File Format | PDF
File Size | 2.37 MB
Pages | 159
Language | English
Category | NLP
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Description: Whether regarded
as a science, an art, or a skill–and it can properly be regarded as all
three–logic is the basis of our ability to think, analyze, argue, and
communicate. Indeed, logic goes to the very core of what we mean by human
intelligence. In this concise, crisply readable book, distinguished professor
D. Q. McInerny offers an indispensable guide to using logic to advantage in
everyday life. Written explicitly for the layperson, McInerny’s Being Logical
promises to take its place beside Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style as a
classic of lucid, invaluable advice.
As McInerny
notes, logic is a deep, wide, and wonderfully varied field, with a bearing on
every aspect of our intellectual life. A mastery of logic begins with an
understanding of right reasoning–and encompasses a grasp of the close kinship
between logical thought and logical expression, a knowledge of the basic terms
of argument, and a familiarity with the pitfalls of illogical thinking.
Accordingly, McInerny structures his book in a series of brief, penetrating
chapters that build on one another to form a unified and coherent introduction
to clear and effective reasoning.
At the heart of
the book is a brilliant consideration of argument–how an argument is founded
and elaborated, how it differs from other forms of intellectual discourse, and
how it critically embodies the elements of logic. McInerny teases out the
subtleties and complexities of premises and conclusions, differentiates
statements of fact from statements of value, and discusses the principles and
uses of every major type of argument, from the syllogistic to the conditional.
In addition, he provides an incisive look at illogical thinking and explains
how to recognize and avoid the most common errors of logic.
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Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking