Logic - The Toolbox

Before we can build a worldview, we need tools. In philosophy, our hammer and saw are Logic.

You can have the most beautiful, poetic thoughts in the world, but if your logic is flawed, your philosophy is just poetry (no offense to poets).

In philosophy, an argument isn't a shouting match. It's a set of statements (premises) intended to determine the degree of truth of another statement (the conclusion).

The Standard Form:

1. Premise 1: All humans are mortal.
2. Premise 2: Socrates is a human.
3. Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

This is where 90% of internet debates fail.

• Validity: If the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. The structure is correct.
• Soundness: The argument is valid AND the premises are actually true.

Example of a VALID but UNSOUND argument:

1. All toasters are time machines. (False premise)
2. This object is a toaster. (True premise)
3. Therefore, this object is a time machine. (Valid logic, but garbage conclusion because Premise 1 is false).

• Deductive: Top-down. If premises are true, the conclusion is certain (like the Socrates example).
• Inductive: Bottom-up. Observation to pattern. The conclusion is probable, not certain. (e.g., "The sun has risen every day of my life, therefore it will rise tomorrow." High probability, but not logically guaranteed by the premises alone).

1. The Website: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) - Logic

• Generally more accessible than the SEP for beginners.

2. The Book:

• "A Rulebook for Arguments" by Anthony Weston.
• It's short, cheap, and essential. It breaks down how to write and assess arguments without 500 pages of theory.

Next time, we ask: How do we know anything at all? (Epistemology).