Logic for Everyone
Hi Skip,
On Tuesday evening Dr. Kearns introduced us to the “heart” and “core” of logic upon which, he explained, “everything else is hung.”
After reviewing the three “acts of the mind,” Dr. Kearns began our exploration of the formation of demonstrations, which is proper to logic as the art of reasoning. In the formation of a demonstration, we move from what is known through the senses to immaterial truth, which, though it is rooted in sense knowledge, is a wholly new knowledge of reality.
During Q&A, Dr. Kearns gave a precise example of a demonstration as follows:
Mankind has the capacity to know essences.
Anything that can know essences is rational.
Mankind is rational.
As Dr. Kearns explained, we will spend the rest of the course on this type of reasoning. By reviewing examples and forming demonstrations, we will build our logical capacity and perfect the gift that is most proper to mankind.
Here is the link to the article on fitness
that Dr. Kearns introduced us to this week. It will provide you with an opportunity to use what you have learned in class so far!
If the discussion of Darwinism and similar theories is a topic of interest for you, I recommend watching the ICC lecture, Darwin's Black Box with Dr. Michael Behe!
Finally, as I mentioned during class, July 1st marks the ICC's 15th birthday! To celebrate this occasion, we are asking members of our ICC family to step up and support this mission in a real way. Whether you are a committed monthly donor and would like to increase your commitment or are yet to make a pledge, your monthly support will help us plan responsibly for future growth. Together in Christ, we are building up the Church and ensuring that everyone has access to the Truth. Click here to support our mission!
In Christ,
—Father Hezekias
Skip,
I must say that at this point in the course I feel like I am in a wrestling match with my intellect. This kind of training in logic is hard, but I know that it will bear fruit if I persevere. If you have found our current reading on Syllogistic Logic challenging, keep struggling and ask the Lord for a special grace to see the truth more clearly and begin to win the "wrestling match"!
This past Tuesday, Dr. Kearns introduced us to the "parts of logic" as we move from certainty to uncertainty to error, in the pursuit of truth. Below are some notes that might help you grasp the complicated concepts we covered in Lesson 9.
The Parts of Logic:
1. Demonstration — Certain knowledge. Knowledge of the causes of things.
2. Dialectic — Probable knowledge. The use of probable evidence to reason to probable truth.
3. Rhetoric — Inquiry into truth when we do not have complete or probable evidence, often influenced by judgment of character.
4. Poetic — The art of storytelling. Inquiry through imagination and storytelling in light of no probable evidence or conflicting evidence.
5. Fallacies — Errors in reasoning.
After sharing these "parts of logic," Dr. Kearns proceeded to teach us more about "the three acts of the mind."
1. The 1st act of the mind is the simple grasp of what a thing is in its nature. For example, knowing that a door is a door. In this first act of the mind, we can abstract the nature of a thing from the particular instance which is before us.
2. The 2nd act of the mind is the act of building relationships between natures. For example, knowing that a door is brown. In this second act of the mind, we take the abstracted natures of things and form them together into a proposition.
3. The 3rd act of the mind is the act by which we reason to some further truth based upon the propositions formed in the 2nd act of the mind.
Go to your Traditional Logic course page ⇨
I don't know about you, but I am so thankful for Dr. Kearns’ clear and concise teaching on the process of intellection. As I mentioned at the end Tuesday's class, when we are learning about these concepts that are at the foundation of logic, we are learning truths about ourselves, about how God made us in His image and after His likeness. In this way, we can see that our study of logic is a gateway to revelation of God, and at the same time, a foundation from which we come to know how we are to act based upon who we were made to be. Truly, as Dr. Kearns has repeated many times, “logic is the art of all arts."
Finally, as promised, you can click here to revisit the very helpful website that Dr. Kearns walked us through on Tuesday and use it to deepen your grasp of syllogistic logic!
In Christ,
—Father Hezekias
Hi Skip,
This week’s class with Dr. Kearns was like drinking from a fire hose! Starting with the statement that “logic is the method of all methods,” Dr. Kearns proceeded to explain how logic is the art which perfects that which makes man to be what he is. It is, as Dr. Kearns put it “the art of all arts.”
Beginning with what we do know about reality, Dr. Kearns explained that we are called to wonder about what we do not know and thus begin our journey towards reasoning to the fullness of truth.
Introduced to the “three acts of the mind,” we learned how we move from sense knowledge or experiential knowledge to intellectual knowledge, combining concepts and forming propositions about that which we have not experienced. Among those “new truths” which we come to know through reason, Dr. Kearns explained that we form concepts regarding the nature of a thing, asking the question “what is it?” From this first inquiry we can ask the further question, “does it exist?” And having answered this second question, we can consider how it relates to other things. Finally, we can ask the most important question of all, “what causes that which we come to know to be the way that it is?” This final question is the most important and will eventually lead us to the perfection of knowledge.
This process of coming to know is what separates us from other animals and is, therefore, that which is the perfection of man. While other animals can use tools, communicate, and even work together, they are not able to move from sense knowledge to intellectual knowledge. Ultimately, what separates man from other animals is our ability to ask “why?” and to come to know the causes of things. When we are trained well in logic, therefore, it will impact every aspect of who we are, sharpening our highest faculty and helping us become everything that we were made to be.
As we move forward in this course, we will take a closer look at our process of reasoning, not only by learning how we come to know but also by intentionally forming arguments which will lead us to the highest part of logic, demonstration.
Go to your Traditional Logic course page ⇨
Please note that while we had a couple of weeks off from homework, Dr. Kearns has given us a reading assignment for this week. While we have the entire reading linked on the course page, this week’s assignment is to read only section 2.1 – 2.2. We'll work through the remainder of the chapter over the next few weeks. The reading is not easy but I promise that it will bear fruit if you stick with it!
In Christ,
—Father Hezekias
Hi Skip,
I hope you enjoyed the appetizers! We have now completed a third of our logic course and are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work. This past Tuesday, Dr. Kearns gave us a fast-paced review of the "lessons learned" so far in this course. Here is a summary of Dr. Kearns' seven lessons:
1. Realize that the past does "shape" us and those with whom we speak.
2. We need to master our emotions when we consider reality and respond to others.
3. Understanding and appreciating another’s perspective is absolutely necessary in genuine dialogue.
4. People, including ourselves, tend to hold tightly to what they already believe to be true, so be willing to see what is true and right in what another person holds.
5. Respect others even if they hold to ideas which are obviously illogical.
6. What a person likes is tied up with what they think is good. Find out what the other person likes to better understand why they think something is good.
7. Many judgments have emotional components to them. Be attentive to this when listening and responding to another’s perspective.
Go to your Traditional Logic course page ⇨
After sharing these valuable lessons with us, Dr. Kearns shared the reading assignment for Lesson 9 (which we'll be covering in a couple of weeks) and asked us to do a cursory reading of the entire text so as to familiarize ourselves with it. It is not an easy read and will require learning new vocabulary, but it will be very valuable to us as we take it piece by piece during the coming weeks.
And finally, Dr. Kearns introduced us to an OPTIONAL web tool called LogiCola, which is linked toward the bottom of the course page. LogiCola is an outdated but helpful program that may be difficult to load on certain computers (Apple users will be unable to use this program). Please do not be frustrated if you find LogiCola difficult to use. It is not an essential part of this course.
For Certificate Track students, there is no quiz this week. Enjoy the time off!
In Christ,
—Father Hezekias
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