Lecture 2

Philo 1 (Logic)

INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC

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WHAT IS LOGIC? Nominal Definition: Logic comes from the Greek word logos, which means thought, word, speech or science. Real Definition: Logic is order and consistency. It is the science of those principles, laws and methods which the mind of man must follow in its thinking for the secure and accurate attainment of truth. In short. Logic is the science and art of correct thinking. ELEMENTS IN THE DEFINITION OF LOGIC 1. It is a science because it is a body of organized methods tried and true knowledge which is concerned with the rectitude of reasoning. 2. It is an art because argument in logic is done beautifully with habitual validity, ease, clarity, correctness, objectivity and certainty. 3. Of correct thinking because it conforms to the rules of correctness; in an argument, premises have sufficient grounds as basis for conclusion. THINKING 2 Criteria for a mental process to be considered thinking 1. When the objective is truth Examples: analysis, definition and classification 2. When the truth we have becomes the nucleus of further knowledge Examples: criticism (as of books, movies and people), comparison and contrast, synthesis, generalization and the like Thinking is the process of drawing out conclusions from previously known data. We also call it REASONING or INFERENCE. CORRECT THINKING is a process of thinking or reasoning that follows the right procedure. However, this reasoning may not always be true. Logic does not investigate the truth as the certainty of the data but rather focuses on the correct operation of thinking. Correct thinking and true knowledge are two different things. TRUE KNOWLEDGE deals with knowledge which conforms to reality.