Wisdom Journal
Logic
“The ability to build up, communicate and follow complex logical arguments is an important skill of an intelligently rational human.”
- Eugenia Cheng, The Art of Logic
_______________________________
From Being Logical, by D.Q. McInerney:
“Argument is rational discourse. It is not to be confused with quarreling. The object of argument is to get at the truth. The object of quarreling is to get at other people.”
Know your audience: while logic is a science, it is also an art. An argument has a dual purpose: to produce true conclusions and to persuade an audience. To succeed in the latter we have to present our argument in a way that suits the audience in front of us. That’s where the artistry comes in.
Some forms of Illogical Thinking (logical fallacies):
Abusing tradition (aka Appeal to Tradition): the mere fact that “things have always been done that way” is not in and of itself a compelling reason for keeping on doing them that way.
Two wrongs don’t make a right: what two wrongs make, in fact, are two wrongs. It can be expressed this way: “It is all right to do _______ because ________ has already been done.”
The Straw-Man Fallacy: if in responding to an argument, I deliberately distort it so as to weaken it, then I commit this fallacy.
The Ad Hominem fallacy: In Latin, Ad hominem means “against the person”. This illogical ploy is to attack the person rather than deal with the substance of the argument itself - the point is irrelevant to the issues being argued but is emotionally volatile and can distract and reduce the opponent’s ability to get a fair hearing.
Laughter as Diversionary Tactic: “We fall into this fallacy when, unable to come up with a reasoned response to an argument, we try to dodge it by pretending that it is not worth taking seriously.”
An inability to disprove does not prove: The fact that there is no concrete proof against a position does not constitute an argument in favor of a position. I cannot claim to be right simply because you can’t prove me to be wrong.