I came across this encomium to logic and thought it was very worthy of a post:
Logic is very beneficial because it frees our minds from faulty reasoning. It is with ease that I can praise logic, because of its obvious design: to use our intellectual powers correctly and to improve others and ourselves. In this essay I will praise logic because of its expediency to mankind. Reason has made the minds of men clear, even in the most difficult and stressful situations. Logic is the best tool we can use to reach the truth; therefore, it should be held in high esteem.
To have rational and truthful arguments we must first discuss and critique them with others; thus, communication is the “nation” in which reason dwells. To communicate our ideas we must use syllogisms and arguments. Although God did not create logic, it is an attribute of Him. Because man was made in God’s image, reason is reflected in the minds of people.
The goal of logic is to service mankind. When one gains reason, his character is strengthened and he turns from any faulty ideas he may have had. As a result, right judgments about common and sacred ideas are produced.
Logic does a triumphant deed in a world that is filled with fallacies. It vindicates and defends the truth in order to sort out reality from fabrication. Once someone has mastered logic, he can do this.
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Logic is the stairwell up to the truth. Each rational action dutifully enables one to think more clearly in his pursuit after truth.
The learned and prudent are made wise and insightful through reason. For the rest of their days they will carry these qualities because the Lord granted these attributes to the men who love learning.
Who would compare false rhetoric to logic? This kind of “flattery”, as Plato callsn it, may draw people over to the rhetorician’s point of view, but it does not reveal any of the truth that reason brings. Just as outward beauty and vanity are worthless compared to inner beauty and truth, so false rhetoric is rubbish compared to logic.
Though many more things could be said about the magnificence of logic, it is here that I will end my praise.
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Logic does a triumphant deed in a world that is filled with fallacies. It vindicates and defends the truth in order to sort out reality from fabrication. Once someone has mastered logic, he can do this.
Logic is the stairwell up to the truth. Each rational action dutifully enables one to think more clearly in his pursuit after truth.
The learned and prudent are made wise and insightful through reason. For the rest of their days they will carry these qualities because the Lord granted these attributes to the men who love learning.
Who would compare false rhetoric to logic? This kind of “flattery”, as Plato calls it, may draw people over to the rhetorician’s point of view, but it does not reveal any of the truth that reason brings. Just as outward beauty and vanity are worthless compared to inner beauty and truth, so false rhetoric is rubbish compared to logic.
Though many more things could be said about the magnificence of logic, it is here that I will end my praise.
Matthew Lee Anderson
Matthew Lee Anderson is an Associate Professor of Ethics and Theology in Baylor University's Honors College. He has a D.Phil. in Christian Ethics from Oxford University, and is a Perpetual Member of Biola University's Torrey Honors College. In 2005, he founded Mere Orthodoxy.
