General Information about Plato
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Plato is a software application for the Macintosh and IBM-compatible
computers developed at the University of Texas at Austin. It is intended to
assist the learning of formal logic. It uses a Kalish-Montague type format
compatible with the style of natural deduction presented by Daniel Bonevac in
his text, Deduction (Mayfield Publishing, Mountain View, California, 1987). It
can be used as a resource for any introductory course in formal logic that uses
a similar approach.
Plato is a flexible tool that enables the user to construct proofs in the
formal languages of the Sentential Calculus and the Predicate Calculus. It can
also be used to construct some formal mathematical proofs, including portions
of set theory. Plato is not limited to a fixed stock of examples, and it can
construct proofs of great complexity. It is so rapid and accurate that it can
assist even advanced students in the construction of complex proofs, yet is so
easy to use that it is accessible to the beginner.
Plato helps the user to construct proofs in a particular proof format. A
complete description of this format can be found in Bonevac's Deduction. A
brief overview of this system that will help you understand the discussion of
Plato's commands below.
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