Theo Todman's Web Page - Paper Abstracts

Author’s Introduction

1. Logical Properties is a short intense book about large abstract questions. It deals with highly general concepts - identity, existence, predication, necessity, and truth - from a linguistic, logical and ontological point of view.
2. I wrote it with a kind of aesthetic aim: to squeeze as much into a short space as possible while retaining clarity. I wanted the impact on the reader to be one of pure unadulterated abstract thought - an intellectual proximity to the bloodless world of abstracta. The immersion would be relatively brief, but it would be complete.
3. I therefore composed the book with little reference to other writers, though footnotes do relate what I am saying to relevant literature. I also intended the book to be thought-provoking rather than safe, exposed rather than protected.
4. Partly I had my eye on student readers, who need to see the wood for the trees, and partly I wanted to re-invigorate a subject that has (in my view) grown rather stale and mechanical (whether I succeeded is another question). The style of the book is therefore intentionally blunt and bold, and tries to mirror the intoxicating aridities of its subject-matter.