Mc4 prelim

 Natural Logic and Scientific Logic

 INTRODUCTION Bittle (1950) classifies two kinds of
It is proper to start this course with a logic: natural and scientific Natural logic refers
little background about "Philosophy" since Logic to the "gift of reason," endowed to man as a
is traditionally treated under Philosophy. special faculty which enables him to have a
Philosophy and Its Branches sense of what is logical or reasonable and what
Philosophy is a broad discipline in terms of its is not. This gift of reason was recognized by the
subject matter. It studies everything under the greatest of the Greek philosophers Aristotle,
heat of the sun. Hence, it cannot be contained and Plato - who declared that man is essentially
in a single definition. However, for purposes of rational by - Socrates, nature by virtue of which
directing us to the branches of philosophy, we he stands apart and above all creatures.
shall define philosophy according to its root Scientific logic is a tool to help us sharpen our
words. Philosophy is derived from two Greek reasoning ability. It is through this formal study
words: "philos" or love and "sophia" or wisdom. of logic that our native reason can be
Thus, from its roots, "philosophy" is defined as distinguished from those "minds in the
"the love of wisdom." marketplace."
Wisdom, for Socrates, is an attitude or a critical Natural logic is not enough. We should
habit (Barry: 1983). It is more of an accumulated attempt to supplement it with scientific logic so
experience beyond the theoretical variety that we may learn to think, speak, and reason
(Socio: 2001). Philosophy then, as a love of with logical consistency.
wisdom, is a passion not only for theories but
also for practice. In this light, the branches of
philosophy are grouped into two major The Definition of Logic
divisions: Every branch of learning focuses on an
object for its study. Examples: Astronomy
1. Theoretical division aims at acquiring studies planets, stars and galaxies. Sociology
knowledge on the subject matter being studied studies social groups and their patterns of
(e.g. epistemology, metaphysics, cosmology). behavior. In logic, the object is thinking,
2. Practical division aims at applying knowledge specifically, correct thinking. Correct thinking
about a subject matter for practical purposes involves reasoning which should be consistent
(e.g. logic, ethics, aesthetics). with certain rules and principles for the
progressive advancement of a valid argument.
 Philosophy and.Logic Logic is traditionally defined as the "science and
Is Logic under Philosophy? Yes, Logic falls under art of correct thinking." As a science, logic is
Philosophy but there is a difference on the viewed in three aspects:
nature of studies between logic and other 1. It needs a body of data (i.e. terms &
branches of philosophy. Logic deals primarily propositions).
with arguments while the other branches deal 2. It adheres to a certain procedure, system, or
with questions. In Ethics, for example, the method (i.e. logical principles & rules) in
question whether man's action is morally right drawing out conclusions.
or wrong is the utmost consideration. 3. It aims at arriving at the validity of every
Every question needs an answer. However, in argument.
arriving at a clear, valid, and consistent answer, As an art, logic is viewed in relation to
the use of valid arguments and correct the Greek "techne" which means skills, ability,
reasoning is a must. Honer (1998) points out or craft. It, then, involves learned and practiced
that "philosophical inquiry will always demand skills that would direct reason toward
intellectual skill and intensive knowledge of the distinguishing good and correct arguments from
various logical procedures." bad and erroneous arguments.
Just as questions and answers are interrelated
with each other, so with logic and the other  Logic as a Normative Science
branches of philosophy. "Inasmuch as reasoning Logic is also a "discipline." It requires a strict
is at the heart of philosophy, so logic has always compliance with the prescribed rules and
been a central concern for philosophers" principles on correct argumentation and
(Restall: 2003). reasoning. It is in this sense that logic is to be
differentiated from other sciences which deal
with the process of thinking. Other sciences
merely describe (descriptive) the thinking syllogistic logic, Aristotle catalogued a number
process while logic stipulates (prescriptive) how of informal fallacies.
one is "ought" to think properly. After Aristotle's death, another Greek
philosopher Chrysippus (279-206 B.C.), one of
 Approaches in Logic the founders of the Stoic school, developed a
There are two major approaches in the form of logic in which the fundamental
study of logic, namely: the informal logic and elements were whole propositions. Chrysippus
the formal logic. treated every proposition as either true or false
Informal logic is an attempt to develop and developed rules for determining the truth
logical tools that can analyze and assess the or falsity of compound propositions from the
informal reasoning that occurs in natural truth or falsity of their components. In the
language contexts. Arguments formulated course of doing so, he laid the foundation for
under informal logic are characterized as both the truth functional interpretation of logical
rhetorical and dialectical. Rhetorical arguments connectives and introduced the notion of
appear to be more sympathetic in attitude. The natural deduction.
ethos or charisma of the speaker plays a crucial For thirteen, hundred years after the
role in determining whether or not an argument death of Chrysippus, relatively little creative
is persuasive. Dialectical arguments consider work was done in logic. The physician Galen
argumentation as a form of dialogical exchange (A.D. 129-c. 199) developed the theory of the
and resolution of disputes. compound categorical syllogism, but mostly
philosophers confined themselves to writing
commentaries on the works of Aristotle and
Formal logic is divided into Traditional Chrysippus. Boethius was one of them.
Aristotelian Logic and Modern Symbolic Logic. In The first major logician of the Middle
his book, Traditional Logic, Martin Cothran Ages was Peter Abelard (1079-1142). Abelard
(1998) outlines their differences in these points: reconstructed and refined the Logic of Aristotle
 Traditional Aristotelian and Chrysippus as communicated by Boethius.
1. It deals with the study of deductive argument He likewise originated the theory of universals
through classical syllogism which emphasizes that traced the universal character of general
the relationship of words. terms to concepts in the mind rather than to
2. It has both a formal branch (structure of the "natures" existing outside of the mind, as
argument) and the material branch (content of Aristotle had held. In addition, Abelard
the argument). distinguished the arguments that are valid
 Modern Symbolic because of their form from those that are valid
1. It deals with the study of deductive argument because of their content, but held that the only
with emphasis on the relationship between formal validity was the "perfect" or conclusive
statements, not, words (propositional logic). variety.
2. It studies only the form of arguments and Eventually, the study of logic during the
pretends to be able to capture all what we Middle Ages blossomed and flourished through
mean in the statements in a kind of formal the works of numerous philosophers. It attained
symbolic system. its final expression in the writing of the Oxford
philosopher William of Occam (c. 1285-1349).
 History of Logic Occam devoted much of his attention to modal
The person who is generally credited with the logic, a kind of logic that involves such notion as
title Father of Logic is the ancient Greek possibility, necessity, belief, and doubt. He also
philosopher Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). Aristotle's conducted an exhaustive study of the forms of
predecessors had been interested in the art of valid and invalid syllogisms and contributed to
constructing persuasive arguments and in the development of a metalanguage, that is, a
techniques for refuting the arguments of others, higher-level language used to discuss linguistic
but it was Aristotle who first devised systematic entities such as words, terms, propositions, and
criteria for analyzing and evaluating arguments. so on.
His logic is called syllogistic logic. The Toward the middle of the fifteenth
fundamental elements in this logic are the century, a reaction set in against the logic of the
terms. Arguments are evaluated as good or bad Middle Ages. Rhetoric largely displaced logic as
depending on how the terms are arranged in the primary focus of attention; the logic of
the argument. In addition to his development of Chrysippus, which had already begun to lose its
unique identity in the Middle Ages, was ignored
altogether. The Logic of Aristotle was studied The origins of informal logic are found in the call
only in highly simplistic presentations. A for more relevant higher education that
reawakening did not occur until two hundred characterizes the social and political movements
years later through the work of Gottfried of the nineteen sixties. In logic this precipitated
Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716). a more concerted attempt to apply its methods
Leibniz was a genius who attempted to to concrete examples of everyday reasoning.
develop a symbolic language or "calculus" that The beginning of informal logic is the attempt to
could be used to settle all forms of disputes replace the artificial examples that characterize
whether they be in theology, philosophy, or earlier logic books (e.g. early editions of Copi)
international relations. As a result of this work, with instances of reasoning, argument and
Leibniz is sometimes credited as the Father of debate directly taken from newspapers,
Symbolic Logic. Leibniz's efforts to symbolize television, and mass
logic were carried into the nineteenth century media.
by Bernard Bolzano (1781- 1848).
By the mid nineteenth century, Logic
commenced an extremely rapid period of In attempting to analyze such
development that has continued to this day. reasoning, informal logicians were greatly
The work in symbolic logic was done by a influenced by a number of earlier works that
number of philosophers and mathematicians, analyze ordinary language arguments.
including Augustus DeMorgan (1806-1871), Aristotle's treatment of fallacies and his theory
George Boole (1815-1864), William Stanley of rhetoric remain a frequent basis for
Jevons (1835-1882), and John Venn (1834- discussion and research. The two modern works
1923), some of whom are popularly known which most anticipate and influence informal
today by the logical theorems and techniques logic are Hamblin's "Fallacies" and Toulmin's
that bear their names. At the same time, a "The Uses of Argument." The latter is especially
revival in inductive logic was initiated by the notable for its emphasis on "the standards and
British philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806- values of practical reasoning," as opposed to
1873). Its main contribution is the method of "the abstract and formal criteria relied on in
induction. mathematical logic and much twentieth century
Toward the end of the nineteenth epistemology."
century, the foundations of modern Informal logic proper began in North
mathematical logic were laid down by Gottlob America in the nineteen seventies. The most
Frege (1848- 1925). His Begriffschrift sets forth influential figures in its development were Ralph
the theory of quantification. Frege's work was H. Johnson and J. Anthony Blair. Their Logical
continued into the twentieth century by Alfred Self-Defense was one of the first introductory
North Whitehead (1861-1947) and Bertrand texts to emphasize concrete examples of
Russell (1872-1970), whose monumental informal reasoning and their Informal Logic
Principia Mathematica attempted to reduce the Newsletter quickly became a focus for
whole of pure mathematics to logic. discussion, news, and research.
During the twentieth century, much of In keeping with emphasis on concrete
the work in logic focused on the formalization of examples of actual reasoning, the development
logical systems and on questions dealing with of informal logic has been tied to pedagogical
the completeness and consistency of such discussions of the ways in which students can
systems. A now-famous theorem by Kurt Goedel best be taught to reason well in the social,
(1906-1978) states that in any formal system political, and work related contexts. One
adequate for number theory there exists an prominent feature of the evolution of informal
undecidable formula---that is, a formula such logic is, therefore, the publication of dozens
that neither it nor its negation is derivable from (and probably hundreds) of textbooks designed
the axioms of the system. Other developments to teach students how to reason in such
include multivalued logic and the formalization contexts. In many cases, these texts (e.g., by
of modal logic. Most recently logic has made a Govier, Kahane and Ruggiero) are also of
major contribution to technology by providing theoretical interest, for they implicitly or
the conceptual foundation for the electronic explicitly advocate and elaborate a particular
circuitry of digital computers. theoretical approach.

 Informal Logic  The Material and Formal Objects of Logic

 Every science has a material and a  Summary of Main Points
formal object. The material object is the subject 1. Philosophy is defined according to its
matter. For example, geology has for its root words as "the love of wisdom." Its two
material object the earth. In logic, the material major divisions include theoretical and practical
object includes the three mental operations of under which logic is classified.
simple apprehension (terms), judgment 2.As it deals with argument, Logic may
(propositions), and reasoning (arguments). serve to support in arriving at clear, correct,
The formal object refers to the special valid, and consistent answers to questions.
viewpoint from which the material object is
studied by a particular science. This
distinguishes one branch of science from
another when both of them are dealing with the  Chapter 1 Lesson 1 LANGUAGE
same material object. So while geography also The two fields Language and Logic are
studies the earth, it is a different science from often treated separately, but they are
geology, because it is specifically concerned nevertheless related with each other as
with the surface of the earth. presented in the book of Copi & Cohen (1997)
There would be many disciplines that and in this lesson. Their interaction is based on
study thinking and reasoning but logic stands the fact that correct thinking can be expressed
different from them as it studies specifically the through the use of words and sentences.
scientific and technical aspect of correct Language allows us not only to convey words
reasoning and argumentation. and compose sentences but also to develop our
skills in making our reasoning correct, clear and
 The Significance of Studying Logic sound. Our reasoning can be filled with errors or
Exercising human mind for most of us fallacies because we are simply unaware of how
is taxing and painful. For this reason, Logic, as our language is correctly stated.
an exercise of the human mind can be disliking. This lesson discusses the nature of
With the significant points herein discussed, language, the elements of signs, the three areas
hopefully, this dislike will turn into an interest in semiotics, and the basic functions of
and that we will find the study of logic a self- language.
fulfilling course.
 The Nature of Language
1. As students, we should consider Logic as a Our world today is a sign-saturated
basic subject needed in the study of every other cultural environment. In communication, man
academic subject. We use logic when we discuss uses signs in order for him to be understood.
essays in our examinations, analyze historical Language, as a product of man, is an expressive
information and social data, perform sign of his inner feelings, emotions, thoughts,
interpretations of our researches, or engage in rationalizations, and creativities. Language
some debates on some current issues. We makes us all humans. It enables us to build,
already use logic in every subject without unbuild, and rebuild social relationships.
knowing it. The question is: Are we using There are two categories of language. They are
enough logic? natural and artificial. A natural language is an
2. As professionals, we use Logic particularly in ordinary language that is spoken.
decision- making. No profession is devoid of the
use of reasoning. In analyzing the health status
of their patients and in administering medicines,
doctors need logic. Lawyers also employ the use
of good reasoning in defending their clients
before any court-of-law. Moreover, logic makes
our works faster and our lives even more
convenient. We can decide as quickly as
possible when we discipline our minds to think
logically.
3. As persons, we need to study logic in order to
improve our reasoning potentials; and that as
much as possible we can promote
understanding and foster better relationships
among others in the society.