4
$\begingroup$

I would like to go back to the beginnings of math logic and read selected papers throughout the years connecting the beginnings to today. My first stop was Wikipedia where it claims that math logic basically begins with De Morgan and Boole. I have gotten Boole's "The Mathematical Analysis of Logic" to read. It seems De Morgan's book is either expensive on Amazon or is a scan of an old enough edition that I can't read it.

I have three questions: First, can I ignore De Morgan as a starting place? Second, should I be looking into anyone earlier or contemporary to Boole? Third, though my main is to study the development of mathematical logic, I would also like to learn the philosophical traditions a little bit. Is there anything that would be good to read that maybe isn't quite mathematical in nature?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
12
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ This question is better suited for history of science forum or math.stackexchange. Beginning courses in logic usually start with Aristotle or earlier. If you want a history of algebraic logic, you would do worse than to consult references like the Handbook of Mathematical Logic, which should have other references that cover the early history. If you are looking for elementary treatments, you might enjoy Lewis Carroll's Game of Logic. Gerhard "Or A Similarly Named Title" Oarsman, 2016.10.13. $\endgroup$
    – Gerhard Paseman
    Commented Oct 13, 2016 at 17:29
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @GerhardPaseman "Algebraic logic" is a technical term, it seems irrelevant to the question. $\endgroup$
    – Andrés E. Caicedo
    Commented Oct 13, 2016 at 17:44
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Incidentally, I strongly recommend the many-volume (eleven?) Handbook of the History of Logic. $\endgroup$
    – Noah Schweber
    Commented Oct 13, 2016 at 20:24
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ There are several anthologies of key original papers: From Frege to Gödel and two volumes of From Kant to Hilbert, and From Brouwer to Hilbert also. It can be challenging to read the original sources, however, due to archaic or idiosyncratic terminology, the difference between the modern perspective and the author's perspective, etc. $\endgroup$
    – Carl Mummert
    Commented Oct 13, 2016 at 23:28
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Two secondary sources are worth consulting: Kneale and Kneale's The Development of Logic (Oxford: Clarendon-Oxford University Press, 1962) and Grattan-Guinness's The Search for Mathematical Roots, 1870-1940: Logics, Set Theories and the Foundations of Mathematics from Cantor through Russell to Gödel (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000). Both contain helpful pointers to primary texts. $\endgroup$
    – grshutt
    Commented Oct 14, 2016 at 2:06

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4
$\begingroup$

It seems that the references mentioned in the comments collectively answer the question, so I'm compiling them into an actual (community wiki) answer so that the system recognizes that the question has been answered.

  1. Handbook of the History of Logic.

  2. There are several anthologies of key original papers: From Frege to Gödel and two volumes of From Kant to Hilbert, and From Brouwer to Hilbert also.

  3. Two secondary sources are worth consulting: Kneale and Kneale's The Development of Logic (Oxford: Clarendon-Oxford University Press, 1962) and Grattan-Guinness's The Search for Mathematical Roots, 1870-1940: Logics, Set Theories and the Foundations of Mathematics from Cantor through Russell to Gödel (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000). Both contain helpful pointers to primary texts.

  4. You would do worse than to consult references like the Handbook of Mathematical Logic, which should have other references that cover the early history. If you are looking for elementary treatments, you might enjoy Lewis Carroll's Game of Logic. Symbolic Logic may also be a good read.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .