"Logic, therefore, as the science of thought, or the science of the process of pure reason, should be capable of being constructed a priori." -Arthur Schopenhauer, The Art of Controversy ··········· "Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it." -George Orwell, 1984 ·········· Formal/Classical Logic was invented by Aristotle in ancient Greece (circa 350 B.C.). It is a remarkably versatile and effective system of "rules for reasoning" that anyone can use to good effect. Devised as a systematic method of evaluating evidence and language arguments to (1) insure correct reasoning within the limitations of the existing evidence, and (2) effectively reveal erroneous or deceptive reasoning, it was soon to govern and define the measured thought of the leading rulers and intellectuals of the ancient world. Alexander the Great was only the first of a very long line of adherents of formal logic that would dramatically alter the course of history. To this very day, utilized in virtually every field that requires accurate and objective reasoning from archaeology, astronomy and medicine, to law, politics and war, more so than any other intellectual tool, formal logic has been responsible for laying the foundations of our civilization. Curiously, formal logic contains one common historical thread that has always been true. Niether the ancient Greeks, nor the Romans, nor the old antbellum American South ever considered it wise to teach formal/classical logic to common slaves, for obvious reasons. The teaching of Classical logic was removed from the U.S. public school system over 150 years ago, and has been systematically suppressed by our media for exactly the same reasons ("The Underground History of American Education" by John Gatto, his "Ultimate History Lesson" on YouTube, "The Lost Tools of Learning" by Dorothy Sayers, "The Prussian School System", and "Operant Conditioning", all online). If you doubt this just ask some average U.S. high school graduates sometime to tell you the difference between a "formal" and an "informal" logical fallacy; or, how to determine if an argument is both "valid" and "sound" (i.e., very basic and essential knowledge of formal logic). You'll find that they have no idea. The vast majority couldn't even tell you the difference between "deductive" and "inductive" reasoning. As you will soon see, this is no accident. ·········· The following is a concise and effective method of using formal logic and is the essence of that ancient system of reasoning (adapted from a definition given in Howard Kahane' s book "Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric", 1976). ·········· "All instruction given or received by way of argument proceeds from pre-existent knowledge." Aristotle, Posterior Analytics ·········· "We ought in fairness to fight our case with no help beyond the bare facts: nothing, therefore, should matter except the proof of those facts." -Aristotle, Rhetoric ··········· Cogent (logical) reasoning, reasoning designed to strongly appeal to the intellect rather than the emotions, should meet 3 conditions: ··· 1. It should begin with justified premises (true propositions well supported by solid verifiable evidence). ··· 2. It should contain all of the known relevant evidence. (The suppression, or improbable absence, of relevant evidence is a good indication of deception. Relevant evidence is any evidence that would tend to make an argument more likely or less likely to be true.) ··· 3. It should be properly structured, so that it comes to a conclusion which logically follows from the premises. (In the case of valid deductive arguments this conclusion would "necessarily" follows from the premises. In the case of very strong inductive arguments it would follow "beyond a reasonable doubt". In both cases it would be free of contradiction and consistent with the facts.) ·········· When an argument meets these conditions (ie. verifiably true premises, all relevant evidence, and properly structured) it is said to be sound or cogent, and very likely to be true. When an argument does not meet these conditions it is said to be fallacious (faulty/deceptive reasoning). ·········· "The province of Logic must be restricted to that portion of our knowledge which consists of inferences from truths previously known; whether those antecedent data be general propositions, or particular observations and perceptions. Logic is not the science of Belief, but the science of Proof, or Evidence. In so far as belief professes to be founded on proof, the office of Logic is to supply a test for ascertaining whether or not the belief is well grounded." - John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic ·········· "Aristotle devides all conclusions into logical and dialectical, in the manner described, and then into eristical. (3) Eristic is the method by which the form of the conclusion is correct, but the premises, the material from which it is drawn, are not true, but only appear to be true. Finally (4) sophistic is the method in which the form of the conclusion is false, although it seems correct. These three last properly belong to the art of Controversial Dialectic, as they have no objective truth in view, but only the appearance of it, and pay no regard to truth itself; that is to say, they aim at victory." -Arthur Schopenhauer, The Art of Controversy ········· (Very helpful in analyzing the relationship between premises and conclusion is the following taken from the book "Logic and Rhetoric" [1968] by James Johnson. "The hypothesis most likely to prove right must do the following: 1. Include all known facts; 2. Not over-emphasize any part of the evidence at the expense of the rest; 3. Observe the laws of probability as established by previous investigation; 4. Avoid logical contradictions; 5. Stay as simple as possible without ignoring any part of the evidence. Hypotheses which violate any one of these requirements are Forced hypothesis.") ········· Now, on to a bit of rhetoric with the informal logical fallacy: ·········· "Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men." -Plato ········· Professor Madsen Pirie most aptly defines a logical fallacy as anything one can say or do that breaks down or subverts reason. The ancient Greeks discovered over 200 different logical fallacies. Here are some commonly used "informal" logical fallacies taken from the book "The Trivium: The Liberal Arts of Logic, Grammar, and Rhetoric" by Sister Miriam Joseph Ph.D..(In his book "Logic For Lawyers" Ruggero Aldisert defines the formal logical fallacy as an "error in the logical form of an argument" and informal logical fallacies as those that "deal with the content and context of premises." When an argument meets the three conditions of cogent reasoning it does not contain any formal logical fallacies.) ········· "ARGUMENTUM AD HOMINEM ··· Argumentum ad hominem ( literally, an "argument to the man") fallacy confuses the point at issue with the people concerned. Attacks on the character and conduct of people and personal abuse or praise are substituted for reasoning on the point at issue. Argumentum ad hominem seeks to persuade by unsound ethos. In rhetoric ethos means establishing the speaker or writer as one worthy of making an argument."·········· "ARGUMENTUM AD IGNORANTIAM ··· Argumentum ad ignorantiam is the use of an argument that sounds convincing to others because they are ignorant of the weaknesses of the argument and of the facts that stand against it."········· ARGUMENTUM AD VERECUNDIAM ··· Argumentum ad verecundiam is an appeal to the prestige or respect in which a proponent of an argument is held as a guarantee of the truth of the argument. This is unwarranted when reasoning about an issue is required and only the authority of its upholders or opponents is given consideration. It is perfectly legitimate to supplement reasoning with authority (Argumentum ad auctoritatem ), but it is fallacious to substitute authority for reasoning in matters capable of being understood by reason."············ A very helpful tool in understanding effective rhetoric is Aristotle's three primary pillars of persuasion; (1) Ethos (authority), (2) Pathos (emotion), and (3) Logos (logic). To believe an argument that is supported by Ethos alone is to be manipulated by authority. To believe an argument that it is supported by Pathos alone is to be manipulated through emotion. Aristotle advises rather, that we take great pains to avoid being manipulated, and allow ourselves to be only truly persuaded by logos (i.e., logical arguments that are correctly reasoned and well supported by evidence). ········· CONCLUSION ··· Therefore, when testing "any" argument one should ask if the three conditions of cogent reasoning have been met and if logical fallacies have been used.
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