Modal Logic for Philosophers

Designed for use by philosophy students, this 2006 book provides an accessible, yet technically sound treatment of modal logic and its philosophical applications. Every effort has been made to simplify the presentation by using diagrams in place of more complex mathematical apparatus. These and other innovations provide philosophers with easy access to a rich variety of topics in modal logic, including a full coverage of quantified modal logic, non-rigid designators, definite descriptions, and the de-re de-dictio distinction. Discussion of philosophical issues concerning the development of modal logic is woven into the text. The book uses natural deduction systems and also includes a diagram technique that extends the method of truth trees to modal logic. This feature provides a foundation for a novel method for showing completeness, one that is easy to extend to systems that include quantifiers.

James W. Garson is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Houston. He has held grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, and the Apple Education Foundation. He is also the author of numerous articles in logic, semantics, linguistics, the philosophy of cognitive science, and computerized education.