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Logic: Meaning and Key Concepts
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This lecture notes discusses the meaning of Logic, including its key concepts.
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Logic: Meaning and Key ConceptsLogic is one of the major branches of philosophy, which is commonly understood as the
science or study of correct processes of thinking or reasoning. Broadly construed, logic,
therefore, is that specific branch of philosophy that studies the processes of correct
thinking.
Etymologically speaking, the term “logic” is derived from the Greek word logos, which is
often translated in English as “word”, “discourse” or “reason”. In the Greek tradition of
understanding the nature of reality, the term “reason” was commonly appropriated.
And for the ancient Greek thinkers, logos as “reason” could mean two things, namely: 1)
that which refers to “human reason”, which seeks to attain an objective or universal
understanding of the nature of reality, and 2) that which refers to “universal
intelligence” or “rational divine intelligence”―indeed, that universal ruling force that
governs the cosmos.
When understood in the second sense, logos then means (as the ancient Greek thinkers
would have us believe) the “light-giving principle”, which enables human persons to
understand the nature, dynamics, and mysteries of the universe. When understood in
the first sense, that is, as “human reason”, logos connotes “study”, that is, the
rationality of the human mind which seeks to attain an objective or universal
understanding of the nature of reality.
Thus, when we employ the term logos in our attempt to make sense of or study
something, then we are dealing with the term logos in the first sense. For example,
when we define the term “psychology” from the vantage point of its etymology, then
we say that psychology comes from the two Greek words, namely, psyche, which means
“mind”, and logos, which means “study”. Thus, etymologically speaking, psychology is
defined as the study of the mind. Indeed, it is in this context that “logic” is, again,
defined as the study (or science or reason) of the correct processes of thinking or
reasoning.
More specifically, when we study the correct processes of thinking or reasoning, we are
necessarily dealing with arguments.
Hence, in logic, we will be primarily dealing with the principles that govern the validity
of arguments, that is, whether a certain conclusion follows from the given premises or
assumptions.
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