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List of contents
LOGIC.
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS LOGIC?
1. FORMAL LOGIC—AN INTRODUCTION.
I—Reasoning, Inference, Arguments, and Logic.
II—A Little History: Aristotelian Logic.
III—Modern Logic: Frege's Insight.
2. AN OVERVIEW OF CLASSICAL LOGIC.
I—Truth Tables.
II—Rules of Inference and Valid and Invalid Argument.
Forms.
INTERLUDE.
3. WHAT IS TRUTH?
I—The Problem with Truth.
II—Three Theories of Truth.
A. Correspondence Theories.
B. Coherence Theories.
C. Deflationary Theories.
III—Truth and Logic.
PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC.
4. THREE DISTINCTIONS.
I—Syntax and Semantics.
II—Form and Content.
III—Logical Consequence and Logical Truth.
5. QUANTIFIERS AND IDENTITY.
I—Quantifiers, Vacuous Names, and the Problem of Non-Being.
II—Identity and Definite Descriptions.
6. MODAL LOGIC.
I—Necessity and Possibility.
II—Other Modalities.
III—Possible Worlds.
IV—But is it Logic?
7. BIVALENCE.
I—Fatalism and Future Contingents.
II—Vagueness.
8. THE CONDITIONAL.
I—The Problematic Material Conditional.
II—Conditional Logics and Possible Worlds.
III—Relevance Logic.
IV—Relevance Logics and the Failure of Disjunctive Syllogism.
9. TWO LOGICAL TRUTHS.
I—Intuitionism, Realism, and the Law of the Excluded Middle.
II—Paraconsistent Logics, Dialetheism, and the Principle of Non-Contradiction.
III—How True Are logical Truths?
10. QUANTUM LOGIC.
I—Physics and Quantum Mechanics.
II—Quantum Logic.
III—Problems with Quantum Logic.
INTERLUDE
11. WHICH LOGIC IS RIGHT?
I—Not Tonk.
II—Making Sense of the Title Question of this Chapter.
SOME TRADITIONAL PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTIONS RAISED BY LOGIC.
12. THE METAPHYSICS OF LOGIC.
I—Making Sense of Logical Facts.
A. Psychologism.
B. Conventionalism.
C. Rationalism.
II—Giving Up Trying to Make Sense of Logical Facts.
13. THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF LOGIC.
I—A Traditional Distinction.
II—Justifying Logic.
III—Revising Logic.
IV—A More Positive Note.
14. RATIONALITY AND LOGIC.
I—The Wason Selection Task (Again).
II—The Irrelevance of Logic.
III—Beyond Logic.
IV—Why Bother?
FURTHER READINGS.
GLOSSARY.
About the author
An Assistant Professor at University of North Florida, Dr. Fisher's specialties include epistemology, philosophy of logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, and pragmatism.
Summary
Jennifer Fisher's ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC explores questions about logic often overlooked by philosophers. Which of the many different logics available to us is right? How would we know? What makes a logic right in the first place? Is logic really a good guide to human reasoning? An ideal companion text for any course in symbolic logic, this lively and accessible book explains important logical concepts, introduces classical logic and its problems and alternatives, and reveals the rich and interesting philosophical issues that arise in exploring the fundamentals of logic.
THE WADSWORTH PHILOSOPHICAL TOPICS SERIES (under the general editorship of Robert Talisse, Vanderbilt University) presents readers with concise, timely, and insightful introductions to a variety of traditional and contemporary philosophical subjects. With this series, students of philosophy will be able to discover the richness of philosophical inquiry across a wide array of concepts, including hallmark philosophical themes and themes typically underrepresented in mainstream philosophy publishing. Written by a distinguished list of scholars who have garnered particular recognition for their excellence in teaching, this series presents the vast sweep of today's philosophical exploration in highly accessible and affordable volumes. These books will prove valuable to philosophy teachers and their students as well as to other readers who share a general interest in philosophy.
