A Course on Mathematical Logic

A Course in Mathematical Logic for Mathematicians, Second Edition offers a straightforward introduction to modern mathematical logic that will appeal to the intuition of working mathematicians. The book begins with an elementary introduction to formal languages and proceeds to a discussion of proof theory. It then presents several highlights of 20th century mathematical logic, including theorems of Gödel and Tarski, and Cohen's theorem on the independence of the continuum hypothesis. A unique feature of the text is a discussion of quantum logic.

The work of which this is an English translation appeared originally in French as Precis de logique mathematique. In 1954 Dr. Albert Menne brought out a revised and somewhat enlarged edition in German (Grund­ riss der Logistik, F. Schoningh, Paderborn). In making my translation I have used both editions. For the most part I have followed the original French edition, since I thought there was some advantage in keeping the work as short as possible. However, I have included the more extensive historical notes of Dr. Menne, his bibliography, and the two sections on modal logic and the syntactical categories (§ 25 and 27), which were not in the original.

This book is intended as an undergraduate senior level or beginning graduate level text for mathematical logic. There are virtually no prere­ quisites, although a familiarity with notions encountered in a beginning course in abstract algebra such as groups, rings, and fields will be useful in providing some motivation for the topics in Part III.