John Stuart Mill

A System of Logic (1851)

MILL,John Stuart. A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, being a connected view of the principles of evidence, and the methods of scientific investigation. In two volumes. London, John W.Parker 1851

Octavo. Original publishers cloth, faded, original printed paper labels, pp.xvi, 502, 2 adverts; xii, 527, 4 adverts, a fine copy.

Third edition
"In the early part of 1830 I had begun to put on paper the ideas on Logic (chiefly on the distinctions among Terms, and the impact of Propositions),,,.Having secured these thoughts from being lost, I pushed on into other parts of the subject, to try whether I could do anything further towards clearing up the theory of logic generally. I grappled at once with the problem of Induction, postponing that of Reasoning, on the ground that it is necessary to obtain premises before we can reason them…In July and August 1838, I had found an interval in which to execute what was still undone of the original draft of the Third Book. In working out the logical theory of those laws of nature which are not laws of Causation, nor corollaries from such laws, I was led to recognise kinds as realities in nature, and not mere distinctions for convenience; a light which I had not obtained when the First Book was written, and which made it necessary for me to modify and enlarge several chapters of that Book. The Book on Language and Classification and the chapter on the Classification of Fallacies, were drafted in the autumn of the same year; the remainder of the work, in the summer and autumn of 1840. From April following, to the end of 1841, my spare time was devoted to a complete re-writing of the book from its commencement….During the re-writing of the Logic, Dr Whewell's Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences made its appearance; a circumstance fortunate for me, as it gave me what I greatly desired, a full treatment of the subject of an antagonist, and enabled me to present my ideas with greater clearness and emphasis." J S Mill, Autobiography pp.158-161, 221-227

Price- £250