Logic is the most specialized branch of philosophy. It is sometimes defined as the science of valid inference. This science, which was founded by Aristotle in the fourth century B.C.E., is a purely formal study. That is to say, it wants to know what forms of argumentation are valid, and it does not concern itself with the truth status of the arguments’ conclusions or with their supporting statements. Look, for example, at the argument:
All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
This is a valid argument. That means that the first two statements (the argument’s premises) logically entail the third statement (the argument’s conclusion). The argument would still be valid even if it turned out the first or second premise of the argument was false. Even if we discovered that some men are immortal and that Socrates was actually a fish, the argument would be valid purely because of its form, which is the following:
All As are Bs.
S is an A.
Therefore, S is a B.
This brief summary has not done justice to the breath and depth of the influence that logic has had on contemporary philosophy. There were great advancements in the field in the nineteenth century, and in the first decades of the twentieth century a lexicon of symbols (signs) had been developed that gave logic a precision it had formerly lacked. Once the relation between logic and mathematics had been carefully studied, logic or symbolic logic, as its new form is called, became almost a branch of calculus and provided a powerful tool of analysis and criticism that finds a home in most other fields of philosophy.
Handouts
Seven Steps in Argument Analysis
Instructions for Fallacy Notebook
Critical Thinking Format/Study Sheet
Induction Deduction and the Scientific Method
Introduction to Philosophy and Logic:
Western View for the Happy/Good Life from the Ancient Greeks:
(1) Moderation in all things. (2) The Unexamined Life is not Worth Living.
(3) Know Yourself. (4) Ballance/Harmony
Eastern View for Happiness: (1) Moderation (the middle way), (2) Give up your ignorant wants.
(3) Meditation. (4) Ballance/Harmony
Philosophy deals with questions.
But not these kinds of questions:
1+1=?; Where is India?;
What is the effect of low level radiation on the photosynthesis of plants?;
because they are fact based questions.
These are Philosophical Questions:
Is Donald Trump a Good Man? What is the Best Way to Live?
What is Truth? What is Beauty? What is Good?
Philosophical questions are value based questions. They are not fact based questions. Philosophical questions are baffling/puzzling by their nature. They are baffling because we do not know what criteria to apply in answering the questions or where to search for the standards to apply to a philosophical question.
Where do standards/Values/Duties/Ideals come from?
Culture, religion, law, family, peers, education, media, and ultimately from personal judgment. (See the film: The Insider)
In answering a philosophical question a reasonable, defensible argument is needed for your position. Most philosophical discussions are about the criteria to use in answering a question rather than the conclusion reached. Any answer to any philosophical question has many implications to many areas of human concern. What is Human nature? Good? Bad? Neutral? What are the implications of each answer?
This class is all about the words we use and how we use them.
Words that relate to Logic: (visual/analytical tool)
Categories/Reasoning/Critical Thinking/Analysis
Language/Understanding/Comprehension
Induction/Deduction/Fallacy
Any other words that relate to logic. When you can define the words/ideas that relate to logic, then you can write an introduction and provisional definition of logic. Definition and knowledge are intimately linked in all claims to knowledge and understanding.
To know means to be able to define, state the theory of, explain it, and show how that knowledge relates to all other knowledge. Also, knowers have incorporated that knowledge into their lives in ways that has transformed them. Remember that definition and knowledge are intimately linked.
Words that relate to Philosophy: (visual/analytical tool)
Art/Religion/Ethics/Morals/Science/History
Business/Education/Way of Life/Questions
Being/Existence/Knowledge/Art
Any other words that relate to philosophy. When you can define all the words/ideas that relate to philosophy then you can write a provisional definition/introduction to philosophy.
In Philosophy, Science and in Logic particularly we are trying to be more Rational and move away from a world of Myth. In Logic and Academic/Scientific Language you attempt to use language in a more narrow/neutral (objective) way and attempt to reduce the emotion.
But Myth has its purposes: to integrate the human into Nature; to impregnate belief systems, to teach indirectly the role of culture and the development from child to an adult. (Dependency, Adulthood, Maturity, and The Exit) "Myth is to raise consciousness to a spiritual level." Joseph Campbell
Bibliography
Essays in Experimental Logic
by John Dewey, 1916
How We Think:
A Restatement of the Relation of
Reflective Thinking to the Educational Process
by John Dewey, 1933
Logic:
The Theory of Inquiry
by John Dewey, 1938
Mathematical Logic
by Willard Van Orman Quine, 1940/51
Elementary Logic
Revised Edition
by Willard Van Orman Quine, 1941/1980
Unpopular Essays
12 Adventures in Argument
by Bertrand Russell, 1950/2009
See Chapter 2: Philosophy for Laymen
From a Logical Point of View
by W. V. Quine, 1953/80
The Web of Belief
by W. V. Quine and J. S. Ullian, 1970
A Preface to Logic
by Morris Raphael Cohen, 1956
BEING LOGICAL:
A Guide to GOOD THINKING
by D. Q. McInerny,
(See: PART ONE - Preparing the Mind for Logic)
1. Be Attentive
2. Get the Facts Straight
3. Ideas and the Objects of Ideas
4. Be Mindful of the Origins of Ideas
5. Match Ideas to Facts
6. Match Words to Ideas
7. Effective Communication
8. Avoid Vague and Ambiguous Language
9. Avoid Evasive Language
10. Truth
Logic and Language
edited with An Introduction
by Antony Flew, 1965
Language and Thinking:
A Philosophical Introduction
by Hubert G. Alexander, 1967
Formal Logic:
Its Scope and Limits
by Richard C. Jeffrey, 1967
Fallacies
by C. L. Hamblin, 1970
Reasoning
by Michael Scriven, 1976
An Introduction to Reasoning
by Stephen Toulmin, Richard Rieke and Allan Janik, 1984
Practical Reasoning
by Larry Wright, 1989
Dewey's New Logic:
A Reply to Russell
by Tom Burke, 1994
Just The Arguments100 of the Most Important Arguments in Western Philosophy
Edited by Michael Bruce and Steven Barbone, 2011
Textbooks
Readings in Classical Rhetoric
by Thomas W. Benson and Michael H. Prosser, 1988
Formal Logic:
A Model of English
by Ronald Rubin and Charles Young, 1989
Beyond Feelings:
A Guide to Critical Thinking
by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero, 1995
Advocacy and Opposition:
An Introduction to Argumentation
by Karyn C. Rybacki and Donald J. Rybacki, 1996
A Rulebook for Arguments
by Anthony Weston, 2000
The Trivium:
The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric
Understanding the Nature and Function of Language
by Sister Miriam Joseph, C.S.C., PH.D., 2002
Attacking Faulty Reasoning:
A Practical Guide to Fallacy-Free Arguments
by T. Edward Damer, 2005
Do You Think
What You Think
You Think?
By Julian Baggini and Jeremy Stangoom, 2007
Logic: An Introduction
by Robert Paul Churchill, 2008
Introduction to Logic
by Irving M. Copi and Carl Cohen, 2008
A Concise Introduction to Logic
by Patrick J. Hurley, 2012
Creative and Critical Thinking
by Moore/McCann/McCann, 1974
Patterns of Problem Solving
by Moshe F. Rubinstein, 1975
Analytic Philosophy
Readings in Philosophical Analysis
by Herbert Feigl and Wilfrid Sellers, 1949
The Age of Analysis
By Morton White, 1955
Philosophy and Linguistic Analysis
by Maxwell John Charlesworth, 1961
Classics of Analytic Philosophy
Edited by Robert R. Ammerman, 1965
(Has A Short History of Analytic Philosophy)
Readings in Introductory Philosophical Analysis
by John Hospers, 1968
Basic Philosophical Analysis
by Charles L. Reid, 1971
Differences between Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
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Inductive
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Deductive
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Nature |
If premises are true & argument is strong, conclusion is probably cogent.
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If premises are true & argument is valid, conclusion is sound. |
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Characteristics: Indicator Words |
probable, improbable plausible, implausible likely, unlikely reasonable to conclude
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necessarily certainly absolutely definitively |
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Nature of Inferential Links |
Premises provide only probabilistic support for conclusion. If premises are true, conclusion is probably true.
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Premises provide necessary support for conclusion. If premises are true, then conclusion cannot be false. |
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Character/Form of Argument |
Prediction based on known past or present event. Analogy: similarity between items/affairs/events. Inductive generalization/statistics (extrapolating sample data to general population). Based upon presumed authority/witness. Based on known significance of signs/symbols. Causal inference (cause & effect).
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Based on mathematics. From definitions. (what is Given) Categorical syllogism (all, none, some) Hypothetical syllogism (if…; then...; if...then; therefore…) Disjunctive syllogism (either…or…) |
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Uses |
Discovery of scientific laws. |
Application of known scientific laws (with certain reservations). Geometric proofs. |
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Traditional Definition
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Argument proceeds from particular to general.
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Argument proceeds from general to particular. |
| Last Updated: 10/19/22 |