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Introduction to Logic is a proven textbook that has been honed through the collaborative efforts of many scholars over the last five decades. Its scrupulous attention to detail and precision in exposition and explanation is matched by the greatest accuracy in all associated detail. In addition, it continues to capture student interest through its personalized human setting and current examples. The 14th Edition of Introduction to Logic, written by Copi, Cohen & McMahon, is dedicated to show more the many thousands of students and their teachers - at hundreds of universities in the United States and around the world - who have used its fundamental methods and techniques of correct reasoning in their everyday lives. show lessTags
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The book begins with an introduction of the very basic terminology - propositions, premises, and conclusions. It might sound very naive to start this low, but it helped me to refer back to the precise definitions of these words while reading through the rest of the chapters.
Written in plain and simple language, the book covers a breadth of concepts from categorization of fallacies to Venn diagrams to necessary and sufficient conditions. Some of these were new to me while others were a pleasant revival. The exercises and puzzles throughout the book reinforce your understanding of what you just read.
Most of the book concentrates on deductive and inductive reasoning and the author did an excellent job in convincing that they were most show more crucial components of any logical discussion. I found the last few chapters - Analogical Reasoning through Science and Hypothesis, very interesting. However the chapter on Probability could be better by discussing more real-world scenarios. show less
Written in plain and simple language, the book covers a breadth of concepts from categorization of fallacies to Venn diagrams to necessary and sufficient conditions. Some of these were new to me while others were a pleasant revival. The exercises and puzzles throughout the book reinforce your understanding of what you just read.
Most of the book concentrates on deductive and inductive reasoning and the author did an excellent job in convincing that they were most show more crucial components of any logical discussion. I found the last few chapters - Analogical Reasoning through Science and Hypothesis, very interesting. However the chapter on Probability could be better by discussing more real-world scenarios. show less
Easy-to-read, visually appealing, and chock full of real-world applications, this most complete and authoritative book on introductory logic fully prepares users to understand, recognize, and apply classical syllogistic logic and the more powerful techniques of modern symbolic logicexplaining all concepts and techniques clearly, accurately, and thoroughly, and bringing them to life using a wealth of real-life examples of lively arguments and explanations drawn from a wide variety of sources to help demonstrate the application of logical principles by serious writers and thinkers trying to solve real problems in a wide range of fields. Includes full chapters on basic logical concepts, the uses of language, definitions, fallacies, show more categorical propositions, categorical syllogisms, arguments in ordinary language, symbolic logic, methods of deduction, quantification theory, analogy and probable inference, Mill's Methods of experimental inquiry, science and hypothesis, and probability. Reformulates key logical issues, and presents a more detailed account of the concept of logical equivalence, distinguishing it more clearly from the truth-functional connectives. Includes sidebars containing additional, enriching information; many new illustrations taken from contemporary research I the physical and biological science; and a plethora of exercises. For anyone searching for a top-notch, easy-to-understand introduction to logic. show less
Great textbook. Used this for years.
A college textbook that was used by many colleges and universities for many years. I still review it from time to time.
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Introduction to Logic
- Original publication date
- 1953; 1978 [5th ed.]
- Epigraph
- HOW THE ART OF REASONING IS NECESSARY
When one of his audience said, “Convince me that logic is useful,” he said,
Would you have me demonstrate it?
“Yes.”
Well, then, must I... (show all) not use a deomonstrative argument?
And, when the other agreed, he said, How then shall you know if I impose upon you? And when the man had no answer, he said, You see how you yourself admit that logic is necessary, if without it you are not even able to learn this much — whether it is necessary or not.
— Discourses of Epictetus - Dedication
- This book is dedicated to my mother and father
[Dedication to the 5th ed.]
We dedicate this eleventh edition of Introduction to Logic to our children David M. Copi, Thomas R. Copi, William A. Copi, Margaret R Copi, Jaclyn Z. Cohen, Noah J. Cohen - First words
- There are obvious benefits to be gained from the study of logic: heightened ability to express ideas clearly and concisely, increased skill in defining one's terms, enlarged capacity to formulate arguments rigorously and to a... (show all)nalyze them critically. But the greatest benefit, in my judgment, is the recognition that reason can be applied in every aspect of human affairs.
[From the "Preface" to Irving M. Copi's Introduction to Logic, 5th ed. (1953/1978: vii)]
1.1 What Is Logic?
Logic is the study of the methods and principles used to distinguish good (correct) from bad (incorrect) reasoning. This definition must not be taken to imply that only the student of logic c... (show all)an reason well or correctly. To say so would be as mistaken as to say that to run well requires studying the physics and physiology involved in that activity. Some excellent athletes are quite ignorant of the complex processes that go on inside themselves when they perform. And, needless to say, the somewhat elderly professors who know most about such things would perform very poorly were they to risk their dignity on the athletic field. Even given the same basic muscular and nervous apparatus, the person who knows might not surpass the “natural athlete.”
[From "Introduction", chapter 1 of Irving M. Copi's Introduction to Logic, 5th ed. (1953/1978: 3–4)] - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Let us consider just one more aspect of the doubling technique. Suppose some one wants to win just a single dollar, which means that she will play until she wins just once or else goes broke. With this more modest aim, what is the probable value of her investment? If heads appears on the first toss, the return is $4 (the $1 won and the original stake of $3) and having won her dollar, the woman stops playing. If tails appears on the first toss, $2 is bet on the second. If heads appears, the return is $4, and the player quits with her winnings. If tails appears, the return is $0, and the player quits because she has lost all her money. There are only these three possible outcomes, the first of which has a probability of ½, the second ¼, and the third ¼. Such a player, following such a strategy, is three times as likely to win as to lose. But of course she can lose three times as much as she can win by this method. The expected value is (½ × $4) + (¼ × $4) + (¼ × $0) = $3. The expectation is not increased at all by following the doubling technique. The chances of winning are increased, just as by betting on more numbers at chuck-a-luck or roulette, but the amount which can be won decreases rapidly enough to keep the expected value constant.
[From "Probability", chaoter 14 of Irving M. Copi's Introduction to Logic, 5th ed. (1953/1978: 528)] - Original language
- English
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- Reviews
- 13
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- (3.92)
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- 6 — Chinese, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
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- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 69
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 34