to keep the fun part. In fact, the exercises he provides look far more engaging than the ones I remember from my undergraduate days." -- G.F. Schueler, University of Delaware "Aladdin Yaqub's text artfully balances precision and clarity with an uncommon sensitivity to the philosophical issues that motivate interest in, and study of, formal logic. This is a first-rate introduction to an important and sometimes difficult subject." -- Roy T. Cook, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities "If one has philosophically sophisticated students who need to learn elementary symbolic logic but would benefit from a discussion of topics in more advanced logic and in the philosophy of logic, this is the right book to use. It would be fun to take a course with this as the text." -- Bernard Linsky, University of Alberta "I enjoyed logic when I first encountered it as an undergraduate, but I didn't understand it. I thought it was basically a game in which one moved around meaningless symbols in accordance with made up rules. That was fun, even rather challenging, but what was the point? What I needed was Professor Yaqub's book. In clear, careful prose he explains the real philosophical significance of logic. And he makes clear how the three historically important logical systems set out in the book, term logic, sentential logic, and predicate logic, attempt to deal with the deep issues of reasoning and thought that logic addresses. At the same time he somehow manages to keep the fun part. In fact, the exercises he provides look far more engaging than the ones I remember from my undergraduate days." -- G.F. Schueler, University of Delaware "Aladdin Yaqub's text artfully balances precision and clarity with an uncommon sensitivity to the philosophical issues that motivate interest in, and study of, formal logic. This is a first-rate introduction to an important and sometimes difficult subject." - Roy T. Cook, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities "If one has philosophically sophisticated students who need to learn elementary symbolic logic but would benefit from a discussion of topics in more advanced logic and in the philosophy of logic, this is the right book to use. It would be fun to take a course with this as the text." - Bernard Linsky, University of Alberta "I enjoyed logic when I first encountered it as an undergraduate, but I didn't understand it. I thought it was basically a game in which one moved around meaningless symbols in accordance with made up rules. That was fun, even rather challenging, but what was the point? What I needed was Professor Yaqub's book. In clear, careful prose he explains the real philosophical significance of logic. And he makes clear how the three historically important logical systems set out in the book, term logic, sentential logic, and predicate logic, attempt to deal with the deep issues of reasoning and thought that logic addresses. At the same time he somehow manages to keep the fun part. In fact, the exercises he provides look far more engaging than the ones I remember from my undergraduate days." - G.F. Schueler, University of Delaware Comments: "Aladdin Yaqub's text artfully balances precision and clarity with an uncommon sensitivity to the philosophical issues that motivate interest in, and study of, formal logic. This is a first-rate introduction to an important and sometimes difficult subject." - Roy T. Cook, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities "If one has philosophically sophisticated students who need to learn elementary symbolic logic but would benefit from a discussion of topics in more advanced logic and in the philosophy of logic, this is the right book to use. It would be fun to take a course with this as the text." - Bernard Linsky, University of Alberta "I enjoyed logic when I first encountered it as an undergraduate, but I didn't understand it. I thought it was basically a game in which one moved around meaningless symbols in accordance with made up rules. That was fun, even rather challenging, but what was the point? What I needed was Professor Yaqub's book. In clear, careful prose he explains the real philosophical significance of logic. And he makes clear how the three historically important logical systems set out in the book, term logic, sentential logic, and predicate logic, attempt to deal with the deep issues of reasoning and thought that logic addresses. At the same time he somehow manages to keep the fun part. In fact, the exercises he provides look far more engaging than the ones I remember from my undergraduate days." - G.F. Schueler, University of Delaware

This book reclaims logic as a branch of philosophy, offering a self-contained and complete introduction to the three traditional systems of classical logic and the philosophical issues that surround those systems. The exposition is lucid, clear, and engaging. Practical methods are favoured over the traditional, and creative approaches over the merely mechanical. The author's guiding principle is to introduce classical logic in an intellectually honest way, and not to shy away from difficulties and controversies where they arise. Relevant philosophical issues, such as the relation between the meaning and the referent of a proper name, logical versus metaphysical possibility, and the conceptual content of an expression, are discussed throughout. In this way, the book is not only an introduction to the three main systems of classical logic, but also an introduction to the philosophy of classical logic.