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An Introduction to Non-Classical Logic

Graham Priest · 2001 · Long (over 350 pages)

4.7 from 3 reviews · 34 views

Modal & non-classical logicAnalytic
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What it is

A textbook covering the main logics that depart from classical logic, taught throughout with the tableau method so that each system can be compared with the others. After reviewing classical propositional logic and the problems of the material conditional, Priest presents modal logics, both normal and non-normal, conditional logics, intuitionist logic, many-valued logics, first-degree entailment, logics with truth-value gaps and gluts including paraconsistent logics in which a contradiction does not entail everything, relevant logics, and fuzzy logic. Each chapter combines formal technique with discussion of the philosophical motivations and problems. The second edition of 2008, subtitled From If to Is, adds a second part on quantified versions of these logics, including free logics and questions of identity and existence. Exercises are included throughout.

Why read it

It is the most accessible complete route into non-classical logics, including paraconsistency, for readers who know some classical logic.

Where to start

Learn the tableau method in the opening chapters, then go to the chapters on many-valued and paraconsistent logics.

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Reviews

  1. Hetal Shah

    I came looking for something to help me think formally about syādvāda, the Jain sevenfold predication, and the chapters on many-valued logics and gaps and gluts were the right tools. It is a textbook, so expect exercises, not stories. I had to work hard but it was worth it.

  2. Ana Clara Ferreira

    Brazil gave the world da Costa's paraconsistent logics, and this is the book that lets students see where they sit among the alternatives. The tableau method is a brilliant teaching choice: once you know it you can compare intuitionist, relevant and many-valued systems on the same footing. I use the chapter on intuitionism in my own tutoring.

  3. Tomasz Wójcik

    My research is in many-valued and modal logic and I still reach for this when I need to explain a system quickly. Priest is a dialetheist, but the book is not propaganda; classical logic is treated fairly. Exercises are well chosen.