The Power of Logic - Softcover

Layman, Charles S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0767420365 ISBN 13: 9780767420365

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities Social, 2001

Synopsis

The Power of Logic renders balanced coverage of informal and formal logic in concise, accurate, and lively prose, making it the most accessible introductory logic text available. The text' s plentiful examples, imaginative exercises, and numerous visual aids help students develop their critical thinking skills as they put the powerful tools of logic to work.

About this title

From the Publisher

A concise and lively writing style makes The Power of Logic one of the most accessible introductory logic texts available.
A relatively simple set of definitions is provided for basic terms such as 'valid,' 'invalid,' 'strong,' 'weak,' 'deductively sound,' and 'inductively sound.'
The text's superior organization delays the material on recognizing arguments until the third chapter, after students have already seen a large number of examples of very simple arguments, examined the concept of argument form, and learned some basic forms of statement logic.
Exercises on argument diagramming are included in three chapters, providing instructors with an opportunity to integrate the material with definitions and informal fallacies.
Categorical syllogisms are treated prior to informal fallacies, giving students a better grasp of what a well-constructed argument looks like before they begin to learn how to identify the fallacies.
The system of natural deduction for statement logic is entirely standard: eighteen inference rules (introduced in three distinct sections), Conditional Proof, and Reductio ad Absurdum.
The chapter on predicate logic introduces the finite universe method of demonstrating invalidity before the inference rules; students obtain a means, early on, of understanding the subtle differences in meaning that result from shifts in the placement of parentheses and quantifiers.
The chapter on induction includes standard material on statistical syllogisms, induction by enumeration, arguments from authority, Mill's methods, scientific reasoning, and arguments from analogy.
A chapter on modal logic provides a system of natural deduction for modal propositional logic. The inference rules are introduced in three distinct sections to make the system easy to learn.
Abundant pedagogical support includes numerous interesting exercises, a wealth of visual aids, and an index with definitions and page number references for key terms.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities Social
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0767420365
• ISBN 13: 9780767420365
• Binding: Paperback