BACKGROUND OF LOGIC

Compiled by: Dr. Clive Alvyn Ocon

In abandoning a part of its dogmatic pretensions,

Philosophy does not cease to suggest
and inspire a way of life.

-Bertrand Russell
 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Socrates once claimed that Philosophy
started from a simple process called
WONDERING.

By simple act of asking questions and by finding

answers to the queries of ancient people of Greece,
they advanced into real men of intelligence.
The Milesian philosopher named Thales
(ca. 624-5.47 BC) was regarded by
Aristotle to be the first to make a
philosophical articulation regarding the
basic stuff of the .universe. His idea of
water or moist to be the first principle of
life inspired other Greeks to find more
answers and formulated new concepts
which were solely based on the dictum
popularized by Socrates which was
"Know thy self'.
 DEFINITION OF PHILOSOPHY
Etymologically speaking, the word
philosophy is derived from two Greek
words "philos" which means "loving"
and "sophia" which means "wisdom".
Henceforth, philosophy is taken in
general as a love of wisdom.
In its general nature, philosophy is taken as a science of
the ultimate awareness of things with reference to their
causes and effects.
Philosophy opens man's
intellectual cravings. It
makes man know more
about himself and the rest of the world. It gives man
a chance to speculate about the things that can and
will affect him. As long as man exists, philosophy will
always offer him a chance to develop himself both
intellectually and materially.
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
The branches of philosophy are taken as proof for the
emerging nature of philosophical diversity. Among these
commonly known branches are:
 DEFINITION OF LOGIC
Logic is the study of the fundamental
principles which govern the true nature of
correct inferential thinking.

The correctness or incorrectness of thinking is not

the sole concern of logic but also the rules and
guidelines that go with it.

Consider these arguments.

All senators are politicians.

No senators are congressmen.
Ergo, no congressmen are politicians.

All nurses are health-care professionals.

Some nurses are Filipinos.
Ergo, some Filipinos are health-care
professionals.
 HISTORY OF LOGIC
Aristotle (ca. 384-322 BC) who is
regarded as the Father of Logic.
Organon became the bible for
logical study during the Medieval
and up to the modern times.

Theophrastus of Lesbos (372?- 287 sc), the

student of Aristotle added a treatise entitled
Hypothetical Reasoning
Porphyry, on the other hand; was the Neoplatonist
who wrote an introduction to the Categories of
Aristotle which is sometimes referred to as Isagoge
Boethius (circa 480-524) has translated the
Organon of Aristotle from Greek to Latin
 HISTORY OF LOGIC
Avicenna and Averroes both wrote some
commentaries about the nature of the traditional
logic.
St. Thomas Aquinas introduced the logical ideas of
Aristotle to the Christian world.
Francis Bacon wrote Novum If a man will begin
Organum, a criticism to Aristotelian with certainties, he
logic and introduced a new tool for will end in doubts;
rational mind which is called But if he will be
Inductive Reasoning which he content to begin
with doubts, he will
referred to as Scientific Method. end in certainties.
John Stuart Mill, in his book System Logic made
an explanation by using the same kind of reasoning
and eventually provided the empirical sciences with
sets of formula and criteria to serve their purpose.
 PEDAGOGICAL NATURE OF LOGIC
Logic is to train the thinking mind toward the
formulation of arguments necessary for the study
of their coherence, truthfulness and validity.

As an introduction to the Aristotle claims that logic

study of philosophy, logic prepares man to a more
guides the mind toward comprehensive study of
the attainment of correct other sciences. Thus, it
and valid inferences. is in this context that
Through its rules and logic is regarded as a
guidelines the mind tool to other sciences.
lessens its possibility of
creating erroneous acts
and with the creation of
logical concepts the mind
is able to grasp the
essence of truth.
 OBJECTS OF LOGIC
The Aristotelian logic is concerned with
two essential components which are
material object and formal object.
Material Object refers to the content of
the mind known as the "thought".
Everything that the mind grasps whether
sensible or intelligible is connected to the
material object of logic.

Formal Object refers to the correctness

of the thought. The mind in its desire to
study the correctness of the thought
ultimately will succumb td the
scrupulous study of logical analysis. The
essence of inferential thinking is
manifested in the realm of formal object.
 STRUCTURES OF LOGIC
Pierre de la Ramee (1515-1572) criticism on
Aristotelian has resulted in the introduction of the
three-fold activity of the mind. These Simple
Apprehension which is regarded as the first mental
operation, Judgment which is the second mental
operation and Reasoning which is the third mental
operation.

MENTAL MENTAL MENTAL

OPERATION PRODUCT SIGN

Simple
Apprehension Concept Term

Judgment Enunciation Proposition

Reasoning Argument Syllogism

LOGIC AS ARS ARTIUM (THE ART OF ART)
Bachhubber (1966), claims that Logic is the art
of art or ars artium.
Why is logic the art of art?
If art concerns with skill then logic is also an art since logic deals
with correct use of inferential thinking by following the principles
and rules that go with it. Anyone who avoids falling into the snare
of incorrect thinking automatically becomes skillful and eventually
argues with a sense of confidence and authority.

To create a work of art, an artist must rely on

his or her vivid imagination. Logic trains the
mind in thinking and judging correctly so as to
execute his imagination in an orderly fashion
and thereby creating a true masterpiece.
By guiding man's reason toward a constructive activity like in art,
logic manifests to be the art of arts. Formerly, logic is considered
as a liberal art because its objective is to free man from his
intellectual impediments like falling into error or making false
decision.
 LOGIC AS SCIENTIA SCIENTIARUM
(SCIENCE OF SCIENCE)
If science is understood to be a
systematized body of knowledge
then logic is the science of
science since it presents some
principles which are necessary for
the attainment of correct and valid
inferences in a systematic way.
From a simple way of conceiving, an idea is produced and
manifested through oral and written form called the term.
This is the nature of Simple Apprehension. From this, the
mind will learn to compare terms in order to elicit relationship
from them and thus create later on an act of judging which is
either affirmative or negative. This is to be done through the
second mental operation that is judgment. From the series of
propositions the creation of inference necessitates a
comparison of two or more propositions which are taken in
the form of syllogism. This leads to the last mental operation
which is reasoning.