An Introduction to Formal Logic

Formal logic provides us with a powerful set of techniques for criticizi ng some argu ments and showi ng others to be valid. These techniques are relevantto all of us with an interest in being skilful and accurate reasoners. In this highly accessible book, Peter Smith presents a guide to the fundamental aims and basic elements offormallogic. He introduces the reader to the languages of propositional and predicate logic, and then develops formal systems for eval uati ng argu ments translated into these languages, concentrating on the easily comprehensible 'tree' method. His discussion is richly illustrated with worked examples and exercises. A distinctive feature is that, alongside the formal work, there is iliuminating philosophical commentary. This book will make an ideal text for a first logic course, and will provide a firm basis forfurther work in formal and philosophical logic. PETER SMITH is Lecturer in Philosophy at the UniversityofCambridge. He is the author (with O. R. Jones) ofThe Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction (1986) and of Explaining Chaos (1998), and he is a formereditorof the jou rnal Analysis. This book's website is at http://www.logicbook.net