Logic: Part 6

Informal logic is the technical name for Critical Thinking. This form of logic has many aspects and practical applications as you will see.

Language plays a fundamental role in reasoning. Understanding how language influences our reasoning is foundational to understanding reasoning itself.

Classification is the organizing of different things into separate classes according to similarities and differences. It helps us understand the relationship between things.

Definitions describes what a word means by genus, species, and differentia. Webster was the first. Definitions are subordinate to languages.

Argument – we speak of the use of them around us. This is the stuff you would learn if you where on the debate team. I played football and lived like a heathen - so had to learn it much later. Four aspects are important to note: (1) Recognizing Arguments – what you need to do before you can evaluate them critically; My granddad called it have a ‘BS sniffer’ (he never told me what BS stood for, I say Bachelors of science) (2) Argument Diagramming – a neat method for laying out reasoning in a visual way; (3) Argument Evaluation, which includes general methods for analyzing what other people say; and (4) Argumentation, which includes methods for creating your own logical arguments.

Problem Solving is the method for solving complex puzzles.

Logical Fallacies – known now as marketing strategies (j/k) Logical fallacies are common errors we all make in our reasoning. Many teachers for thousands of years have tried to help ordinary people learn how to recognize these fallacies. Informal Logic