por What is natural logic?
The natural logic It is a type of personal reasoning, based on previous experiences, which allows one to discern between what is true and what is false, without the need to resort to the help of science, or the reasoning of other people. For this reason, it is also called spontaneous logic.
Logic is a science that studies the principles of valid inference and demonstration. The term logic derives from the Greek λογική, logikḗwhose meaning is “endowed with reason, intellectual, dialectical, argumentative”.
Natural logic is an essential part of the person, it is unique and unrepeatable, as well as each individual. Therefore, it is a very personal way of reasoning, based on knowledge and previous experiences that belong to each one, and even also on instincts.
definition of logic
To better understand what natural logic is, it is necessary to first establish the concept of logic. The particle logos of the term logic means «thought, treatise, word, idea, reason or principle».
Logic is a formal science like mathematics, because it investigates the foundations that determine why some inferences are acceptable and others are not.
It is based on inference, which is the process by which conclusions are drawn from certain premises. An inference is considered to be acceptable because of its logical structure, not because of the argument used or the language used.
Just as for biology the object of study is life in all its forms, for logic the object of study is inference and correct reasoning. Through the process of inference, conclusions based on premises are obtained.
Apart from inferences, logic is also responsible for the study of paradoxes, fallacies and the notion of truth.
natural logic process
Natural logic seeks to make formal reasoning in a natural language and in the form of proof, making use of the syntactic structure and semantic properties in the construction of the language.
In other words, it goes a little beyond the classic “who did what to whom” structure to generate additional inferences based on that information.
Likewise, natural logical thinking is a pragmatic means that human beings use daily to solve everyday problems or make decisions.
It is a process of spontaneous personal elaboration, which arises from the observation of the environment, from the knowledge acquired and individual experience, from the comparison and classification of objects or life situations.
All these elements generate in the individual the process of deduction and inference to reason, argue, prove or justify reasoning.
Characteristics of natural logic
It does not require previous studies or analysis of the process or the environment to reason correctly.
Natural logic is, in essence, common sense.
It is necessary to resolve issues of people’s daily lives.
It is a type of natural and accurate reasoning that people possess by nature.
It is a process that is carried out spontaneously and permanently, unlike scientific logic, which is a conscious process.
Examples of natural logic
When going outside and looking at the sky, if gray clouds are observed and there is also a smell of rain, logical thought indicates that it is better to take out the umbrella because it is going to rain.
When I go many hours without eating my stomach hurts. It means I’m hungry. In the morning, there was an accident on the subway, which will cause classes to start later because teachers and students will not arrive on time. The dining tables and chairs are used for people to eat comfortably seated. If there is smoke in the air and the horizon looks reddish in the distance, there is probably a fire.
References
Moss, L. Natural Logic. Retrieved from indiana.edu.
Natural Logic. Retrieved from phil.pku.edu.cn.