What is Logic?

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Logic

Logic is a term derived from the Greek language which means reason. It involves studying principles of right thinking. However, this is a basic definition because the actual and proper definition of logic is still very controversial. Studying the principles of right thinking does not necessary imply that logic is concerned with reasoning as a psychological process. It basically helps people understand how they ought to reason in order to think correctly. Whether the rules of right reasoning are followed by people is an empirical matter that has nothing to do with logic at all. On the contrary, reasoning psychologically is actually an empirical science that informs us of real reasoning habits in people with their oversights included. For instance, a psychologist interested in understanding reasoning may want to know how age causes a variance in people’s reasoning abilities. A logician is least interested in empirical facts of this nature.

Important Features of Logic

There are various features that guide reasoning as part of logic. Some of these include the principles that govern validity of arguments. These principles are useful in determining whether conclusions arrived at follow a given set of assumptions. Logic principles are non-contingent because they don’t rely on any specific accidental elements of the world. Empirical sciences such as physics look into how the world is. For instance, physicists may say that no other signal travels faster than light. However, is physics laws were different; this would probably not be true. In a similar way, biologists may study the communication behavior of dolphins. However, if the evolution process had differed, then may be dolphins would never have existed. This means that there is contingence in empirical sciences because of a possibility that things could have taken a different course. The principles guiding logic are only derived through reasoning; their rationality does not rely on any provisional world features.

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