A New Introduction to Modal Logic

by G.E. Hughes, M.J. Cresswell

Modal logic is the logic of necessity and possibility, of 'must be' and 'may be'. Unlike non-modal logic, it codifies structures which represent how things could be as well as how things are. This book is intended to replace the widely used Introduction to Modal Logic and the more recent, Companion to Modal Logic, by the same authors. The principle changes include the incorporation of developments that have taken place since 1968 both in modal propositional logic and in modal predicate logic, but without sacrificing the clarity of exposition and the accessiblity of the material which were essential features of the earlier books. Most importantly, the book has been completely rewritten and in no sense is a 'new edition' of either book. A New Introduction to Modal Logic guides readers through the most basic systems of modal predicate logic with identity. It deals with both technical developments such as completeness and incompleteness, and finite and infinite models, and discusses philosophical applications, especially in the area of predicate logic.; Written for students of logic and for their lecturers, philosophers, linguistics, mathematicians, computer scientists and those studying cognitive science or semantics. A New Introduction to Modal Logic is the only textbook you will need.

Genres: Logic, Philosophy, Linguistics, Mathematics, Nonfiction

Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 1995

Reviews

[Misteryfan78 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I asked my logic teacher to recommend me some books about modal logic because I'm interested in the subject. He told me to read this one, mostly because is one of the most complete introductions to modal logic and also because it's not hard to get into (maybe you will need some basics in propositional logic and set theory). The first two sections are about propositional modal logic and the last section is about first-order modal logic. The book is really well written and accomplishes its goal (introduce the reader to the basics of modal logic). Some of the problems I have with the text are the next ones:
1. The notation is old (the book uses L for necessity and M for possibility instead of the classic box for necessity and diamond for possibility)
2. The use of axiomatic deduction. I study logic with natural deduction so it was weird to me to get into axiomatic systems (the book has a section on modal natural deduction but it's very strange).
3. Some of the exercises are really REALLY hard (there is a chapter with solutions to some exercises, but they are mostly hints on how to solve the exercises).
Anyway, these problems are mostly personal and don't affect the whole book. So I recommend this book to anyone interested in modal logic.

[Les Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

At one times there really was only 'Hughes and Cresswell' - their book: An Introduction to Modal Logic and later their Companion. There's quite a few good books these days. But, this New Introduction is new!

[Franco]

Just review...