List, I was just able to find an original copy of the book scanned into Google Books, and it is indeed free of the typographical errors found in recent editions such as my Watchmaker Publishing copy and in the version on Project Gutenberg. Several years ago it was not available on Google Books, which is why I had not been able to pursue this method at that time. So I now have the original text and can move on without those new errors.
It would still be helpful if anyone has advice or suggestions in regard to reading Boole’s work, particularly with an eye to Peirce’s work, but not necessarily. I have noted that the algebra in the book seems somewhat different from present day algebra, so perhaps some suggested reading on 18th or early 19th century algebra might prove helpful. Sincerely, Franklin Ransom Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 10, 2022, at 10:46 AM, pragmaticist.lo...@gmail.com wrote: > > List, > > After receiving an off-list suggestion to pick up an introduction to symbolic > logic and use Wikipedia as a resource, it will be well for me to clarify that > I am quite familiar with symbolic logic, having mastered sentential logic and > predicate calculus, dabbled in modal logic, and gotten to be familiar with > Peirce’s graphical logic. The purpose of understanding Boole’s work is not to > learn symbolic logic—which is in fact quite different in many respects from > Boolean calculus—but specifically to understand better the genesis of > Peirce’s work in logic, which I take to be a broader and deeper conception of > logic than one finds in studies of symbolic logic. > > Sincerely, > Franklin Ransom > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Jan 10, 2022, at 12:03 AM, pragmaticist.lo...@gmail.com wrote: >> >> >> Hello list, >> >> It has been some years since I lasted posted, and I have only been lurking >> ever since. >> >> I am hoping to get some advice on reading George Boole’s An Investigation of >> the Laws of Thought. This is a text which CS Peirce references in his >> earlier logical work, and I was hoping to follow along Peirce’s early work >> by understanding what he used as a basis for developing his own ideas. >> >> I’ve had some difficulty though in trying to decipher Boole’s work. His >> earlier essay on his work I was able to get through, but the book proves >> more challenging. At first I tried an online PDF, but what I found had >> noticeable typos, the sort of thing one really wants to avoid in a work >> using a lot of abstract symbols. >> >> So some years ago I acquired a hard copy of the currently printed version >> from Watchmaker Publishing, but found the book still having typos. This is >> rather frustrating, as they’ve had over a century and a half to get it >> right. I suspect it has to do with digitization of the book and then >> publishing the latest hard copy based on this poor digitization. After >> trying for a couple years to get through it, I decided I couldn’t figure out >> if it was due to typos that I don’t know are typos, or simply inability to >> comprehend on my part, that has kept me from being able to interpret the >> work successfully. >> >> So what I’d like to know is if there are possibly any publications on >> Boole’s work, hopefully in relation to Peirce’s early logical work extending >> the Boolean calculus, that might assist me in finally getting through >> Boole’s book. Any advice or suggestions in regard to this matter will be >> appreciated. >> >> Sincerely, >> Franklin Ransom >> Sent from my iPhone
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