Logic & Language Books - Page 2

How to Win Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic

Madsen Pirie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Factual Info, but biased author! 3 out of 5 stars.
12 of 25 people found this review helpful.

Although the author thoroughly covers use & abuse of logic to fit one's agenda, he does not pass up the opportunity to once-in-a-while bash conservatives and religious groups by claiming that certain falacies are used by these groups that he apparently has a bias against.

If you're going to specifically attribute some falacy use to conservatives or religious groups, you ought to also link other falsehoods to the liberal left, and athiest groups.

This way, at least his presentation would be balanced.

Editorial Review:

In this witty and infectious book, Madsen Pirie provides a complete guide to using - and indeed abusing - logic in order to win arguments. He identifies with devastating examples all the most common fallacies popularly used in argument. We all like to think of ourselves as clear-headed and logical - but all readers will find in this book fallacies of which they themselves are guilty. The author shows you how to simultaneously strengthen your own thinking and identify the weaknesses in other people's arguments. And, more mischievously, Pirie also shows how to be deliberately illogical - and get away with it. This book will make you maddeningly smart: your family, friends and opponents will all wish that you had never read it.

In Search of the Miraculous (Audio Literature Presents)

P. D. Ouspensky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

If I had only one book 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If I was forced to have only one book, this would be it. Not for the Herd or Lazy. No fluff around the edges, tells it like it really is.

Ouspensky's Gift; A Masterpiece 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

P.D. Ospensky as a teenager decided to forgo an academic education and instead to search for or hidden knowledge. His search lead him to study Theosophy, to travels in the East, to India, and such. Yet, he remained dissatisfied with what he found. Little did he know that he would find what he was looking for (The Miraculous) in a teacher who showed up from the East in his very own Moscow!

This book is about Ouspensky's experiences learning from this teacher, a mystic and very strange one at that, G.I. Gurjieff.

Gurjieff teaches Ospenskys things he never knew, gives him experiences he never thought possible. This book is Ouspesnky's gift to us from of what he learned and experienced.

Certainly, this book works mostly on the intellectual mind, and yet, Ouspensky frequently tells us that we must find an 'emotional state' and that, my friends, is 'The Work'.

This is easily the most important book I have ever read, and afterwards, I could lo longer see the world the same, or live my life in the same way.

Editorial Review:

An astonishing record of the author's search for the meaning of human existence and of his eight years' work as the pupil of G.I. Gurdijeff, one of this century's most profound and influential spiritual teachers.

Critical Thinking

Brooke Noel Moore, Richard Parker

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Features:

• high quality
• Special outlet purchase.
• Classic design.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very well written 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Very well written and easy to understand. The author doesn't go over your head with abstract concepts for his peers. It is very broken down and helpful.

Needs Help 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 16 people found this review helpful.

I think this book has been watered down so many times simply because the author's ran out of words to write. They have split the meanings so many times that there is now no clear definition. Every expample that they use is also from a very liberal slat, it's no wonder since they are from Chico State. By the way this is call not just an ad hominem but a personal attack ad hominem or in plain speak...an insult!

Interesting! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my Phil 102 class and never thought I'd even like the subject. This book was interesting, and made me laugh a little. I can now say, I know how to argue with people better than before!

Editorial Review:

More than any other textbook, Moore and Parker's Critical Thinking has defined the structure and content of the critical thinking course at colleges and universities across the country--and has done so with a witty writing style that students enjoy. Now in full-color, the eighth edition brings the concepts of critical thinking to life in vivid detail, with current examples relevant to today's students.

Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking

D.Q. Mcinerny

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Whether regarded as a science, an art, or a skill–and it can properly be regarded as all three–logic is the basis of our ability to think, analyze, argue, and communicate. Indeed, logic goes to the very core of what we mean by human intelligence. In this concise, crisply readable book, distinguished professor D. Q. McInerny offers an indispensable guide to using logic to advantage in everyday life. Written explicitly for the layperson, McInerny’s Being Logical promises to take its place beside Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style as a classic of lucid, invaluable advice.

As McInerny notes, logic is a deep, wide, and wonderfully varied field, with a bearing on every aspect of our intellectual life. A mastery of logic begins with an understanding of right reasoning–and encompasses a grasp of the close kinship between logical thought and logical expression, a knowledge of the basic terms of argument, and a familiarity with the pitfalls of illogical thinking. Accordingly, McInerny structures his book in a series of brief, penetrating chapters that build on one another to form a unified and coherent introduction to clear and effective reasoning.

At the heart of the book is a brilliant consideration of argument–how an argument is founded and elaborated, how it differs from other forms of intellectual discourse, and how it critically embodies the elements of logic. McInerny teases out the subtleties and complexities of premises and conclusions, differentiates statements of fact from statements of value, and discusses the principles and uses of every major type of argument, from the syllogistic to the conditional. In addition, he provides an incisive look at illogical thinking and explains how to recognize and avoid the most common errors of logic.

Elegant, pithy, and precise, Being Logical breaks logic down to its essentials through clear analysis, accessible examples, and focused insights. Whether you are a student or a teacher, a professional sharpening your career skills or an amateur devoted to the fine points of thought and expression, you are sure to find this brief guide to effecting reasoning both fascinating and illuminating.


From the Hardcover edition.

The Logic of Scientific Discovery (Routledge Classics)

Karl Popper

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very interesting 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I have to ask myself, "What is the basis for my scientific knowledge?" On a daily basis, as I am a chemist. I have often been struck by arguments for "induction" as lacking credibility, because how can one argue of probabilities with an unknown sample size? Popper argues that a proposing scientific hypothesis is an inductive act, but it is a creative act not a logical one, but that scientific knowledge is dedective.

I agree with him. The nature of science is such that one must put for statements about how the world works and test them. A scientist should always try to find a way of proving himself or herself wrong. If the predictions of the test are shown to be false, then the hypothesis must be false. That is the basis of scientific knowledge. The rest, the best theories we have are just "working models" and we can never justify why they work. They're simply our best working models now.


I don't find Popper's argument disheartening. Popper points out that we don't have to justify our search for explanations of the world, because they may do us benefit (if we happened to live in a world with stable physical laws, for instance).

I think many scientists would fundamentally agree that the laws of nature can never really be proven. They can't, but they speak volumes about what is relevant to us as a species (which is why Popper's argument that "induction" is creative is so interesting). All Popper asks of a scientific hypothesis is that it can, in principle, be demonstrated false by experience.

This is by far one of the most interesting and (I feel) important books I've ever read.

Editorial Review:

When first published in 1959, this book revolutionized contemporary thinking about science and knowledge. It remains the one of the most widely read books about science to come out of the twentieth century.

Nietzsche: Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy)

Friedrich Nietzsche

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Total reviews: 75 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Completely Overrated 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Abstract open ended type of book with Nietzsche's opinions and beliefs on good and evil. Opinions on 'slave morality', philosophy, the will to power with a little bit of history thrown in the mix.

There were some great quotes in here that I did agree with. Then we come towards the middle of the book that contains the maxims and interludes part and all goes wrong...

There were some things in here I extremely disagreed with... regarding women. Where he came up with this I have no idea but it was completely off base... I can see how many parts of this book could be misinterpreted and used in the wrong way.

He talks about individuality but the truth is this is for people who need to be told what to think. If you think like Nietzsche thinks- you are 'better'- he has the mentality of a nazi.

This book is not as dramatic as Zarathustra but it's close. I think he feels if he stresses his point enough maybe you will believe him. This book is the opposite of religion yet the same- on the other end of the spectrum.

The bottom line is these are HIS opinions and shouldn't be taken as truth or fact. It's not a completely bad book though I disagree with most and wouldn't take it too seriously- its a pretentious piece of work.

Editorial Review:

This is a major work by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose writings have been deeply influential on subsequent generations of philosophers. It is offered here in a new translation by Judith Norman, with an introduction by Rolf Peter Horstmann that places the work in its historical and philosophical context.

Tractatus Logico Philosophicus (Routledge Classics)

Ludwig Wittgenstein

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

'The world is all that is the case' 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

The Tractatus was Wittgenstein's attempt to solve all philosophical problems. Believing he was successful, he retired from Philosophy after publishing this text to become a schoolteacher for several years in Austria, before returning to philosophy.

The Tractatus is one of the most important intellectual works of the 20th century, arguably as important as Bertrand Russell's and Whitehead's 'Principa Mathematica', Heidigger's 'Being and Time', and Husserl's 'Logical Investigations.' This little work, beautiful in its logical simplicity and purity, can be regarded as the manifesto of analytical philosophy in the 20th century.

The Tractus is essentially a work dealing with epistemology, what we can and cannot know about the world. However, rather than looking at the mind or conciousness or sensations, Wittgenstein instead looks at how we use language and logic to describe the world. If we can solve the inherent logical ambiguity of language, we can then solve philosophical problems which are in fact simply faults which come from lack of logical coherence or clarity when we use language to make certain statements about things and the relationship between things.

Wittgenstein's approach is somewhat reductionistic. The propositional format of the work mirrors the Ethics of Spinoza, though for Wittgenstein the world is made of certain basic atomistic components which have fairly simple relations to each other. These arrangements may change in space and time but the world remains the same.

A number of propositions deal with logical problems explored by Russell, Frege and others. Some of these are very abstract and subtle and require careful study to properly understand.

Towards the end of the treatise Wittgenstein's concerns seem to border on the mystical. 'It is not what the world is, but that it is, which is mystical' and 'What we cannot speak of, we have to pass over in silence.' These Zenlike statements seem to hint at a deep mystery about things which crops up when we reach questions beyond the scope of language and logic, which can only be approached with silent contemplation, somewhat like Nicholas of Cusa's approach to the mystery of God. While Wittgenstein was not a religious man, his statements in this sense have often been quoted by philosophers and scientists whenever a metaphysical question which seems unanswerable arises in their discourse.

Wittgenstein later abandoned many of the statements he made in the Tractatus when he returned to philosophy, instead focusing more on problems with language rather than logic. This is somewhat unfortunate, given the elegance and beauty of this work from the philosophical viewpoint.

While the ambitions of Wittgenstein to solve all problems by clearing up our usage of language may seem excessive looking back, the clarity and precision of this work is admirable and the project worthwhile. For this and for many other reasons, it remains a work worth studying carefully and with sympathy, even after a century or so after its publication.

Editorial Review:

Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his lifetime. Written in short, carefully numbered paragraphs of extreme brilliance, it captured the imagination of a generation of philosophers. For Wittgenstein, logic was something we use to conquer a reality which is in itself both elusive and unobtainable. He famously summarized the book in the following words: 'What can be said at all can be said clearly; and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.' David Pears and Brian McGuinness received the highest praise for their meticulous translation. The work is prefaced by Bertrand Russell's original introduction to the first English edition.

The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric

Sister Miriam Joseph, Marguerite McGlinn

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Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Who sets language policy today? Who made whom the grammar doctor? Lacking the equivalent of l'Acadmie franaise, we English speakers must find our own way looking for guidance or vindication in source after source. McGuffey's Readers introduced nineteenth-century students to "correct" English. Strunk and White's Elements of Style and William Safire's column, "On Language," provide help on diction and syntax to contemporary writers and speakers. Sister Miriam Joseph's book, The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric, invites the reader into a deeper understanding--one that includes rules, definitions, and guidelines, but whose ultimate end is to transform the reader into a liberal artist.

A liberal artist seeks the perfection of the human faculties. The liberal artist begins with the language arts, the trivium, which is the basis of all learning because it teaches the tools for reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Thinking underlies all these activities. Many readers will recognize elements of this book: parts of speech, syntax, propositions, syllogisms, enthymemes, logical fallacies, scientific method, figures of speech, rhetorical technique, and poetics. The Trivium, however, presents these elements within a philosophy of language that connects thought, expression, and reality.

"Trivium" means the crossroads where the three branches of language meet. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, students studied and mastered this integrated view of language. Regrettably, modern language teaching keeps the parts without the vision of the whole. Inspired by the possibility of helping students "acquire mastery over the tools of learning" Sister Miriam Joseph and other teachers at Saint Mary's College designed and taught a course on the trivium for all first year students. The Trivium resulted from that noble endeavor.

The liberal artist travels in good company. Sister Miriam Joseph frequently cites passages from William Shakespeare, John Milton, Plato, the Bible, Homer, and other great writers. The Paul Dry Books edition of The Trivium provides new graphics and notes to make the book accessible to today's readers. Sister Miriam Joseph told her first audience that "the function of the trivium is the training of the mind for the study of matter and spirit, which constitute the sum of reality. The fruit of education is culture, which Mathew Arnold defined as 'the knowledge of ourselves and the world.'" May this noble endeavor lead many to that end.

Kaplan LSAT Logic Games Workbook

Kaplan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Kaplan LSAT Logic Games Workbook 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I highly recommend this workbook as a beginning step for building a foundation for advancing points in the games section of the LSAT. However it needs to be followed up with a more advanced workbook such as Get Prepped's Logic Games or PowerScores Logic Games Bible. I found the setups to be very basic but it is a great book to start with if the LSAT games are giving you trouble. I have worked all of the games books because I love them!

worst lsat review ever 1 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

the explanations are sooo awful, and the fake questions are not what would appear on the lsat. sometimes they leave some things out

Editorial Review:

Kaplan's LSAT Logic Games Workbook features:

·  Only real, official LSAT questions used throughout the book

·  More than 40 Logic Games—10 from tests as recent as 2003 - 2007

·  Chapter on the Limited Options strategy and strategies for rare games

·  Sketching exercises chapter to help students build speed and accuracy

·  Varying levels of difficulty within practice sets

·  Focused methods for working through challenging problems

·  Strategies for mastering all logic game types

 

How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life

Thomas Gilovich

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Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Not the Full Monty. 4 out of 5 stars.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.

My main interest in this subject lies in a search for answers to the question of why perfectly sane and intelligent people put faith in God above reasoning. Why do so many choose to believe so strongly with so little evidence? Unfortunately Thomas Gilovich absolutely refuses to cast light on religious delusions, but mainly states that theists and atheist "both need to develop the habit of thinking more broadly." Not helpful at all and sort of a faux pas to include this lame comment in the book.

Never the less, the book is a good and thorough introduction to the subject of our penchant for faulty reasoning, but also somewhat dry and repetitive. I wasn't exactly rolling on the floor with laughter, which might be too much to ask; but the many examples and anecdotes could be presented with greater vigour without harming the seriousness and validity of the study.

May I recommend: "Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking" by Thomas E. Kida, which is very similar in content and reference a lot of the same sources, but is also more playful and entertaining.

Editorial Review:

When can we trust what we believe - that "teams and players have winning streaks", that "flattery works", or that "the more people who agree, the more likely they are to be right" - and when are such beliefs suspect? Thomas Gilovich offers a guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life. Illustrating his points with examples, and supporting them with the latest research findings, he documents the cognitive, social and motivational processes that distort our thoughts, beliefs, judgements and decisions. In a rapidly changing world, the biases and stereotypes that help us process an overload of complex information inevitably distort what we would like to believe is reality. Awareness of our propensity to make these systematic errors, Gilovich argues, is the first step to more effective analysis and action.