Nicholas J. J. Smith

Last updated

Nick Smith
Born1972
Education Princeton University (PhD), University of Sydney (BA)
Awards Australian Academy of the Humanities fellowship
Era 21st-century philosophy
Region Western philosophy
School Analytic
Institutions University of Sydney
Thesis Vagueness  (2001)
Doctoral advisor Gideon Rosen, John P. Burgess
Main interests
philosophy of language, logic
Notable ideas
degree-based theory of vagueness

Nicholas Jeremy Josef Smith (born 1972) is an Australian philosopher and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sydney. He is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and a former President of the Australasian Association for Logic. Smith is known for his research on logics. [1] [2] [3] He is a lecturer for the popular PHIL1012: Introductory Logic course at the University of Sydney, which broke records in 2021 as the largest course by enrolments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. [4]

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Books

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Related Research Articles

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In logic, the semantic principleof bivalence states that every declarative sentence expressing a proposition has exactly one truth value, either true or false. A logic satisfying this principle is called a two-valued logic or bivalent logic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradox</span> Statement that apparently contradicts itself

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Sorites paradox Logical paradox from vague predicates

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logic</span> Study of correct reasoning

Logic is the study of correct reasoning or good arguments. It is often defined in a more narrow sense as the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. In this sense, it is equivalent to formal logic and constitutes a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises in a topic-neutral way. When used as a countable noun, the term "a logic" refers to a logical formal system that articulates a proof system. Formal logic contrasts with informal logic, which is also part of logic when understood in the widest sense. There is no general agreement on how the two are to be distinguished. One prominent approach associates their difference with the study of arguments expressed in formal or informal languages. Another characterizes informal logic as the study of ampliative inferences, in contrast to the deductive inferences studied by formal logic.

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In logic, a finite-valued logic is a propositional calculus in which truth values are discrete. Traditionally, in Aristotle's logic, the bivalent logic, also known as binary logic was the norm, as the law of the excluded middle precluded more than two possible values for any proposition. Modern three-valued logic allows for an additional possible truth value.

In logic, an infinite-valued logic is a many-valued logic in which truth values comprise a continuous range. Traditionally, in Aristotle's logic, logic other than bivalent logic was abnormal, as the law of the excluded middle precluded more than two possible values for any proposition. Modern three-valued logic allows for an additional possible truth value and is an example of finite-valued logic in which truth values are discrete, rather than continuous. Infinite-valued logic comprises continuous fuzzy logic, though fuzzy logic in some of its forms can further encompass finite-valued logic. For example, finite-valued logic can be applied in Boolean-valued modeling, description logics, and defuzzification of fuzzy logic.

<i>Vagueness and Degrees of Truth</i> 2008 book by Nicholas J. Smith

Vagueness and Degrees of Truth is a 2008 book by Nicholas J. Smith, in which the author examines vagueness based on the idea of "degrees of truth". It means that although some sentences are true and some are false, others possess intermediate truth values. In other words, some sentences are truer than the false sentences, but not as true as the true ones.

<i>Logic: The Laws of Truth</i> 2012 book by Nicholas J. Smith

Logic: The Laws of Truth is a 2012 book by Nicholas J. Smith, in which the author provides an introduction to classical logic. It covers the formal tools and techniques of logic and their underlying rationales and broader philosophical significance. The book also presents various forms of proof: proof trees, major variants of natural deduction, axiomatic proofs, and sequent calculus. It also includes numerous logical exercises.

References

  1. Paoli, F. (27 March 2014). "Logic. The Laws of Truth". History and Philosophy of Logic . 35 (3): 306–308. doi:10.1080/01445340.2014.902243. ISSN   0144-5340. S2CID   119567628.
  2. Cook, Roy T. (25 November 2010). "Vagueness and Degrees of Truth - By Nicholas J. J. Smith". Theoria. 76 (4): 380–384. doi:10.1111/j.1755-2567.2010.01088.x. ISSN   0040-5825.
  3. Ripley, David (2010). "Review of Vagueness and Degrees of Truth". Analysis. 70 (1): 188–190. doi:10.1093/analys/anp152. JSTOR   23315099.
  4. "Logic taking the University by storm". Honi Soit. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.