Introduction to Philosophy: Logic

Reviewed by Ted Beers, Faculty Instructor at Western Oregon University, Western Oregon University on 6/24/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

As the first in a series of textbook introductions to philosophy, this text focuses on formal logic, concluding with its relationship to philosophy.

Considering its intended audience of those new to both logic and philosophy, the text succeeds with a gentle and thorough introduction to core concepts, terms, and notations of logic; and pivots smoothly and effectively to the association of logic with philosophy, around Chapter 3 of 5. The transition is challenging nonetheless, and may warrant more context.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

With its commonsense approach and prose, the text presents no challenges to reading or understanding.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The topics of logic and philosophy extend back many centuries. The authors keep the subject fresh with contemporary examples and references updated as recently as 2021.

Clarity rating: 5

The book presents its content and instruction in a style both academic and approachable, which propels the reader forward quite comfortably.

Consistency rating: 5

I admire the high level of consistency of tone across all sections, definitions, summaries, and exercises.

Modularity rating: 5

Well-labeled chapters with well-bounded concepts make it easy to locate specific content of interest, while maintaining a natural progression thought the entire subject matter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

As with "modularity", well-labeled chapters with well-bounded concepts make it easy to locate specific content of interest, while maintaining a natural progression thought the entire subject matter.

Interface rating: 3

In the PDF format reviewed, the table of contents has accurate and sufficient links to chapters, albeit only “shallow”. The text has no index, which would also aid navigation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

None seen! Very well composed at suitable reading level.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Examples and other “real world” references effectively avoid cultural assumptions or negativity.

Comments

I very much enjoy the subject, organization, and content of the textbook, and I look forward to learning more about the subject matter with a deeper study and application of its content!

Reviewed by Eric Baker, Senior Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty, Metropolitan State University on 9/24/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Overall comprehensiveness was ok; I would have like to see a chapter on biases and causality. Also, the glossary it seems to me could have been more comprehensive.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not notice any outright factual errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Nothing seemed lacking in relevance or likely to require updates, as far as I could tell.

Clarity rating: 5

Clarity of exposition seemed in evidence throughout, perhaps less so with the chapter on Formal Logic, but that is largely a factor of the subject matter.

Consistency rating: 4

It seemed at times to jump from beginner material to more advanced, as when the topic of 'enthymemes' was introduced in chapter 1. This seems more advanced, because it presupposes the student has mastered all the basic elements of syllogisms, deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning, etc. Generally it seemed like there could be more exercises for this and other chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

The readings seemed relatively self-contained/modular.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I would suggest ending with formal logic. Informal fallacies has a far greater claim on relevance that does formal logic, and changing the sequence of chapters to reflect that would help, I think.

Interface rating: 4

The text is free of distorted images and/or charts, but here it seems to be more could have been done to try to appeal to undergraduate readers. The lack of color, for example, or illustrations that were not entirely just logical substance--something to break up the dominance of text would almost certainly help make this more accessible to students.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No complaint here!

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

To the best of my knowledge there were no lapses in the domain of cultural sensitivity.

Comments

I enjoyed and appreciated the readings myself. The chapters are rigorous and clear.
My one main concern is that more could be done to engage younger readers--more anecdotes, asides, 'fun facts' (I hate that phrase, but you know what I mean). The other main point of criticism is that far more attention should be given over to specific exercises. Logic is a skill, not just information. In my own teaching experience, 90% of the real learning happens there.