Introduction to the theory of logic

This book provides a rigorous introduction to the basic concepts and results of contemporary logic. It also presents, in two unhurried chapters, the mathematical tools (mainly from set theory) that are needed to master the technical aspects of the subject. Methods of definition and proof are also discussed at length, with special emphasis on inductive definitions and proofs and recursive definitions. The book is ideally suited for readers who want to undertake a serious study of logic but lack the mathematical background that other texts at this level presuppose. It can be used as a textbook in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in logic. Hundreds of exercises are provided.Topics covered include basic set theory, propositional and first-order syntax and semantics, a sequent calculus-style deductive system, the soundness and completeness theorems, cardinality, the expressive limitations of first-order logic, with especial attention to the Loewenheim-Skolem theorems and non-standard models of arithmetic, decidability, complete theories, categoricity and quantifier elimination.