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Logic
Featuring an exceptionally clear writing style and a wealth of real-world examples and exercises, Logic, Fourth Edition, shows how logic relates to everyday life, demonstrating its applications in such areas as the workplace, media and entertainment, politics, science and technology, student
life, and elsewhere. The examples and exercises were chosen to be interesting, thought-provoking, and relevant to students.
The text is enhanced by Dashboard, Oxford University Press' learning management platform, which offers a wealth of learning resources, including interactive proof-checking and truth table exercises. The fourth edition features new illustrations in Chapter 1; clearer treatments of existential import
and the traditional square of opposition in Chapter 5; and a new appendix, "The LSAT and Logical Reasoning."
life, and elsewhere. The examples and exercises were chosen to be interesting, thought-provoking, and relevant to students.
The text is enhanced by Dashboard, Oxford University Press' learning management platform, which offers a wealth of learning resources, including interactive proof-checking and truth table exercises. The fourth edition features new illustrations in Chapter 1; clearer treatments of existential import
and the traditional square of opposition in Chapter 5; and a new appendix, "The LSAT and Logical Reasoning."
816 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 23, 2024
For a few years I had an annual ritual of studying this around Christmas and New Years. Confused by the negative reviews. Full of good exercises, clear explanations. Very comprehensive.
May 11, 2023
Conclusion: This book deals with several different areas of logic and gives a good study of the entire field. This book can be read by just about anybody at different levels of education. If anybody wants to read a book on logic (broadly speaking), this will probably be just about as good as any other.
This book is comprised of 4 Parts:
I. “Setting the Stage”
II. “Informal Logic”
III. “Formal Logic”
IV. “Inductive Logic”
Each part could be read independently of one another, depending on why you want to study logic, although parts I-III are distinct from one another in that each subsequent part is more abstract than the previous one. This leads me to caution anyone reading part III that reading part II is suggested if you are struggling. Below is a summary and a slight review of each part.
The first part is a standard introduction, answering questions such as “What is logic?”, “what are arguments” and “Why is the study of logic important?”. This first part is good for anyone new to logic and typically what people have in mind when they think colloquially about the term ‘logic’.
The second part starts by detailing the importance of language in the study of logic and discusses the basics of analyzing arguments, as well as a lengthy discussion of informal fallacies. This part is good for any reader interested in logic in everyday life. We are constantly bombarded with arguments that need to be deconstructed down to their logical components to begin to understand their truth values. This is a good introduction to ways to enhance the skills of critical thinking in people not exposed to these ideas before.
The third part is more technical, introducing the reader to things such as Venn Diagrams, The Square of Opposition, truth tables, propositional logic, and predicate logic. This is a great study of the topics, although some notation choices are inconsistent with the broader field of logic which can be somewhat bothersome, but not a huge hurdle. Another issue I had with this part is that I always wished there were more exercises, as well as more explanations with examples. Some sections would have 10+ exercises, while others would have 4. I also found that areas of predicate logic had fewer examples and exercises despite being much more difficult to grasp than the other topics. However, I recognize that there need to be obvious limitations on how many exercises are included in a book like this; the author could have extended this book with 1,000 extra pages with exercises and a full explanation, but this would have been impractical. However, it may be good to prepared to look for outside materials when wanting more practice and more explanations for some of the rules of logic. This section is primarily what I was wanting to study when picking up this book and despite my problems, I think this book deals with the subject as good or better than other books.
The fourth and final part of this book breaks with the increasing levels of abstraction and difficulty and again turns to the ‘real world’ (so to speak). In it, the author discusses analogies, legal arguments, moral arguments, statistics, and causality. Each section can be read almost completely independently from one another and read as a sort of “introduction to x”. For instance, the statistics chapter felt more like a broad introduction/review of a first-year statistics class. Similarly, the discussion of morality and science were discussions of the philosophy of each, detailing different theories within those specific fields. The entire part felt a little out of place, especially after the more abstract chapters dealt with in part III.
This book is comprised of 4 Parts:
I. “Setting the Stage”
II. “Informal Logic”
III. “Formal Logic”
IV. “Inductive Logic”
Each part could be read independently of one another, depending on why you want to study logic, although parts I-III are distinct from one another in that each subsequent part is more abstract than the previous one. This leads me to caution anyone reading part III that reading part II is suggested if you are struggling. Below is a summary and a slight review of each part.
The first part is a standard introduction, answering questions such as “What is logic?”, “what are arguments” and “Why is the study of logic important?”. This first part is good for anyone new to logic and typically what people have in mind when they think colloquially about the term ‘logic’.
The second part starts by detailing the importance of language in the study of logic and discusses the basics of analyzing arguments, as well as a lengthy discussion of informal fallacies. This part is good for any reader interested in logic in everyday life. We are constantly bombarded with arguments that need to be deconstructed down to their logical components to begin to understand their truth values. This is a good introduction to ways to enhance the skills of critical thinking in people not exposed to these ideas before.
The third part is more technical, introducing the reader to things such as Venn Diagrams, The Square of Opposition, truth tables, propositional logic, and predicate logic. This is a great study of the topics, although some notation choices are inconsistent with the broader field of logic which can be somewhat bothersome, but not a huge hurdle. Another issue I had with this part is that I always wished there were more exercises, as well as more explanations with examples. Some sections would have 10+ exercises, while others would have 4. I also found that areas of predicate logic had fewer examples and exercises despite being much more difficult to grasp than the other topics. However, I recognize that there need to be obvious limitations on how many exercises are included in a book like this; the author could have extended this book with 1,000 extra pages with exercises and a full explanation, but this would have been impractical. However, it may be good to prepared to look for outside materials when wanting more practice and more explanations for some of the rules of logic. This section is primarily what I was wanting to study when picking up this book and despite my problems, I think this book deals with the subject as good or better than other books.
The fourth and final part of this book breaks with the increasing levels of abstraction and difficulty and again turns to the ‘real world’ (so to speak). In it, the author discusses analogies, legal arguments, moral arguments, statistics, and causality. Each section can be read almost completely independently from one another and read as a sort of “introduction to x”. For instance, the statistics chapter felt more like a broad introduction/review of a first-year statistics class. Similarly, the discussion of morality and science were discussions of the philosophy of each, detailing different theories within those specific fields. The entire part felt a little out of place, especially after the more abstract chapters dealt with in part III.
June 17, 2025
An introduction to formal and informal logic. As a textbook, it does its job well enough, but that doesn't mean it's perfect.
As to form, the book is decently organized and the material easy to understand. The exercises were generally helpful as well. However, despite having an entire chapter on making definitions, many of his definitions were vague. He opted for a conversational tone throughout much of the book, which also led to some long and redundant examples. But again, the textbook is passable for learning the discipline of logic. The formal section was strongest.
One more critique, though it doesn't necessarily reduce the utility of the book. Baronett was fairly biased in his exercises, examples, and philosopher profiles. He praised philosophers who offered arguments against God, but failed to interact with the religious views of Christian philosophers he profiled. He also praised evolution for being scientifically supported without working through any logical arguments, while drudging up fringe Christian "prophets" for demonstrating the "manipulative" nature of "superstition." Even if you agree with Baronett's secular and liberal worldview, this textbook was not the appropriate place for him to air his views.
TL;DR: Fine, for a textbook.
As to form, the book is decently organized and the material easy to understand. The exercises were generally helpful as well. However, despite having an entire chapter on making definitions, many of his definitions were vague. He opted for a conversational tone throughout much of the book, which also led to some long and redundant examples. But again, the textbook is passable for learning the discipline of logic. The formal section was strongest.
One more critique, though it doesn't necessarily reduce the utility of the book. Baronett was fairly biased in his exercises, examples, and philosopher profiles. He praised philosophers who offered arguments against God, but failed to interact with the religious views of Christian philosophers he profiled. He also praised evolution for being scientifically supported without working through any logical arguments, while drudging up fringe Christian "prophets" for demonstrating the "manipulative" nature of "superstition." Even if you agree with Baronett's secular and liberal worldview, this textbook was not the appropriate place for him to air his views.
TL;DR: Fine, for a textbook.
May 19, 2019
This is a good introduction to Logic and critical thinking. I initially gave four stars, but I think it deserves 5 stars. It’s an excellent book and the complete third edition is useful either for critical thinking courses or as an intro to predicate logic. Best introduction to the topic so far.
Pros: the author presents truth tables very clearly, helping readers follow all the steps; the chapter on categorical syllogism and square of opposition is quite good, giving all necessary information without being too technical for beginners; Venn diagrams are explained step by step, with several examples; excellent introduction to predicate logic, since it takes time to explain how to use logic symbols; each chapter is enriched with exercises.
Contra: the style is sometimes too verbose. The intention was good, though: the book is destined to beginners.
Pros: the author presents truth tables very clearly, helping readers follow all the steps; the chapter on categorical syllogism and square of opposition is quite good, giving all necessary information without being too technical for beginners; Venn diagrams are explained step by step, with several examples; excellent introduction to predicate logic, since it takes time to explain how to use logic symbols; each chapter is enriched with exercises.
Contra: the style is sometimes too verbose. The intention was good, though: the book is destined to beginners.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews