The Trivium: Logic

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” - Aristotle, Metaphysics

Logic is a broad and hugely encompassing subject that, if fully examined, would extend far beyond what we are able to convey in this medium. Due to this I will begin merely with an examination of the broader concept of logic, Aristotelian logic, and the critical role that logic plays in the formulation of ideas and the development of free minds unfettered by dogma and the proverbial sway of the maddening crowds. How often do we succumb to faulty thinking, masked biases, and faulty mental models? I would posit that if we are approaching this question with any degree of honesty the answer will be a simple one: often. What tools are at our disposal to prevent our succumbing to these faulty lines of reasoning? What principles and techniques form our bastion against reductionism, availability bias, and the many other logical fallacies that pervade the human psyche.

I will begin this exploration by asking a simple question.

How do we ensure we are thinking correctly? What is the framework through which we analyze our own thinking and recognize its merits and its faults? This is the starting point for any exploration of logic and it is a question that many a great and would be philosopher has contended with. Aristotle, the acclaimed student of Plato, wrote multiple treatises on what would become the philosophical logical canon for the next 2,000 years. In Aristotle’s view, logic was the instrument through which man can come to know anything. To Aristotle, logic is the pan through which we sift the truth from the silt and the grime of the river of faulty thinking; it is the fire that burns away the dross and impurities from the purer intellectual gold that we all seek.

Aristotelean logic consists quite simply of two propositions followed by a conclusion. For example, Socrates is a man; all men are mortal; therefor Socrates is mortal. We can apply this to concepts both broad and specific, complex and simple, but this should form the foundation for our thinking. We must ensure that our propositions are objective, take in all available data, account for our own rational short comings, and above all we must ensure that our conclusion follows our propositions or premises. As our philosophical and logical progenitor notes from the excerpt at the start of this essay: we should be capable of entertaining ideas without accepting them. Too often do we accept the thoughts and positions that our biases incline us towards; too often do we forgo the rigorous effort that is required by true logical analysis. Mastering this fundamental art is a prerequisite for our intellectual liberation from dogma and the intellectual stagnation that marches in its shadow.

Logic to the exclusion of emotion holds its perils as well. Too much of either extreme unbalances the scales and deleverages our efforts. We return once again to familiar territory on the Art of Discourse, we must seek out the golden mean, or the middle path. It is through this narrow gate that we are able to attain the wisdom of the sages, whether those sages be Ancient Greek philosophers, carpenters from Judea, mystics from India, or Mahommetan sufis. This same, eternal adage applies to the integration of logic and emotion and every would be philosopher would do well to always keep this in mind.