A Structuralist Theory of Logic

Description

Professor Koslow advances a new account of the basic concepts of logic. A central feature of the theory is that it does not require the elements of logic to be based on a formal language. Rather, it uses a general notion of implication as a way of organizing the formal results of various systems of logic in a simple, but insightful way. The study has four parts. In the first two parts the various sources of the general concept of an implication structure and its forms are illustrated and explained. Part 3 defines the various logical operations and systematically explores their properties. A generalized account of extensionality and dual implication is given, and the extensionality of each of the operators, as well as the relation of negation and its dual are given substantial treatment because of the novel results they yield. Part 4 considers modal operators and studies their interaction with logical operators. By obtaining the usual results without the usual assumptions this new approach allows one to give a very simple account of modal logic minus the excess baggage of possible world semantics.

"...a novel and comprehensive logical theory...The beauty of this book is that it develops a mathematically rigorous and intuitively appealing vision using only the most elementary technical tools...[an] extraordinary book. Given the coherence, conceptual power, and novelty of the theory it presents, it ought to become a classic." GLH--Philosophy Review "In short, this volume has the makings of a classic. I have rarely found myself so enthusiastic about a recent book in logic. I recommend it in the strongest terms." Isaac Levi, Columbia University "Koslow's theory permits us to identify logical operators independent of their form in both logical systems and in natural languages. For linguists, his theory opens up the possibility of an entirely new approach to the study of natural-language semantics, one which does not require the postulation of a level of logical form." D. Terence Langendoen, University of Arizona