Review of Boole

Michael Dummett

pp. 79-85

in: James Gasser (ed), A Boole anthology, Berlin, Springer, 2000

Abstract

The volume edited by Rhees contains reprints of Boole's original booklet The Mathematical Analysis of Logic (1847) (I), and of his essays "The Calculus of Logic" (1848) (II), "Of Propositions Numerically Definite" (c. 1850, pub. 1868) (IV), and "The Claims of Science" (1851) (V), and some notes on I and two essays on logic (VI and VII) from Boole's manuscripts published for the first time. There is another essay (III) from the manuscripts which is partly concerned with probability theory. I, II, and VII are printed with omissions. The long "Note on Editing" by Rhees quotes some passages omitted from VII and another unpublished essay. There are also ten reprints of essays by Boole on probability theory, and reprints of essays on the same subject by Wilbraham and Bishop Terrot; these fall outside the scope of this Journal.