Logic and Philosophy

The dual purpose of this volume—to provide a distinctively philosophical introduction to logic, as well as a logic-oriented approach to philosophy—makes this book a unique and worthwhile primary text for logic and/or philosophy courses. Logic and Philosophy covers a variety of elementary formal and informal types of reasoning, including a chapter on traditional logic that culminates in a treatment of Aristotle's philosophy of science; a truth-functional logic chapter that examines Wittgenstein's philosophy of language, logic, and mysticism; and sections on induction, analogy, and fallacies that incorporate material on mind-body dualism, pseudoscience, the "raven paradox," and proofs of God. Throughout the book Brenner highlights passages and ideas from various prominent philosophers, and discusses at some length the work of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, and Wittgenstein.

“Brenner’s book is, for a number of reasons, very much worth reading. . . . It provides a solid, eminently readable, and gimmick-free introduction to categorical and sentential logic, and contains several philosophical positions for the student to practice analyzing. Instructors who emphasize argument analysis in their introductory philosophy courses should give this book serious consideration.” —American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, “I regard this book as a welcome and valuable introduction to philosophy and logic and their integration. I would certainly recommend it as a first year text.” —Philosophical Investigations

William H. Brenner is professor of philosophy and religious studies at Old Dominion University and author of Elements of Modern Philosophy and Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations.