Peter Smith, the individual behind these pages, dedicated his career to teaching logic and related subjects at the University of Cambridge before his retirement. His reflections offer a glimpse into a fulfilling academic life marked by intellectual freedom and a passion for his field. Peter Smith considers himself fortunate to have enjoyed secure and well-compensated university positions for four decades during a more relaxed era, allowing him considerable autonomy to pursue his diverse interests. He acknowledges, in retrospect, that he and his contemporaries may not have fully appreciated the privileged circumstances they enjoyed at the time.
Driven by a desire to reciprocate the opportunities he received, Peter Smith has made a significant contribution through the student-oriented sections of his website. Notably, the Study Guide section, which includes his freely downloadable book Beginning Mathematical Logic, stands as a testament to his commitment to giving back to the academic community. Peter Smith has also generously made some of his previously published books available as open access resources, further extending his reach and impact.
Prior to his return to Cambridge in 1998, Peter Smith spent ten years in the Philosophy Department at the University of Sheffield. Earlier in his career, he was affiliated with UCW Aberystwyth, an institution that once housed a small but highly regarded department, which unfortunately faced closure due to the ‘Thatcher cuts.’ Delving into his academic history even further, Peter Smith recalls his time at Trinity College, Cambridge. He completed Part II Maths in his second year and achieved a distinction in Part III Maths in his third year. In his fourth year at Trinity, Peter Smith broadened his academic horizons by taking Part II Moral Sciences, purely for intellectual exploration. Instead of returning to DAMTP, he decided to pursue philosophy, a decision he humorously suggests might have led him away from the “glory days of elementary particle physics.”
Peter Smith’s philosophical interests were wide-ranging in his earlier career. He co-authored, with his former Aberystwyth colleague O.R. Jones, a widely used textbook titled The Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction, published by Cambridge University Press in 1986. While acknowledging that the book reflects its time, Peter Smith suggests that he still holds modified versions of many of its core ideas. Furthermore, Peter Smith dedicated twelve years, until the end of 1999, to serving as the editor of the philosophy journal Analysis. He found this role enjoyable, aligning with his diverse intellectual curiosity, as he admits to never quite mastering the art of specialization. Despite being time-consuming, particularly due to his difficulty in delegating, Peter Smith believes the journal thrived under his editorship.
Peter Smith also authored a philosophy of science book, Explaining Chaos (Cambridge University Press, 1998), which incorporates mathematical elements. The book aimed to provide a more balanced perspective on some of the exaggerated philosophical claims surrounding ‘chaos theory.’ While Peter Smith would now refine certain aspects and acknowledges minor technical imperfections and a possibly overly pessimistic stance on defining chaos, he maintains that the book’s central deflationary argument remains valid. With the permission of Cambridge University Press, Peter Smith has made the entire book available for download.
In more recent years, Peter Smith has returned to his foundational interests in philosophy, focusing on core logic and the foundations of mathematics. He has expressed increasing skepticism regarding the value of much of contemporary philosophy beyond these core areas. Peter Smith co-edited Vagueness: A Reader with Rosanna Keefe (MIT Press, 1997), a collection of classic articles on vagueness accompanied by an extensive introduction. However, he notes that the more he explored the topic, the less clear it became to him, both concerning vagueness itself and the theoretical frameworks for understanding it. Recognizing the ongoing need for introductory logic resources, Peter Smith developed his first-year Cambridge lectures into An Introduction to Formal Logic (originally published by Cambridge University Press in 2003). A significantly revised second edition, also initially published by CUP in 2020, is now accessible as a free PDF download and as an affordable reprint on Amazon, making Peter Smith’s work widely available.
Peter Smith has also authored An Introduction to Gödel’s Theorems (Cambridge University Press, 2007, second edition 2013). Despite being part of an ‘Introduction to Philosophy’ series, this book contains a considerable amount of mathematics alongside philosophical commentary. It is designed to be accessible to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Many sections, particularly in the earlier parts of the book, were substantially revised for the second edition. While the second edition is approximately 25 pages longer, the primary aim was to enhance reader-friendliness rather than introduce extensive new material. Like his other works, the second edition of An Introduction to Gödel’s Theorems by Peter Smith is also available as a free PDF download and an inexpensive Amazon reprint.
Peter Smith notes that his book on Gödel’s Theorems expanded significantly from its origins as lecture notes. Subsequently, he created a much shorter version, a concise introduction to the Introduction, aptly titled Gödel Without (Too Many) Tears. This accessible work is also available as a free PDF download and an inexpensive Amazon paperback, with a more premium hardback edition also available. Both of Peter Smith’s books on Gödel’s theorems are designed to be accessible to readers with a basic understanding of formal logic and do not require extensive technical backgrounds.
Currently, Peter Smith engages in various logical and mathematical projects to maintain intellectual engagement in retirement. He humorously suggests this is to compensate for his “misspent years” when he veered into philosophy, given his underlying inclination towards mathematics. Among his ongoing pursuits, Peter Smith is dedicated to understanding category theory. His efforts have culminated in a freely downloadable and affordable paperback book, Introducing Category Theory, which is designed to be more accessible to readers with less prior mathematical background compared to other introductory texts. Peter Smith hopes this book will be beneficial to a wider audience.
Peter Smith also maintains a blog, where he occasionally posts. Older posts can be found here.
For inquiries, Peter Smith can be contacted at peter_smith AT me DOT com.
