Logic as the Gold Standard of Thought

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Subsection 1.1.1 Logic as the Gold Standard of Thought

In everyday conversation, we say things like:

That’s logical.

When we say that, we mean that what we’ve just heard makes sense in some way. It generally means that we accept the conclusion.

We also say things like:

Where’s the logic in that?

When we say that, we mean that we’re not convinced by what we’ve just heard.

In the second episode of season 4 of Downton Abbey, Branson, who was born to a working class family, but married into an aristocratic one, is baffled when some fancy-folks rule is explained to him by the dowager countess. He asks where the logic is in the rules. She replies, “If I were to search for logic, I’d not forage among the English upper class.”

We may not have formalized what we mean by the term, “logic”, but we know that it is the basis for arguments that convince others and that sensibly serve as the basis for action.