The Trivium

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1. lo_zamoyskiMay 2025
   I don't think symbolic logic is a great tool for most people and most applications. For that, syllogistic logic is a better fit.

   The modern Fregean paradigm was motivated by the need for a formalism to solve mathematical problems. It was advanced from a position of complete indifference to the relationship between logic and language/grammar. However, the Aristotelian tradition that dominated logic for two thousand years before Frege is motivated explicitly by the desire to clarify, draw out, and make conspicuous the logical structures within grammar so that arguments can be better evaluated for soundness.

   For a rudimentary introduction to this space, Joseph's "The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric" is a good resource. For something a bit more thorough and specifically focused on logic, Coffey's two volumes of "The Science of Logic" comes highly recommended[1][2].

   [0] https://a.co/d/61YNOCC

   [1] https://a.co/d/3VNAGst

   [2] https://archive.org/details/thescienceoflogi01coffuoft/page/...

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2. billfruitMar 2022
   Some books from a few different domains which may be of the type OP is asking for:

   1. The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric : Understanding the Nature and Function of Language by Sister Miriam Joseph.

   2. Introduction to Logic by Irving Copi.

   3. Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective by Randall Bryant and others.

   5. Prolog Programming by Ivan Bratko.

   6. Information Theory, Inference and Learning Algorithms by David MacKay

   7. Geometry by Brennan.

   8. Understanding Poetry by Robert Penn Warren and Cleanth Brookes

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3. billfruitJan 2021
   I would recommend the book, Introduction to Logic by Irving M Copi and others. It has a large number of interesting exercises too.

   Another choice would be the book, 'The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric : Understanding the Nature and Function of Language' by Sister Miriam Joseph.

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4. billfruitNov 2019
   I would recommend the book "The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric", by Sister Miriam Joseph.

   It attempts to cover the ground that may have been lost by those who missed out studying 'The Classics' formally, all in a single book.

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5. nooblyJun 2018
   I can recommend the following:

   Coursera's course "Learning How to Learn"

   Thinking Fast and Slow, Kahneman

   How to Read a Book, Adler[0]

   The Trivium, Sister Miriam Joseph

   How to Solve It, Polya

   I'd also recommend others that have already been recommended, such as the Discourse On the Method, the logic course (which I haven't personally taken, but a logic course certainly helps enter the right frame of mind for evaluating arguements with others or yourself, ime) and of course, learning more mathematics.

   [0]: There's also an excellent summary here: https://pastebin.com/wGFMM1pZ

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