• Concise explanations, coupled with clear examples, reinforce learning and provide support in completing exercises.
• Key terms, introduced in boldface type, are clearly defined. Central concepts are carefully explained and graphically illustrated in colored boxes throughout the book.
• Many of the examples and exercises are taken from textbooks, newspapers and magazines to give the book a real-life flavor.
• Biographical vignettes of prominent logicians appear throughout the book and give logic a human face.
• Dialogue exercises, which illustrate the application of logical principles to real-life situations, appear throughout the book.
• Unmatched by other Logic titles, A Concise Introduction to Logic features a 600-page, author-generated test bank with machine-gradable questions - a great time-saver.
• More than 2,700 carefully sequenced exercises give students ample practice and help them move from simple to complex logic skills.
• Brief "How Logical Are You? selections open Chapters 9-14 and present a question or problem that relates to the content that follows. They get the students thinking about the topic of the pertinent section before they start reading it and ask them to answer a question. The instructor can use these selections as springboards for that day's lecture or to initiate class discussion. They replace the "Previews" of the prior edition.
• Every set of exercises now contains a writing component -- an activity to engage students' creativity. They usually involve creating arguments of various kinds, disputes, definitions, fallacies, and symbolized expressions. Students report that years after they have graduated, the subjects they remember best from their logic course are exercises that engaged their own creativity.
• A "Why Study Logic?" motivational piece appears after the front material. Among other things, it compares the study of logic to going to the gym for your brain. Instructors report that the greatest challenge they face in teaching logic is motivating the students and getting them to realize the importance of studying logic. This piece is one of the many features of the new edition that addresses this challenge.
• "Boole, Venn, and Existential Import" is a new subsection in Chapter 4. It addresses student questions about the Boolean standpoint, which allows for inferences about nonexisting things (such as unicorns) as well as existing things. Students often ask about the utility of a logic that deals with nonexisting things. This subsection also sketches the history of the Boolean standpoint in the nineteenth century.
• A new way of visualizing modus ponens and the other rules of inference has been added to Chapter 7 (Natural Deduction). This technique replaces the 'p' and 'q' of the rules with circles and squares, and it addresses the needs of students who learn best through visual imagery. It also reinforces the fact that any statement can be uniformly substituted in place of the circles and squares to produce a valid inference.
• End-of-chapter quizzes are available in an interactive, self-grading version.
• Annotated answers are provided for most exercises in Chapters 1 and 3; these answers provide students with feedback and enhance their learning by helping them understand why an answer is correct.

Part I: INFORMAL LOGIC.

1. Basic Concepts.

Arguments, Premises, and Conclusions. Exercise. Recognizing Arguments. Exercise. Deduction and Induction. Exercise. Validity, Truth, Soundness, Strength, Cogency. Exercise. Argument Forms: Proving Invalidity. Exercise. Extended Arguments. Exercise.

2. Language: Meaning and Definition.

Varieties of Meaning. Exercise. The Intension and Extension of Terms. Exercise. Definitions and Their Purposes. Exercise. Definitional Techniques. Exercise. Criteria for Lexical Definitions. Exercise.

3. Informal Fallacies.

Fallacies in General. Exercise. Fallacies of Relevance. Exercise. Fallacies of Weak Induction. Exercise. Fallacies of Presumption, Ambiguity, and Illicit Transference. Exercise. Fallacies in Ordinary Language. Exercise.

Part II: FORMAL LOGIC.

4. Categorical Propositions.

The Components of Categorical Propositions. Exercise. Quality, Quantity, and Distribution. Exercise. Venn Diagrams and the Modern Square of Opposition. Exercise. Conversion, Obversion, and Contraposition. Exercise. The Traditional Square of Opposition. Exercise. Venn Diagrams and the Traditional Standpoint. Exercise. Translating Ordinary Language Statements into Categorical Form. Exercise.

5. Categorical Syllogisms.

Standard Form, Mood, and Figure. Exercise. Venn Diagrams. Exercise. Rules and Fallacies. Exercise. Reducing the Number of Terms. Exercise. Ordinary Language Arguments. Exercise. Enthymemes. Exercise. Sorites. Exercise.

6. Propositional Logic.

Symbols and Translation. Exercise. Truth Functions. Exercise. Truth Tables for Propositions. Exercise. Truth Tables for Arguments. Exercise. Indirect Truth Tables. Exercise. Argument Forms and Fallacies. Exercise.

7. Natural Deduction in Propositional Logic.

Rules of Implication I. Exercise. Rules of Implication II. Exercise. Rules of Replacement I. Exercise. Rules of Replacement II. Exercise. Conditional Proof. Exercise. Indirect Proof. Exercise. Proving Logical Truths. Exercise.

8. Predicate Logic

Symbols and Translation. Exercise. Using the Rules of Inference. Exercise. Quantifier Negation Rule. Exercise. Conditional and Indirect Proof. Exercise. Proving Invalidity. Exercise. Relational Predicates and Overlapping Quantifiers. Exercise. Identity. Exercise.

Part III: INDUCTIVE LOGIC.

9. Analogy and Legal and Moral Reasoning.

Analogical Reasoning. Legal Reasoning. Moral Reasoning. Exercise.

10. Causality and Mill's Methods.

"Cause" and Necessary and Sufficient Conditions. Mill's Five Methods. Mill's Methods and Science. Exercise.

11. Probability.

Theories of Probability. The Probability Calculus. Exercise.

12. Statistical Reasoning.

Evaluating Statistics. Samples. The Meaning of "Average." Dispersion. Graphs and Pictograms. Percentages. Exercise.

13. Hypothetical/Scientific Reasoning.

The Hypothetical Method. Hypothetical Reasoning: Four Examples from Science. The Proof of Hypotheses. The Tentative Acceptance of Hypotheses. Exercise.

14. Science and Superstition.

Distinguishing Between Science and Superstition. Evidentiary Support. Objectivity. Integrity. Concluding Remarks. Exercise.

Answers to Selected Exercises.

Glossary/Index.

Patrick J. Hurley, University of San Diego

Patrick Hurley received his bachelor's degree in mathematics (with a second major in philosophy and a physics minor) from Gonzaga University in 1964 and his Ph.D. in philosophy of science with an emphasis in history of philosophy from Saint Louis University in 1973. In 1972, he began teaching at the University of San Diego, where his courses included logic, philosophy of science, metaphysics, process philosophy, and legal ethics. In 1987, he received his J.D. from the University of San Diego, and he is currently a member of the California Bar Association. He retired from teaching in 2008, but continues his research and writing, including work on A Concise Introduction to Logic. His interests include music, art, opera, environmental issues, fishing, and skiing. He is married to Dr. Linda Peterson, who retired from teaching philosophy at the University of San Diego in 2015.

Lori Watson, University of San Diego

Lori Watson received her bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science from Virginia Tech in 1994, a Master of Arts in philosophy from Virginia Tech in 1996, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2004. She was assistant professor of philosophy at Eastern Michigan University from 2004-2007; In 2007, she moved to the University of San Diego. She is currently professor of philosophy and chair of the philosophy department at the University of San Diego, where she regularly teaches logic, legal ethics, and sex equality. Her research interests lie at the intersection of political philosophy, feminism, and law. She has recently completed a book entitled Equal Citizenship and Public Reason: A Feminist Political Liberalism (with Dr. Christie Hartley) and is working on a book entitled Debating Sex Work. She enjoys spending time with her wife, Michelle Watson, and her two dogs Nikki and Grace.