Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Thoughts on David Kelley's "The Art Of Reasoning"?

Rate this topic


Recommended Posts

What do you think of David Kelley's textbook "The Art of Reasoning?"

It has been many years since I've read it, but it was a highly readable and concise introduction to logic. I found his rules for definitions to be particularly comprehensive.

If you are interested in something more in-depth, consider reading "Introduction to Logic", by H.W.B. Joseph. It went out of print in the early 20th century but Harry Binswanger rescued it with a fresh copy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are interested in something more in-depth, consider reading "Introduction to Logic", by H.W.B. Joseph.  It went out of print in the early 20th century but Harry Binswanger rescued it with a fresh copy.

Actually, Fred Weiss of The Paper Tiger, who posts on this forum, is the one who republished it as well as the wonderful Logic by Lionel Ruby. See http://www.papertig.com.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, Fred Weiss of The Paper Tiger, who posts on this forum, is the one who republished it as well as the wonderful Logic by Lionel Ruby.  See http://www.papertig.com.

Well, if you are going to offer me this opportunity for unabashed self-promotion, what Tom may be thinking of is Harry Binswanger's review of my edition.

http://www.papertig.com/Publishing_TIA_Logic..htm

But thanks for the plug.

Fred Weiss

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leonard Peikoff recommends Lionel Ruby's "Logic" in his "Introduction to Logic" course. Kelley said at the time it was published that "The Art of Reasoning" was written as a replacement for Ruby's book because "Logic" was out of print.

So both Peikoff and Kelley recommend you buy Lionel Ruby's "Logic" from Fred!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Odd thinks from "The Art of Reasoning."

Kelley's definition of "definition" [p.32], "a statement that gives the meaning of a concept."

Ayn Rand's "A definition is a statement that identifies the nature of the units subsumed under a concept."

But in the glossary Kelley has a second definition of "definition", "A statement that identifies the referents of a concept by specifying the genus they belong to and their essential distinguishing characteristics ."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...