An Introduction to Logic
by H. W. B. Joseph

Our Price: $44.95
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $37.54 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of An Introduction to Logic

Book Review: A classic exposition of logic
Summary: 5 Stars

H.W.B. Joseph was one of Oxford's leading philosophical lights in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This book, originally published in 1906 and republished in a revised second edition in 1916, is a classic exposition of the entire subject of logic. It's got everything you look for in a philosophy text: clarity and accuracy of exposition, breadth of scope, and a keen sense of the philosophical importance of every topic under discussion. I've had a battered copy of the second edition for many years now and I still refer to it fairly often.

The range of subjects will probably seem remarkable to the modern reader, who expects logic to have something to do with mathematics and set theory. There's not a truth table in sight; in fact, there's no discussion of formal, propositional logic at all. Instead there's discussion of e.g. the existence and nature of universals, the principles of the syllogism, the nature of the propositional judgment, the nature of causation (and whether it's reciprocating -- i.e., whether effects determine their causes too), the meaning of "explanation," and the nature of reasoning in mathematics and science.

Joseph's logic is a branch, not of mathematics, but of metaphysics. And one thing the reader will notice right away is that Joseph engages the metaphysicians of his day -- especially the neo-Hegelian idealists, like Bradley, Bosanquet, and Joachim. His criticisms are cogent and invariably well-taken. But in fact Joseph, a Platonist himself, is far closer to the "spirit" of the British idealists than he is to that of modern more or less analytic philosophy; my own view, at least, is that idealism could easily have taken up his criticisms and moved on.

At any rate, this is a fine, fine text, and when I noticed it was in print, I couldn't resist reviewing it. If you're interested in this subject, do yourself a favor and buy a copy.

Philosophy Books

• Books > Subjects
• New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy