Intermediate Logic is an ideal text for anyone who has taken a first course in logic and is progressing to further study. It examines logical theory, rather than the applications of logic, and does not assume any specific technical grounding. The author introduces and explains each concept and term, ensuring that readers have a firm foundation for study. He provides a broad, deep understanding of logic by adopting and comparing a variety of different methods and approaches.
In the first section, Bostock covers such fundamental notions as truth, validity, entailment, qualification, and decision procedures. Part Two lays out a definitive introduction to four key logical tools or procedures: semantic tableaux, axiomatic proofs, natural deduction, and sequent calculi. The final section opens up new areas of existence and identity, concluding by moveing from orthodox logic to an examination of `free logic'.
Intermediate Logic provides an ideal secondary course in logic for university students, and a bridge to advanced study of such subjects as model theory, proof theory, and other specialized areas of mathematical logic.