Philosophy: logic Books

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisI am convinced of the urgent need for a democratic people to think clearly without the distortions due to unconscious bias and unrecognized ignorance. Our failures in thinking are in part due to faults which we could to some extent overcome were we to see clearly how these faults arise. It is the aim of this book to make a small effort in this direction. - Susan Stebbing, from the Preface Despite huge advances in education, knowledge and communication, it can often seem we are neither well-trained nor well practised in the art of clear thinking. Our powers of reasoning and argument are less confident that they should be, we frequently ignore evidence and we are all too often swayed by rhetoric rather than reason. But what can you do to think and argue better?First published in 1939 but unavailable for many years, Susan Stebbing''s Thinking to Some Purpose is a classic first-aid manual of how to think clearly, and remains astonishinTable of ContentsForeword to the Routledge Edition, Introduction to the Routledge Edition, Preface to the 1939 Edition, 1. Prologue: Are the English Illogical?, 2. Thinking and Doing, 3. A Mind in Blinkers, 4. You and I: And You, 5. Bad Language and Twisted Thinking, 6. Potted Thinking, 7. Propaganda: An Obstacle, 8. Difficulties of an Audience, 9. Illustration and Analogy, 10. The Unpopularity of Being Moderate, 11. On Being Misled by Half, and Other Fractions, 12. Slipping Away from the Point, 13. Taking Advantage of Our Stupidity, 14. Testing our Beliefs, 15. Epilogue: Democracy and Freedom of Mind, Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLudwig Wittgenstein (1889â1951) is one of the most important and influential philosophers in modern times, but he is also one of the least accessible. In this volume, leading experts chart the development of his work and clarify the connections between its different stages. The essays, which are both expository and original, address central themes in Wittgenstein's writing on a wide range of topics, particularly his thinking about the mind, language, logic, and mathematics. The contributors illuminate the character of the whole body of work by focusing on key topics: the style of the philosophy, the conception of grammar contained in it, rule-following, convention, logical necessity, the self, and what Wittgenstein called, in a famous phrase, 'forms of life'. This revised edition includes a new introduction, five new essays - on Tractarian ethics, Wittgenstein's development, aspects, the mind, and time and history - and a fully updated comprehensive bibliography.Trade Review'The distinguished contributors take different interpretive approaches to Wittgenstein's work and cover a wide range of topics. Some essays stay within the standard range of topics, whereas others, e.g., Sluga's 'Time and History in Wittgenstein', look to extend the range.' ChoiceTable of ContentsPreface; Introduction; 1. Wittgenstein's critique of philosophy Robert J. Fogelin; 2. Pictures, logic, and the limits of sense in Wittgenstein's Tractatus Thomas Ricketts; 3. Tractarian ethics Kevin Cahill; 4. Wittgenstein in the 1930s David G. Stern; 5. A philosophy of mathematics between two camps Steve Gerrard; 6. Necessity and normativity Hans-Johann Glock; 7. Wittgenstein, mathematics, and ethics: resisting the attractions of realism Cora Diamond; 8. Notes and afterthoughts on the opening of Wittgenstein's Investigations Stanley Cavell; 9. Mind, meaning and practice Barry Stroud; 10. Body and soul Joachim Schulte; 11. The question of linguistic idealism revisited Hans Sluga; 12. Aspects of aspects Juliet Floyd; 13. Forms of life: mapping the rough ground Naomi Scheman; 14. Time and history in Wittgenstein Hans Sluga; 15. Certainties of a world picture: the epistemological investigations of On Certainty Michael Kober; Bibliography; Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA timely and accessible guide to 100 of the most infamous logical fallacies in Western philosophy, helping readers avoid and detect false assumptions and faulty reasoning You'll love this book or you'll hate it. So, you're either with us or against us. And if you're against us then you hate books. No true intellectual would hate this book. Ever decide to avoid a restaurant because of one bad meal? Choose a product because a celebrity endorsed it? Or ignore what a politician says because she's not a member of your party? For as long as people have been discussing, conversing, persuading, advocating, proselytizing, pontificating, or otherwise stating their case, their arguments have been vulnerable to false assumptions and faulty reasoning. Drawing upon a long history of logical falsehoods and philosophical flubs, Bad Arguments demonstrates how misguided arguments come to be, and what we can do to detect them in the rhetoric of others and avoid usingTrade Review“…In view of the contemporary controversies surrounding many of the fundamental concepts of logic discussed, this synopsis is no mean feat, given the exacting formalities of the subject. As a helping hand to students new to critical thinking, the book is immensely successful and useful…” --L. C. Archie, emeritus, Lander University CHOICE April 2019Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors xiii Introduction 1 Part I Formal Fallacies 35 Propositional Logic 37 1 Affirming a Disjunct 39Jason Iuliano 2 Affirming the Consequent 42Brett Gaul 3 Denying the Antecedent 46Brett Gaul Categorical Logic 49 4 Exclusive Premises 51Charlene Elsby 5 Four Terms 55Charlene Elsby 6 Illicit Major and Minor Terms 60Charlene Elsby 7 Undistributed Middle 63Charlene Elsby Part II Informal Fallacies 67 Fallacies of Relevance 69 8 Ad Hominem: Bias 71George Wrisley 9 Ad Hominem: Circumstantial 77George Wrisley 10 Ad Hominem: Direct 83George Wrisley 11 Ad Hominem: Tu Quoque 88George Wrisley 12 Adverse Consequences 94David Vander Laan 13 Appeal to Emotion: Force or Fear 98George Wrisley 14 Appeal to Emotion: Pity 102George Wrisley 15 Appeal to Ignorance 106Benjamin W. McCraw 16 Appeal to the People 112Benjamin W. McCraw 17 Appeal to Personal Incredulity 115Tuomas W. Manninen 18 Appeal to Ridicule 118Gregory L. Bock 19 Appeal to Tradition 121Nicolas Michaud 20 Argument from Fallacy 125Christian Cotton 21 Availability Error 128David Kyle Johnson 22 Base Rate 133Tuomas W. Manninen 23 Burden of Proof 137Andrew Russo 24 Countless Counterfeits 140David Kyle Johnson 25 Diminished Responsibility 145Tuomas W. Manninen 26 Essentializing 149Jack Bowen 27 Galileo Gambit 152David Kyle Johnson 28 Gambler’s Fallacy 157Grant Sterling 29 Genetic Fallacy 160Frank Scalambrino 30 Historian’s Fallacy 163Heather Rivera 31 Homunculus 165Kimberly Baltzer‐Jaray 32 Inappropriate Appeal to Authority 168Nicolas Michaud 33 Irrelevant Conclusion 172Steven Barbone 34 Kettle Logic 174Andy Wible 35 Line Drawing 177Alexander E. Hooke 36 Mistaking the Relevance of Proximate Causation 181David Kyle Johnson 37 Moving the Goalposts 185Tuomas W. Manninen 38 Mystery, Therefore Magic 189David Kyle Johnson 39 Naturalistic Fallacy 193Benjamin W. McCraw 40 Poisoning the Well 196Roberto Ruiz 41 Proving Too Much 201Kimberly Baltzer‐Jaray 42 Psychologist’s Fallacy 204Frank Scalambrino 43 Red Herring 208Heather Rivera 44 Reductio ad Hitlerum 212Frank Scalambrino 45 Argument by Repetition 215Leigh Kolb 46 Special Pleading 219Dan Yim 47 Straw Man 223Scott Aikin and John Casey 48 Sunk Cost 227Robert Arp 49 Two Wrongs Make a Right 230David LaRocca 50 Weak Analogy 234Bertha Alvarez Manninen Fallacies of Ambiguity 239 51 Accent 241Roberto Ruiz 52 Amphiboly 246Roberto Ruiz 53 Composition 250Jason Waller 54 Confusing an Explanation for an Excuse 252Kimberly Baltzer‐Jaray 55 Definist Fallacy 255Christian Cotton 56 Division 259Jason Waller 57 Equivocation 261Bertha Alvarez Manninen 58 Etymological Fallacy 266Leigh Kolb 59 Euphemism 270Kimberly Baltzer‐Jaray 60 Hedging 273Christian Cotton 61 If by Whiskey 277Christian Cotton 62 Inflation of Conflict 280Andy Wible 63 Legalistic Mistake 282Marco Antonio Azevedo 64 Oversimplification 286Dan Burkett 65 Proof by Verbosity 289Phil Smolenski 66 Sorites Fallacy 293Jack Bowen Fallacies of Presumption 297 67 Accident 299Steven Barbone 68 All or Nothing 301David Kyle Johnson 69 Anthropomorphic Bias 305David Kyle Johnson 70 Begging the Question 308Heather Rivera 71 Chronological Snobbery 311A.G. Holdier 72 Complex Question 314A.G. Holdier 73 Confirmation Bias 317David Kyle Johnson 74 Conjunction 321Jason Iuliano 75 Constructive Nature of Perception 324David Kyle Johnson 76 Converse Accident 330Steven Barbone 77 Existential Fallacy 332Frank Scalambrino 78 False Cause: Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc 335Bertha Alvarez Manninen 79 False Cause: Ignoring Common Cause 338Bertha Alvarez Manninen 80 False Cause: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc 342Bertha Alvarez Manninen 81 False Dilemma 346Jennifer Culver 82 Free Speech 348Scott Aikin and John Casey 83 Guilt by Association 351Leigh Kolb 84 Hasty Generalization 354Michael J. Muniz 85 Intentional Fallacy 357Nicolas Michaud 86 Is/Ought Fallacy 360Mark T. Nelson 87 Masked Man 364Charles Taliaferro 88 Middle Ground 367Grant Sterling 89 Mind Projection 369Charles Taliaferro 90 Moralistic Fallacy 371Galen Foresman 91 No True Scotsman 374Tuomas W. Manninen 92 Reification 378Robert Sinclair 93 Representative Heuristic 382David Kyle Johnson 94 Slippery Slope 385Michael J. Muniz 95 Stolen Concept 388Rory E. Kraft, Jr. 96 Subjective Validation 392David Kyle Johnson 97 Subjectivist Fallacy 396Frank Scalambrino 98 Suppressed Evidence 399David Kyle Johnson 99 Unfalsifiability 403Jack Bowen 100 Unwarranted Assumption 407Kimberly Baltzer‐Jaray Index 410

Read more less

Book SynopsisThroughout history, humanity has regularly followed anti-rational figures and forces: demagogic rulers, perverted deities, exploitative economic systems, and so on. Such leadership and followership have wrought all kinds of oppression and conflict. What if this pattern could be altered? What if society were led by Reason instead? Prompted by Cicero's exhortation to follow reason as leader as though it were a god, Following Reason: A Theory and Strategy for Rational Leadership explores this intriguing and potentially transformative possibility. Manolopoulos uniquely blends leadership psychology with a deep understanding of philosophical reasoning theory to show how leaders can bravely reimagine and reconstruct society. The book retraces leadership mis-steps in history, and proposes a more logicentric theory of leadership, built on compelling philosophical axioms and arguments. Following Reason emphasizes the weight of philosophy and cognition in leadershipTable of ContentsSeries Editor ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad WorldChapter 1: DEFINING LEADINGSkepticism Toward SkepticismChanging SituationsMaintaining Contested SituationsChapter 2: DIFFERENTIATING LEADING FROM MANAGINGDistinguishing and Confusing the TwoHistory’s Glorified ManagersChapter 3: FOREGROUNDING FOLLOWINGReversal’s ValueDeclaration of InterdependenceChapter 4: RETHINKING REASON AS LEADERFrom "The Thinker" to Epistocratic DemocracyFrom Platonic Epistocracy to Democratic LogicracyRealizing Logicracy: On the Way to a StrategyChapter 5: FAITHFULLY FOLLOWING REASONToward a Quasi-Religious FollowingSpreading the Good/Better NewsA Skeptical ObedienceLogicracy’s People PowerReferences

Read more less

Book SynopsisLogic: The Basics is an accessible introduction to several core areas of logic. The first part of the book features a self-contained introduction to the standard topics in classical logic, such as: mathematical preliminaries propositional logic quantified logic (first monadic, then polyadic) English and standard symbolic translations' tableau procedures. Alongside comprehensive coverage of the standard topics, this thoroughly revised second edition also introduces several philosophically important nonclassical logics, free logics, and modal logics, and gives the reader an idea of how they can take their knowledge further. With its wealth of exercises (solutions available in the encyclopedic online supplement), Logic: The Basics is a useful textbook for courses ranging from the introductory level to the early graduate level, and also as a reference for students and researchers in philosophical logic.Trade ReviewThis work is an excellent and easily accessible resource material, especially for those interested to pursue further studies in advanced logic. It is a roadmap that tells you how to navigate your way in the forest of different logical theories. It serves as a gateway to the "plurality of logics". Jeremiah Joven Joaquin, De La Salle University, Manila. With this new edition, Logic the basics is the best introductory textbook for non-classical logic. It clearly introduces each new topic and shows how it connects to earlier chapters. It is a fantastic choice for introducing undergraduates to exciting developments in logic. Tracy Lupher, Co-director of the Logic and Reasoning Institute, James Madison University, USATable of ContentsI BACKGROUND IDEAS1 Consequences 1.1 Relations of support 1.2 Logical consequence: the basic recipe 1.3 Valid arguments and truth 1.4 Summary, looking ahead, and reading 2 Models, Modeled, and Modeling 2.1 Models 2.2 Models in science 2.3 Logic as modeling 2.4 A note on notation, metalanguages, etc. 2.5 Summary, looking ahead, and reading 3 Language, Form, and Logical Theories 3.1 Language and formal languages 3.2 Languages: syntax and semantics 3.3 Atoms, connectives, and molecules 3.4 Connectives and form 3.5 Validity and form 3.6 Logical theories: rivalry 3.7 Summary, looking ahead, and reading 4 Set-theoretic Tools 4.1 Sets 4.2 Ordered sets: pairs and n-tuples 4.3 Relations 4.4 Functions 4.5 Sets as tools 4.6 Summary and looking ahead II THE BASIC CLASSICAL THEORY5 Basic Classical Syntax and Semantics 5.1 Cases: complete and consistent 5.2 Classical ‘truth conditions’ 5.3 Basic classical consequence 5.4 Motivation: precision 5.5 Formal picture 5.6 Defined connectives 5.7 Some notable valid forms 5.8 Summary and looking ahead 6 Basic Classical Tableaux 6.1 What are tableaux? 6.2 Tableaux for the Basic Classical Theory 6.3 Summary and looking ahead 7 Basic Classical Translations 7.1 Atoms, Punctuation, and Connectives 7.2 Syntax, altogether 7.3 Semantics 7.4 Consequence 7.5 Summary and Looking Ahead III FIRST-ORDER CLASSICAL THEORY8 Atomic Innards: Unary 8.1 Atomic innards: names and predicates 8.2 Truth and falsity conditions for atomics 8.3 Cases, domains, and interpretation functions 8.4 Classicality 8.5 A formal picture 8.6 Summary and looking ahead 9 Everything and Something 9.1 Validity involving quantifiers 9.2 Quantifiers: an informal sketch 9.3 Truth and falsity conditions 9.4 A formal picture 9.5 Summary and looking ahead. 10 First-Order Language with Any-Arity Innards10.1 Truth and falsity conditions for atomics 10.2 Cases, domains, and interpretation functions 10.3 Classicality 10.4 A formal picture 10.5 Summary and looking ahead 11 Identity 11.1 Logical expressions, forms, sentential forms 11.2 Validity involving identity 11.3 Identity: informal sketch 11.4 Truth conditions: informal sketch 11.5 Formal picture 11.6 Summary and looking ahead 12 Tableaux for First-Order Logic with Identity 12.1 A Few Reminders 12.2 Tableaux for Polyadic First-Order Logic 12.3 Summary and looking ahead 13 First-Order Translations 13.1 Basic Classical Theory with Innards 13.2 First-Order Classical Theory 13.3 Polyadic Innards13.4 Examples in the polyadic language 13.5 Adding Identity 13.6 Summary and Looking Ahead IV NONCLASSICAL THEORIES14 Alternative Logical Theories 14.1 Apparent unsettledness 14.2 Apparent overdeterminacy 14.3 Options14.4 Cases 14.5 Truth and falsity conditions 14.6 Logical Consequence 14.7 Summary, looking ahead, and reading 15 Nonclassical Sentential Logics 15.1 Syntax 15.2 Semantics, Broadly 15.3 Defined connectives 15.4 Some notable forms 15.5 Summary and looking ahead 16 Nonclassical First-order Theories 16.1 An Informal Gloss 16.2 A formal picture 16.3 Summary and looking ahead 17 Nonclassical Tableaux 17.1 Closure Conditions 17.2 Tableaux for Nonclassical First-Order Logics 17.3 Summary and looking ahead 18 Nonclassical Translations 18.1 Syntax and Semantics 18.2 Consequence 18.3 Summary and looking ahead V FREEDOM, NECESSITY AND BEYOND19 Speaking Freely 19.1 Speaking of non-existent ‘things’ 19.2 Existential import 19.3 Freeing our terms, expanding our domains 19.4 Truth conditions: an informal sketch19.5 Formal picture 19.6 Summary and looking ahead 20 Possibilities20.1 Possibility and necessity 20.2 Towards truth and falsity conditions 20.3 Cases and consequence 20.4 Formal picture 20.5 Remark on going beyond possibility 20.6 Summary and looking ahead 21 Free and Modal Tableaux 21.1 Free Tableaux 21.2 Modal Tableaux 21.3 Summary and looking ahead 22 Glimpsing Different Logical Roads 22.1 Other conditionals 22.2 Other negations 22.3 Other alethic modalities: actuality 22.4 Same connectives, different truth conditions 22.5 Another road to difference: consequence 22.6 Summary and looking behind and ahead References

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThinking Through Questions is an accessible and compact guide to the art of questioning, covering both the use and abuse of questions. Animated by wide-ranging and engaging exercises and examples, the book helps students deepen their understanding of how questions work and what questions do, and builds the skills needed to ask better questions. Cowritten by two of today's leading philosopher-teachers, Thinking Through Questions is specifically designed to complement, connect, and motivate today’s standard curricula, especially for classes in critical thinking, philosophical questioning, and creative problem- solving (called here "expansive questioning"). Offering students a wide and appreciative look at questions and questioning, this small book will also appeal to faculty and students across the disciplines: in college writing courses, creativity workshops, education schools, introductions to college thinking, design thinking projects, and humanities and thinking classes. Open-ended, creative, and critically self-possessed thinking is its constant theme—what field doesn’t need more of that?Trade Review"This small book holds big value for teachers of philosophy and teachers of critical thinking in any discipline. If you want your students to be more ‘curious, critical, exploratory, and creative,’ this book will serve well as a supplementary or core text. It offers appreciation for the power of questioning, opportunities to identify types of questions, and practice in questioning skills. The authors, both recognized as master teachers, bring their own considerable pedagogical experience and engaging style to encouraging better questioning in all of us." —Donna Engelmann, Alverno College"Highly accessible, Thinking Through Questions guides students to greater freedom regarding how, why, when, and when not to ask or answer critical, expansive, and philosophical questions. It is an especially good choice for courses where critical thinking figures prominently, both because of its content and because of the practice exercises it contains. But more fundamentally, this book leaves readers more able to resist coercive questions, reconfigure false dilemmas, question more creatively, and diagnose embedded philosophical and other assumptions. It teaches how to profitably answer questions, do valuable things with questions other than answer them, ask better questions, and liberate oneself from cognitive traps many questions set." —David Concepción, professor of philosophy, Ball State University"Thinking Through Questions can be put to many good uses in the classroom. Weston and Bloch-Schulman have done an admirable job of creating a text which embodies a novel approach to the numerous pedagogical situations instructors might find themselves in across the academy, especially in humanities courses and any course centered on critical reasoning and writing." —Michael Gifford, Arizona State University, in Teaching Philosophy

Read more less

Book SynopsisAt a time when the news cycle turns on a tweet, journalism gets confused with opinion, and facts are treated as negotiable information, applying critical thinking skills to your social media consumption is more important than ever. Guy P. Harrison, an upbeat advocate of scientific literacy and positive skepticism, demonstrates how critical thinking can enhance the benefits of social media while giving users the skills to guard against its dangers. Social media has more than two billion users and continues to grow. Its widespread appeal as a means of staying in touch with friends and keeping up with daily news masks some serious pitfalls-- misinformation, pseudoscience, fraud, propaganda, and irrational beliefs, for example, presented in an attractive, easy-to-share form. This book will teach you how to resist the psychological and behavioral manipulation of social media and avoid the mistakes that millions have already made and now regret. Harrison presents scientific studies that show why your subconscious mind loves social media and how that can work against your ability to critically evaluate information. Among other things, social media reinforces your biases, clouds your judgment with images that leave a false impression, and fills your brain with anecdotes that become cheap substitutes for objective data. The very nature of the technology keeps you in a bubble; by tracking your preferences it sends only filtered newsfeeds, so that you rarely see anything that might challenge your set notions. Harrison explores the implications of having digital "friends" and the effects on mood, self-esteem, and the cultivation of friendship in the real world. He discusses how social media affects attention spans and the ability to consider issues in depth. And he suggests ways to protect yourself against privacy invasion, cyberstalking, biased misinformation, catfishing, trolls, misuse of photos, and the confusion over fake news versus credible journalism.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCategorization is an essential and unavoidable instrumentality for conceptually navigating a world—indeed for being able to conceptualize a world to be navigated. Classification is a pivotal instrument for scientific systemization, featured as a basis for the philosophical understanding of reality since Aristotle, but classificatory concepts of sorts, types and natural kinds inevitably pervade our understanding of ourselves and our position in the social as well as the natural world at all levels. The authors argue that the character, purpose-, context-, and culture-relativity of categories and categorization have been widely misunderstood—that standard philosophical views are substantially correct in some respects but markedly mistaken in others. The book offers a comprehensive survey of basic principles of classification and categorization, a survey of relevant empirical work, and a multitude of illustrative examples accompanied by instructive analysis of ways and means. The work traces wide-ranging implications of the current approach for philosophical problematic and paradox in philosophy of mind, epistemology and metaphysics, philosophy of science, social philosophy and ethics. Trade Review“Grim and Rescher’s Theory of Categories is a philosophically sophisticated and historically informed study of categoricity in virtually all its aspects. It has insightful treatments of categories in metaphysics, scientific inquiry, philosophical analysis, and other areas, and it is particularly informative on specific issues such as the problem of induction and, throughout, in distinguishing defensible generalities from convenient stereotypes”— Robert Audi, John A. O’Brien Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, USA.“Patrick Grim and Nicholas Rescher wrote a fascinating and engaging book about every possible categorization aspect. Categories are fundamental tools of human understanding and thinking. The analysis starts with categories’ nature and category theories’ history. It unifies the perspective of philosophy, logic, and cognitive science. “Theory of categorization” is a scholarly book that helps us manage category mistakes and paradoxes”— Péter Érdu, Henry Luce Professor of Complex Systems Studies, Kalamazoo College, USA.“Categories, categories. Who needs them? Everyone, according to this book, complete with glossaries, taxonomies, diagrams, paradoxes, and, of course, categories. The authors shed light on many areas of classification, across various disciplines”— Paul K. Moser, Loyola University Chicago, USA.Table of ContentsPreface; Chapter 1: The Nature of Categories; Chapter 2: The History of Categorization; Chapter 3: Empirical Issues in Categorization; Chapter 4: Categories in Science; Chapter 5: Category Mistakes and Philosophical Paradoxes; Chapter 6: Ethical and Social Categories; References; Index

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book reports on cutting-edge concepts related to Bourbaki’s notion of structures mères. It merges perspectives from logic, philosophy, linguistics and cognitive science, suggesting how they can be combined with Bourbaki’s mathematical structuralism in order to solve foundational, ontological and epistemological problems using a novel category-theoretic approach. By offering a comprehensive account of Bourbaki’s structuralism and answers to several important questions that have arisen in connection with it, the book provides readers with a unique source of information and inspiration for future research on this topic.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Reflections on Bourbaki's Notion of "Structure" and Categories.- Chapter 2: Bourbaki and Foundations.- Chapter 3: Forms of Structuralism: Bourbaki and the Philosophers.- Chapter 4: Ladders of sets and isomorphisms The shortcomings of Bourbaki’s notion of “structure”.- Chapter 5: The difficulty of neutrality A graph-theoretical solution.- Chapter 6: The wrapped dimension of Bourbaki’s structures mères.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis textbook offers a detailed introduction to the methodology and applications of sequent calculi in propositional logic. Unlike other texts concerned with proof theory, emphasis is placed on illustrating how to use sequent calculi to prove a wide range of metatheoretical results. The presentation is elementary and self-contained, with all technical details both formally stated and also informally explained. Numerous proofs are worked through to demonstrate methods of proving important results, such as the cut-elimination theorem, completeness, decidability, and interpolation. Other proofs are presented with portions left as exercises for readers, allowing them to practice techniques of sequent calculus.After a brief introduction to classical propositional logic, the text explores three variants of sequent calculus and their features and applications. The remaining chapters then show how sequent calculi can be extended, modified, and applied to non-classical logics, including modal, intuitionistic, substructural, and many-valued logics.Sequents and Trees is suitable for graduate and advanced undergraduate students in logic taking courses on proof theory and its application to non-classical logics. It will also be of interest to researchers in computer science and philosophers.Trade Review“Each chapter of the book is structured in a similar way and contains the basic definitions, facts and necessary discussion regarding the key notions, accompanied with new ideas and a wide reference list, followed by the author's clear and approachable style. This book is self-contained, presenting an extensive survey of the applications and usefulness of cut elimination, and seems to be an extremely interesting source not only for logicians and philosophers, but also for researchers in computer science.” (Branislav Boričić, Mathematical Reviews, May, 2022)Table of ContentsIntroduction.- Analytic Sequent Calculus for CPL.- Gentzen's Sequent Calculus LK.- Purely Logical Sequent Calculus.- Sequent Calculi for Modal Logics.- Alternatives to CPL.- Appendix.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis monograph offers a new foundation for information theory that is based on the notion of information-as-distinctions, being directly measured by logical entropy, and on the re-quantification as Shannon entropy, which is the fundamental concept for the theory of coding and communications.Information is based on distinctions, differences, distinguishability, and diversity. Information sets are defined that express the distinctions made by a partition, e.g., the inverse-image of a random variable so they represent the pre-probability notion of information. Then logical entropy is a probability measure on the information sets, the probability that on two independent trials, a distinction or “dit” of the partition will be obtained. The formula for logical entropy is a new derivation of an old formula that goes back to the early twentieth century and has been re-derived many times in different contexts. As a probability measure, all the compound notions of joint, conditional, and mutual logical entropy are immediate. The Shannon entropy (which is not defined as a measure in the sense of measure theory) and its compound notions are then derived from a non-linear dit-to-bit transform that re-quantifies the distinctions of a random variable in terms of bits—so the Shannon entropy is the average number of binary distinctions or bits necessary to make all the distinctions of the random variable. And, using a linearization method, all the set concepts in this logical information theory naturally extend to vector spaces in general—and to Hilbert spaces in particular—for quantum logical information theory which provides the natural measure of the distinctions made in quantum measurement.Relatively short but dense in content, this work can be a reference to researchers and graduate students doing investigations in information theory, maximum entropy methods in physics, engineering, and statistics, and to all those with a special interest in a new approach to quantum information theory.Table of Contents- Logical entropy.- The relationship between logical entropy and Shannon entropy.- The compound notions for logical and Shannon entropies.- Further developments of logical entropy.- Logical Quantum Information Theory.- Conclusion.- Appendix: Introduction to the logic of partitions.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book presents a set of historical recollections on the work of Martin Davis and his role in advancing our understanding of the connections between logic, computing, and unsolvability. The individual contributions touch on most of the core aspects of Davis’ work and set it in a contemporary context. They analyse, discuss and develop many of the ideas and concepts that Davis put forward, including such issues as contemporary satisfiability solvers, essential unification, quantum computing and generalisations of Hilbert’s tenth problem. The book starts out with a scientific autobiography by Davis, and ends with his responses to comments included in the contributions. In addition, it includes two previously unpublished original historical papers in which Davis and Putnam investigate the decidable and the undecidable side of Logic, as well as a full bibliography of Davis’ work. As a whole, this book shows how Davis’ scientific work lies at the intersection of computability, theoretical computer science, foundations of mathematics, and philosophy, and draws its unifying vision from his deep involvement in Logic.Trade Review“It is welcome indeed to have the book under review on my desk and in my possession, particularly given that it’s something of a Festschrift, sporting all sorts of goodies. … To real logicians or even to folks like me … this is a wonderful book to have.” (Michael Berg, MAA Reviews, January 2018)Table of ContentsChapter 1. My Life as a Logician (Martin Davis).- Chapter 2. Martin Davis and Hilbert’s Tenth Problem (Yuri Matiyasevich).- Chapter 3. Extensions of Hilbert’s Tenth Problem: Definability and Decidability in Number Theory (Alexandra Shlapentokh).- Chapter 4. A Story of Hilbert’s Tenth Problem (Laura Elena Morales Guerrero).- Chapter 5. Hyperarithmetical Sets (Yiannis N. Moschovakis).- Chapter 6. Honest Computability and Complexity (Udi Boker and Nachum Dershowitz).- Chapter 7. Why Post Did [Not] Have Turing’s Thesis (Wilfried Sieg).- Chapter 8. On Quantum Computation, Anyons, and Categories (Andreas Blass).

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book presents reflections on the relationship between narratives and argumentative discourse. It focuses on their functional and structural similarities or dissimilarities, and offers diverse perspectives and conceptual tools for analyzing the narratives’ potential power for justification, explanation and persuasion. Divided into two sections, the first Part, under the title “Narratives as Sources of Knowledge and Argument”, includes five chapters addressing rather general, theoretical and characteristically philosophical issues related to the argumentative analysis and understanding of narratives. We may perceive here how scholars in Argumentation Theory have recently approached certain topics that have a close connection with mainstream discussions in epistemology and the cognitive sciences about the justificatory potential of narratives. The second Part, entitled “Argumentative Narratives in Context”, brings us six more chapters that concentrate on either particular functions played by argumentatively-oriented narratives or particular practices that may benefit from the use of special kinds of narratives. Here the focus is either on the detailed analysis of contextualized examples of narratives with argumentative qualities or on the careful understanding of the particular demands of certain well-defined situated activities, as diverse as scientific theorizing or war policing, that may be satisfied by certain uses of narrative discourse.Trade Review“Narration as Argument is an excellent and informative book that can spur trans-disciplinary conversations with scholars in Black studies, Marxist and feminist theories, literary studies, and media studies, just to name a few.” (Charles Athanasopoulos, Argumentation and Advocacy, Vol. 56 (3), 2020)“It seems clear that Paula Olmos has succeeded in her aim of exhibiting the wide range of approaches to the relation between narration and argument, given the variety of approaches to narration as argument exhibited in these twelve chapters. … She has reserved a table for everyone and bade them sit down side by side, in the hope that they will all begin to talk to one another. It’s a start.” (J. Anthony Blair, Argumentation, Vol. 33, 2019)Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction: Narratives, Narrating, Narrators; Paula Olmos.- Part I Narratives as Sources of Knowledge and Argument.- Chapter 2. Narratives and the Concept of Argument; Christopher Tindale.- Chapter 3. Arguing with Stories; Floris Bex and Trevor Bench-Capon.- Chapter 4. Narrative Fiction as a Source of Knowledge; Mitchell Green.- Chapter 5. Analogy, Presupposition and Transcendentality in Narrative Argument; Gilbert Plumer.- Chapter 6. Parables: Crossroads Between the Cognitive Theory of Metaphor and Argumentation Theory; Eduardo de Bustos.- Part II Argumentative Narratives in Context.- Chapter 7. Narratives and Pragmatic Arguments: Iven’s The 400 million; Paul van den Hoven.- Chapter 8. The Sample Convention, or, When Fictionalized Narratives. Can Double as Historical Testimony; Leona Toker.- Chapter 9. From Narrative Arguments to Arguments that Narrate; Adrien Frenay and Marion Carel.- Chapter 10. Narrative as Argument in Atul Gawande’s. “On Washing Hands” and “Letting Go”; James Phelan.- Chapter 11. On Thought Experiments and other Narratives in Scientific Argument; Paula Olmos.- Chapter 12. How to Win Wars: The Role of the War Narrative; Tone Kvernbekk and Ola Bøe-Hansen.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this book, Paulo Guilherme Santos studies diagonalization in formal mathematics from logical aspects to everyday mathematics. He starts with a study of the diagonalization lemma and its relation to the strong diagonalization lemma. After that, Yablo’s paradox is examined, and a self-referential interpretation is given. From that, a general structure of diagonalization with paradoxes is presented. Finally, the author studies a general theory of diagonalization with the help of examples from mathematics.Table of ContentsDiagonalization in Mathematics.- Diagonalization Lemma.- Fixed Point Theorems.- Paradoxes: Liar, Yablo’s Paradox, Curry’s Paradox.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIssues surrounding the status and nature of `nonexistent objects' constitute one of philosophy's oldest and densest thickets. In this book Perszyk takes his readers surefootedly through this thicket, informed both historically and at the level of contemporary discussion of relevant themes. His main aim is to develop a `bundle' or `set of properties' interpretation of Meinong's theory of nonexistent objects (as opposed to a set of properties neo-Meinongian metaphysics), and to defend this nonstandard interpretation against competing views in both the philosophical and scholarly literature on Meinong. The Meinong who emerges is neither the hero nor the villain his friends and foes have commonly led us to believe. This clearly written book is a valuable addition both to the literature on Meinong and to contemporary metaphysics of modality. It is written for students and professionals interested in these, and related, areas.Table of ContentsPreface. 1: Introductory Considerations. 1.1. The impasse. 1.2. What might the claim that there `are' nonexistent objects mean. 1.3. Methodological concerns. 2: Meinong's Theory of Objects. 2.1. The Independence and Indifference principles. 2.2. The Independence principle: initial reaction. 2.3. The Indifference principle: initial reaction. 2.4. Is there a third mode of being? 2.5. Meinong and his historical precursors. 3: The Nature of Meinong's Objects: Existent and Nonexistent. 3.1. Incomplete objects and the nature of existents. 3.2. Incomplete objects and the nature of nonexistents. 3.3. More on the particular-general and concrete-abstract distinctions. 4: Two Main Arguments for Nonexistents. 4.1. The argument from negative existentials. 4.2. The argument from intentionality. 5: Main Arguments against Nonexistents. 5.1. Definitions of object-possiblity and object-impossibility. 5.2. Theories of nonexistents are inconsistent or apt to infringe the law of non-contradiction. 5.3. Nonexistent aren't objects. 5.4. An existence objection. 5.5. There are no impossible worlds or individuals. Bibliography. List of Meinong's Writings Consulted. General Bibliography.

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis text provides a straightforward, lively but rigorous, introduction to truth-functional and predicate logic, complete with lucid examples and incisive exercises, for which Warren Goldfarb is renowned.Trade ReviewWarren Goldfarb's long-awaited Deductive Logic is an unusually perspicuous and effective logic textbook. It succeeds in achieving great precision without seeming pedantic and great depth without compromising accessibility. One main advantage of this book relative to its competitors is the lucidity with which it explains, in ways that even beginners can fully appreciate, the rapport between semantic and syntactic captures of logical consequence. Another marked advantage is the book's emphasis on deduction and its insistence on motivating the various clauses of the rules of deduction by showing, for example, what would ensue had these clauses been flouted. In this, Deductive Logic fills a real lacuna in logic-instruction and avoids the common pedagogical pitfalls of instruction via the tree method, where students find it rather mysterious why and how the method really works. The book is written in a clear and lively style and contains numerous exercises of varying degrees of difficulty. It is ideally suited for students in philosophy and computer science. --Ori Simchen, University of British ColumbiaThis is the finest introduction to logic available. --John Symons, University of Texas, El Paso

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis text offers an innovative approach to the teaching of logic, which is rigorous but entirely non-symbolic. By introducing students to deductive inferences in natural language, the book breaks new ground pedagogically. Cannon focuses on such topics as using a tableaux technique to assess inconsistency; using generative grammar; employing logical analyses of sentences; and dealing with quantifier expressions and syllogisms. An appendix covers truth-functional logic.Table of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsI. Fundamentals Propositions and sentences—the basic units of logic and language Truth and (declarative) sentences Consistency and sets of sentences Validity and argumentsExercises II. Stories and Situations Reference and truth Meaning and truth Might have beens Truth with respect to a situationExercises III. Establishing Inconsistency with Tableaux Obvious inconsistency Semantic tableaux: dividing and conquering Efficiencies in tableaux A tableau that closesExercises IV. Extending the Tableau Technique Counter sets and validity Resolving reference Additional constructions When can a sentence be checked?Exercises V. Generative Grammar What we mean by a grammar Phrase-structure grammars; Phrase-markers Transformations Syntactic ambiguityExercises VI. Logical Analysis of Complex Sentences “If s,” “And’s,” or “But’s”: Conjunctions and sentence connectives Rule-governed sentence connectives in tableaux Transformations in logical analysis; Grouping The reach of rules; Negated conditionals Tableaux constructed by rulesExercises VII. Logical Analysis of Simple Sentences: Identity and Other Relations Designators and predicates Properties and relations; Types of relations The peculiar relation of identity Tableau rules for identityExercises VIII. Logical Analysis of Simple Sentences: One-Word Quantifiers Quantifiers in general The simplest quantifiers: “everyone,” “someone,” and “no one” Tableau rules for the simplest quantifiers The simplest quantifiers in tableaux “Anyone,” quantifier scope, and anaphoric pronounsExercises IX. Quantifier Expressions and Syllogisms The universal quantifier Relative pronouns, and the existential and nihilistic quantifiers Tableaux for syllogisms and other arguments “Anyone” and logical equivalence Things, times, and placesExercises Appendix: Truth-Functional Logic Review: Tableau rules for sentence connectives Three levels of symbolization Symbolic languages for algebra Truth-functions and their computational tables Truth tables and calculating truth-values Constructing an arbitrary function; Normal formExercises For Reading and ReferenceIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis fourth and final volume of writings by Elizabeth Anscombe reprints her Introduction to Wittgenstein''s Tractatus, together with a number of later essays on thought and language in which she explores issues of reason, representation, truth and existence. As with previous volumes this gathers hitherto inaccessible publications and previously unpublished texts. Singly and collectively the four volumes provide for a broader and deeper understanding of the thought of one of the twentieth century''s most important anglophone philosophers.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe New Rhetoric is founded on the idea that since ""argumentation aims at securing the adherence of those to whom it is addressed, it is, in its entirety, relative to the audience to be influenced"", says Chaïm Perelman and L. Olbrechts-Tyteca. They rely for their theory of argumentation on the twin concepts of universal and particular audiences.Trade Review". . . a readable English translation of this highly influential work in which Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca point out historical and systematic inadequacies in much of contemporary logic and methodology." —The Review of Metaphysics"It is difficult to see how any rhetorician, rhetorical critic, logician interested in verbal logic, or student of either philosophical or popular argument can claim full competence without familiarity with this work. It challenges the orthodoxies of all and suggests fresh modes of inquiry to all." —The Quarterly Journal of Speech"An important work representing the recent increase of interest in rhetorical studies among Continental scholars. . . . The interest of philosophers of the rank of Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca in rhetoric marks a significant break from the influence of Ramus and Descartes upon Western philosophy's concept of reason and reasoning. An important work, highly recommended." —Choice"One of the best features of the book is that the authors have not merely described kinds of argument used in persuasive discourse, but have constantly shown how such arguments can be countered—and not merely by one's saying 'but that doesn't follow logically'. Even if we abandon the slogan 'deductive or defective' we are not required to abandon all criticism of nondeductive arguments. The non-logical has its own logic." —Mind"An important book, which should initiate re-estimation of the importance of a liberal art central to antiquity and the Renaissance, latterly eclipsed by the . . . logic of science and mathematics. . . . Dealing primarily with the written word, the authors analyze the constant and the variables in all argumentation, whether addressed to a universal audience or to one's self. Perelman claims that this work marks a break with a concept of reason which has dominated Western thought for three centuries. In 550 pages, he makes a good case for the claim." —The Key Reporter“Readers will find this volume a fascinating and firm first step toward the solution of some important philosophical problems."—Philosophy and Rhetoric

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCritical Thinking is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the essential skills of good reasoning. The authors provide a thorough treatment of such central topics as deductive and inductive reasoning, logical fallacies, how to recognize and avoid ambiguity, and how to distinguish what is relevant from what is not. Later chapters discuss the application of critical thinking skills to particular topics and tasks, including scientific reasoning, moral reasoning, legal reasoning, media analysis, and essay writing. The book also provides complimentary access to a companion website containing additional questions, flashcards, and other useful critical thinking resources.Trade Review“This textbook stands out from others for its clarity, which is due in large part to the conceptual organization of the material it covers. Rather than artificially carving out various aspects of critical thinking for individual treatment, the authors simply and carefully develop ideas, step by step. This approach makes clear how various aspects of careful, critical thinking come together, allowing students to develop their skills along the way.” — Joshua Smith, Central Michigan UniversityTable of Contents Acknowledgements Online Materials PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1: Reasoning and Critical Thinking PART TWO: MEANING Chapter 2: Meaning and Definition Chapter 3: Clarifying Meaning Chapter 4: Reconstructing Arguments PART THREE: ASSESSING ARGUMENTS Chapter 5: Strategies for Assessing Arguments Chapter 6: Assessing Truth-Claims Chapter 7: Assessing Relevance Chapter 8: Assessing Adequacy Chapter 9: Deductive Reasoning Chapter 10: Inductive Reasoning PART FOUR: APPLICATIONS Chapter 11: Scientific Reasoning Chapter 12: Moral Reasoning Chapter 13: Legal Reasoning Chapter 14: Arguing Back Chapter 15: Irrational Techniques of Persuasion Chapter 16: Critiquing the Media Chapter 17: Writing and Assessing Argumentative Essays Chapter 18: Strategies for Organizing an Argumentative Essay Appendix I: Paradoxes and Puzzles Appendix II: Answers to Self-Tests Glossary Permission Acknowlegments Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisFor centuries, the sorites paradox has spurred philosophers to think and argue about the problem of vagueness. This volume offers a guide to the paradox which is both an accessible survey and an expositionof the state of the art, with a chapter-by-chapter presentation of all of the main solutions to the paradox and of all its main areas of influence. Each chapter offers a gentle introduction to its topic, gradually building up to a final discussion of some open problems. Students will find a comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of the paradox, together withlucid explanations of the challenges it continues to raise. Researchers will find exciting new ideas and debates on the paradox.Trade Review'In this comprehensive and systematic collection, Oms (Univ. of Barcelona, Spain) and Zardini (Univ. of Lisbon, Portugal) provide nine excellent papers that characterize, and provide possible solutions for, the paradox's vagueness and another five papers that assess the influence of the sorites paradox's influence in philosophy, linguistics, and psychology … Released in the 'Classic Philosophical Arguments' series, this is the most outstanding treatment of the topic presently available.' L. C. Archie, ChoiceTable of ContentsList of contributors; Acknowledgements; Prelude; An introduction to the sorites paradox Sergi Oms and Elia Zardini; Part I. Solutions to the Sorites Paradox: 1. Epistemicism and the sorites paradox Ofra Magidor; 2. Supervaluationism, subvaluationism and the sorites paradox Pablo Cobreros and Luca Tranchini; 3. Contextualism and the sorites paradox Inga Bones and Diana Raffman; 4. Incoherentism and the sorites paradox Matti Eklund; 5. Intuitionism and the sorites paradox Crispin Wright; 6. Rejection of excluded middle and the sorites paradox Scott Soames; 7. Dialetheism and the sorites paradox Graham Priest; 8. Degree theory and the sorites paradox Francesco Paoli; 9. Non-transitivism and the sorites paradox Elia Zardini; Part II. The Influence of the Sorites Paradox: 10. The sorites paradox in philosophy of logic Sergi Oms; 11. The sorites paradox in metaphysics Irem Kurtsal; 12. The sorites paradox in practical philosophy Hrafn Asgeirsson; 13. The sorites paradox in linguistics Chris Kennedy; 14. The sorites paradox in psychology Paul Égré, David Ripley and Steven Verheyen; Coda: 15. The pre-analytic history of the sorites paradox Ricardo Santos; References; Index.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis third volume of the monumental commentary on Wittgenstein''s Philosophical Investigations covers sections 243-427, which constitute the heart of the book. Like the previous volumes, it consists of philosophical essays and exegesis. The thirteen essays cover all the major themes of this part of Wittgenstein''s masterpiece: the private language arguments, privacy, avowals and descriptions, private ostensive definition, criteria, minds and machines, behavior and behaviorism, the self, the inner and the outer, thinking, consciounesss, and the imagination. The exegesis clarifies and evaluates Wittgenstein''s arguments, drawing extensively on all the unpublished papers, examining the evolution of his ideas in manuscript sources and definitively settling many controversies about the interpretation of the published text. This commentary, like its predecessors, is indispensable for the study of Wittgenstein and is essential reading for students of the philosophy of mind. ATrade ReviewOn Volume 1 of An Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations: "Baker and Hacker skilfully conduct the reader through the tangles of controversy that surround the topics of sense and Meaning. They have an admirable grasp of the whole corpus of Wittgenstein's writings, and they constantly display the sharp contrasts between Wittgenstein's thought and currently influential 'scientific' semantics." Norman Malcolm, Times Literacy Supplement "For someone who wants to understand, point for point and in detail, how Wittgenstein's later philosophy upsets the philosophies of Russell, Frege and the Tractatus, this is the book to read." Philosophical Books On Volume 2: "The authors showed in the first volume that they had in fukll measure the combination of scholarship and philosophical excellence neede to expound and illuminate the intracies of the text. That combination is apparent on every page of the present work." B. Rundle, Philosophical InvestigationsTable of ContentsNote to the paperback edition viii Acknowledgements x Preface xiii Abbreviations xviii Chapter 1 The Private Language Arguments (§§243 – 315) 3 Chapter 2 Thought (§§316 -62) 147 Chapter 3 Imagination (§§363 -97) 213 Chapter 4 The Self and Self-Reference (§§398 – 411) 267 Chapter 5 Consciousness (§§412 – 27) 291 Index 311

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis work provides an accessible introduction to Hegel's logic. The text is suitable for students about to embark on the study of this most challenging subject, as well as readers at any level of sophistication.Trade ReviewOne of the best short introductions to Hegel's logic I know. It gives a comprehensive survey that is easy to understand. --Michael Wolff, Universitat BielefeldTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Introduction; With What Must the Science of Logic Begin?; Being; Quality; Quantity; Essence; Ground; Appearance; Relation; Actuality; Absolute Relations; The Concept; The Object; The Idea; Bibliography.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA collection of Marcus's essays which includes her earlier axiomatizations of quantified modal logic, and explores such topics as the necessity of identity, the directly referential role of proper names as tags, and the interplay of possibility and existence.Trade ReviewMarcus is a brilliant, original, learned, tenacious, and productive scholar ... this review of the development of her thought, its connections with some important historical figures, and her differences with other contemporary philosophers [is] of great value. * David Kaplan, University of California *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Modalities and Intensional Languages ; 2. Iterated Deontic Modalities ; 3. Essentialism in Modal Logic ; 4. Essential attribution ; Appendix: Strict implication, deducibility and the deduction theorem ; 5. Quantification and ontology ; 6. Classes, collections, assortments, and individuals ; 7. Does the principle of substitutivity rest on a mistake? ; 8. Nominalism and the substitutional quantifier ; 9. Moral dilemmas and consistency ; 10. Rationality and believing the impossible ; 11. Spinoza and the ontological proof ; 12. On some post-1920s views of Russell on particularity, identity and individiation ; 13. Possibilia and possible worlds ; 14. A backward look at Quine's animadversions on modalities ; 15. Some revisionary proposals about belief and believing

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Science of Conjecture provides a history of rational methods of dealing with uncertainty and explores the coming to consciousness of the human understanding of risk.Trade ReviewA remarkable book. Mr. Franklin writes clearly and exhibits a wry wit. But he also ranges knowledgeably across many disciplines and over many centuries. Wall Street Journal The Science of Conjecture opens an old chest of human attempts to draw order from havoc and wipes clean the rust from some cast-off classical tools that can now be reused to help build a framework for the unpredictable future. Science Franklin's style is clear and fluent, with an occasional sly Gibbonian aside to make the reader chuckle. New Criterion An admirably accessible study written in a crisp prose. It presents the reader with anarching historical perspective throughout many a century of human action. -- Giora Hon Centaurus Franklin gives a magisterial account of matters as diverse as the Talmud, Justinian's Digest, torture, witch hunts, Tudor treason trials, ancient and medieval astronomy and physics, humanist historiography, scholastic philosophy, speculations in public debt, and 17th century mathematics. His treatment of medieval law is among the best I have ever read. International Journal of Evidence and Proof Franklin's book is magnificent... Think of [it] as a non-fiction equivalent of Tolstoy's War and Peace. -- Peter Tillers The Jurist The Science of Conjecture is a masterly work, beautifully written, and based on encyclopaedic research... It is simply a tour de force that is unlikely to be surpassed for many a year. -- Barry Miller The Thomist Statistics teachers who like to sprinkle a little history and philosophy into their classes will find much here to delight and challenge them... This is a serious and scholarly work that I expect often will inform my teaching. -- Richard J. Cleary Journal of the American Statistical Association [This book has given me] sheer enjoyment in its density of strange information, in the wit and clarity if its writing, and in the vigour of its argumentation. I recommend it unreservedly to all interested in its subject. -- Oliver Mayo Australian and New Zealand Journal of Statistics This is the intellectual book of the year, and it ought to become one of the great classics of intellectual history. -- Scott Campbell Interdisciplinary Science Reviews The strength of The Science of Conjecture lies in its panoramic exposition of developments across the centuries and across intellectual disciplines and human endeavors. It is, as one reviewer wrote, 'a magesterial account of matters as diverse as the Talmud, Justinian's Digest, torture, witch hunts, Tudor treason trials, ancient and medieval astronomy and physics, humanist histriography, scholastic philosophy, speculations in public debt, and 17th century mathematics.' -- D. H. Kaye Law and History Review A remarkable book. Mr. Franklin writes clearly and exhibits a wry wit. But he also ranges knowledgeably across many disciplines and over many centuries. There are several reasons to read this book, but perhaps the best reason is its contemporary relevance. The lessons he discusses have pertinence to an age like ours, which has witnessed a gradual waning of faith in the objectivity of the relation of uncertain evidence to conclusion. Wall Street Journal In The Science of Conjecture, James Franklin shows us how deeply and subtly jurists and philosophers from ancient Greece onwards have explored how we can deal rationally with real-life cases (law cases, for instance, or scientific experiments) where the link between cause and effect is not obvious. -- J.M. Coetzee The Australian Since many in the nominalist/empiricist/positivist tradition deny that we can know natures, this book has a place in teacher education as well as legal education for the challenges it poses the reader on how we know, and how well we know, through induction, perception and abstraction. Metascience The text has an even wider importance in that it signals the need for more, not less, study of the history, philosophy and social studies in science to occupy a greater space in undergraduate degrees so that an educated electorate is better able to evaluate what the STEM community tells us is good for the progress of society. MetascienceTable of ContentsContents: Preface Chapter 1: The Ancient Law of Proof Egypt and Mesopotamia; The Talmud; Roman Law; Proof and Presumptions; Indian LawChapter 2: The Medieval Law of Evidence: Suspicion, Half-proof, and the Inquisition Dark Age Ordeals; The Gregorian Revolution; The Glossators Invent Half-Proof; Presumptions in Canon Law; Grades of Evidence and Torture; The Postglossators Bartolus and Baldus; The Competed Theory; The Inquisition; Law in the EastChapter 3: Renaissance Law Henry VIII Presumed Wed; Tudor Treason Trials; Continental Laws: The Treatises on Presumptions; The Witch Inquisitors; English Legal Theory and the Reasonable ManChapter 4: The Doubting Conscience and Moral Certainty Penance and Doubts; The Doctrine of Probabilism; Suarez: Negative and Positive Doubt; Grotius, Silhon, and the Morality of the State; Hobbes and the Risk of Attack; The Scandal of Laxism; English Casuists Pursue the Middle Way; Juan Caramuel Lobkowitz, Prince of Laxists; Pascal's Provincial LettersChapter 5: Rhetoric, Logic, Theory The Greek Vocabulary of Probability; The Sophists and the Art of Persuasion; Aristotle's Rhetoric and Logic; The Rhetoric to Alexander; Roman Rhetoric: Cicero and Quintilian; Islamic Logic; The Scholastic Dialectical Syllogism; Probability in Ordinary Language; Humanist Rhetoric; Late Scholastic LogicChapter 6: Hard Science Observation and Theory; Aristotle's Not-by-Chance Argument; Averaging of Observations in Greek Astronomy; The Simplicity of Theories; Nicole Oresme on Relative Frequency; Copernicus; Kepler Harmonizes Observations; Galileo on the Probability of Copernican HypothesisChapter 7: Soft Science and History The Physiognomics; Divination and Astrology; The Empiric School of Medicine on Drug Testing; The Talmud and Maimonides on Majorities; Vernacular Averaging and Quality Control; Experimentation in Biology; The Authority of Histories; The Authenticity of Documents; Valla and the Donation of Constantine; Cano and the Signs of True HistoriesChapter 8: Philosophy: Action and Induction Carneades's Mitigated Skepticism; The Epicureans on Inference from Signs; Inductive Skepticism and Avicenna's Reply; Aquinas on Tendencies; Scotus and Ockham on Induction; Nicholas of Autrecourt; The Decline of the West; Bacon and Descartes: Certainty? or Moral Certainty?; The Jesuits and Hobbes on Induction; Pascal's Deductivist Philosophy of ScienceChapter 9: Religion: Laws of God, Laws of Nature The Argument from Design; The Church Fathers; Inductive Skepticism by Revelation; John of Salisbury; Maimonides on Creation; Are Laws of Nature Necessary?; The Reasonableness of Christianity; Pascal's WagerChapter 10: Aleatory Contracts: Insurance, Annuities, and Bets The Price of Peril; Doubtful Claims in Jewish Law; Olivi on Usury and Future Profits; Pricing Life Annuities; Speculation in Public Debt; Insurance Rates; Renaissance Bets and Speculation; Lots and Lotteries; Commerce and the CasuistsChapter 11: Dice Games of Chance in Antiquity; The Medieval Manuscript on the Interrupted Game; Cardano; Gamblers and Casuists; Galileo's Fragment; De Mere and Roberval; The Fermat-Pascal Correspondence; Huygens' Reckoning in Games of Chance; CaramuelChapter 12: Conclusion Subsymbolic Probability and the Transition to Symbols; Kinds of Probability and the Stages of Discovering Them; Why Not Earlier?; Two Parallel Histories; The Genius of the Scholastics and the Orbit of Aristotle; The Place of Law in the history of IdeasEpilogue: The Survival of Unquantified Probability The Port-Royal Logic; Leibniz's Logic of Probability; To the PresentAppendix: Review of Work before 1660

Read more less