Review of Logic – A Very Short Introduction

A Brief Introduction to the Philosophical Discipline of Logic

Oct 23, 2009

Logic has its roots in Ancient Greece, but took its modern form in the mid-19th century. This VSI covers the basics of logic, a philosophical discipline.

Written in a chatty, approachable style liberally seasoned with humor, Graham Dash's Logic – A Very Short Introduction (VSI) seeks to explain the philosophical discipline of logic.

The VSI is not a book about logic and reasoning for, say, computer programmers, though the kind of thinking that it teaches might well be applied in these fields. Many readers may appreciate the relaxed style of this book, which may make the ideas more easily digestible.

Logic is a Mathematically-Heavy Philosophical Discipline

Logic, at least modern logic, appears to be a philosophical discipline dominated by mathematical formulae. The book is quite heavy on these formulae and ultimately, this may make for some difficult reading for those who are not mathematically inclined. Still, with care, the points can be deciphered by someone whose math education stopped at high school.

While there is a full glossary, some readers may have appreciated a mathematical primer to help in the reading of these formulae (i.e. those unused to mathematics would have difficulty in knowing what to call the unfamiliar symbols.)

Logic Has Been Used to Argue the Existence of a Higher Power

One of the ongoing debates in logic is whether a higher power exists. Logicians apply arbitrary values to their arguments; this is rather reminiscent of a scene from one of Douglas Adams' Hitch-Hiker books where a philosopher successfully proves that black is white and is killed at the next pedestrian crossing.

The author also goes into the historical aspects of logic, a section that is a great relief after pages of mathematics. The first logicians were the ancient Greeks, with Aristotle generally considered the father of logic.

While in ancient times logic was an important discipline, logic advanced little until the mid-1800s when mathematical logic started to take its current shape, leading to advancement in computer technology.

Logic Has Both Classical and Modern Forms

There are classical and modern forms of logic; both are explained generally and with some examples. Each chapter also includes a reasoning problem for the reader to puzzle out and test his comprehension.

Readers who desire a general overview of logical reasoning and the discipline in general will likely find this book interesting. It may help in any field where clear reasoning is required – people such as computer scientists, philosophers, linguists and mathematicians may all find value in this book. So will a layperson wanting to have a general understanding of the discipline.

The copyright of the article Review of Logic – A Very Short Introduction in Western Philosophy is owned by Linda Gentile. Permission to republish Review of Logic – A Very Short Introduction in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.