A First Course in Logic, Gold Edition

by Carter, K. Codell

• ISBN13: 9780321277329
• ISBN10: 0321277325
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-07-14
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Providing students with a more understandable introduction to logic without sacrificing rigor,A First Course in Logicpresents topics and methods in a highly accessible and integrated manner. By integrating and comparing topics throughout and using the same examples in different chapters, the author shows the utility and limitations of each method of logic. The introduction now emphasizes strategies and tactics for applying memorization rules. One-of-a-kind LSAT-type exercises apply logic to pre-professional exams. This Gold Edition of the text now uses more standard notation and has been thoroughly class-tested and revised for absolute accuracy of information.

Author Biography

K. Codell Carter believes that teaching should be a conversation between friends, and he wrote A First Course in Logic to reflect this ideal. He has taught more than four thousand beginning logic students throughout his teaching career.

Carter is currently a professor at Brigham Young University where, in addition to logic courses, he teaches courses on the history of philosophy (especially Kant and Marx) along with freshman and junior level writing courses. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and his Masters of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Utah and holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Cornell University.

His publications include works on 19th and 20th Century medicine, and when not thinking about ways to make the study of logic more relevant to students' lives, he enjoys backpacking, gardening, fly fishing, old books, and mountain lakes above the timberline.

Table of Contents

This tentative table of contents is for early review purposes; the final contents may not include all of the selections listed here

Each chapter contains: exercises, LSAT questions, "What Will I Learn in This Chapter"

"What Have I Learned in This Chapter"

How Can I Apply What I Have Learned in This Chapter?" and "Where Do I Go from Here?"

Basic Concepts of Logic

Arguments

The Historical Roots of Logic

Induction and Deduction

Validity and Soundness

Logical Strength and Cogency

Refutation

Proof

Logic and Language

Use and Mention

The Uses of Language

Kinds of Definitions

Ways of Defining

Rules for Lexical Definitions

Arguments in Context

Fallacies

Syllogistic Logic

Aristotelian Logic

Diagramming and Symbolizing Categorical Statements

Categorical Equivalences

Syllogisms

Using Venn Diagrams to Refute Invalid Syllogisms

Using Canons to Test Syllogisms for Invalidity

Syllogistic Fallacies

Enthymemes and Sorites

Proofs of Valid Syllogisms

The Limits of Syllogistic Logic

Truth-functional Logic: Symbolization and Refutation

Stoic Logic

Symbolizing Truth-functional Arguments

Truth Tables

Classifying and Comparing Statements

Implication and Equivalence

Refuting Invalid Truth-functional Arguments

Truth-functional Fallacies

The Sheffer Arrow

Truth-functional Logic: Proofs

Statement-Forms and Their Instances

Modus Ponens and Rules for Conjunctions, Disjunctions and Biconditionals

Conditional Proof

Indirect Proof

Shortcut Rules

Shortcut Rules, Continued

Strategies and Tactics

Other Uses for Truth-functional Proofs

The Nature of Truth-functional Proofs

Quantificational Logic

Frege's Project

Quantificational Notation: Monadic Predicates

Quantificational Notation: Polyadic Predicates

Quantificational Proofs

The Nature of Quantificational Logic

Properties of Relations and Second-Order Logic

The Outcome of Frege's Project

Inductive Logic

Inductive Arguments

Appeal to Authority

Argument by Analogy

The Strength of Inductive Arguments

Hypothesis and Confirmation

Causal Reasoning

Argument by Generalization

Samples

Probabilistic Reasoning

Solutions to Starred Exercises

Glossary/Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.