逻辑学英文论文

The Application of Logic Methods in Daily Life

【Abstract】 This paper centers on application of logic methods in daily life. Logic is a kind of practical subject, so it is very useful in our daily life for it can help us to solve some problems and it can make our life more colourful. There are many logic methods we can apply in our daily life.

【Key Words】 logic methods; daily life; application

It is universally accepted that logic is an abstract subject, and many people think it is difficult. But as far as I am concerned, logic is not as abstruse as they think. As a matter of fact, logic is interesting and significative. In spite of these logic professional terms which we are unfamiliar with, we can learn many useful logic methods. Actually, there are lots of application of logic methods in our daily life, no matter you find or not.

In daily life, logic can help us to boost our thinking level of analyzing alternatives and the level that we express our mind precisely, and also, it is able to cultivate our critical thinking. A person who knows logic would use logic methods to figure out problems well and truely by himself. But this manifestation is unintentional, he don not have to think a logic method before do something, for he keeps logic thinking methods in his mind,and he knows how to use them. Correspondingly, those who don’t know logic or who can’t use logic methods will face many problems, even making stupid mistakes.

In this paper, I will introduce two or three application of logic methods in daily life by meas of some storys.

The first one is about hypothetical judgment.

During a pary, a newspaper repoter, a mate teacher and a student were discussing a question. The repoter raised a question, “ When two and three is not five? ” The teacher askeded, “ Is it a relative number or a absolute number? ” The repoter answered, “ It is just a generic number. ” Then the math teacher was put on the spot, didn’t know how to answer. At this time, the student said, “ Two cats and three mice is not three.” “ No concrete number”, the repoter had authority for the interpretation. The teacher and the student thougth various kinds of answers, but they were all negative by the repoter. At last, the two people had to give the battle. “ If one and one is not two, then two and three is not five.” The repoter announced.

The answer seemed ridiculous, but it applied hypothetical judgment under adequate conditions.

It is known that “Two and three is not five” is a false judgment, to make this hypothetical judgment under adequate conditions that is made up by this topic as consequent become a true judgment, then it is necessary that the first component is also a false judgment. As a result, in order to answer the repoter’s question, put forward a homologous false judgment as first component and regard “Two and three is not five ” as consequent, and finally combine them together as a hypothetical judgment under adequate conditions, and it is accomplished.Hence, the answer is not only “ If one and one is not two, then two and three is not five.”, we also can exchange “ One and one is not two.” with “ Two and two is five.” or “ Two and two is five.” and so on.

As we can see, this logic method— hypothetical judgment under adequate conditions teaches us think in another way rather than the conventional way. When you grasp this mode of thinking, you can solve those problems that seem odd. It is not the answer but the mode of thinking that really matters.

And now let’s an incident between two of my friends. There is another application of logic method.

John fell in love with Ami, and one day he invited Ami to have dinner the next day. Ami said she was busy these days for her examinations, so if the next day is not rainny, she wiould go to the library for some important books. The next day, it was rainny, John was very happy because he thought Ami won’t go to the library. So he called Ami for dinner, however, Ami said she was in the libeary reading books and she would come back very late. John was very depressed and angry. He insisted that Ami cheated him and didn’t keep her words.

Now let us think, did Ami go back on her words? As a metter of fact, she didn’t do anything wrong but it was John’s illogical inference that misled himself. We can sort out John’s train of thought, it was a sufficient conditions of hypothetical reasoning:

If it is not rainny, Ami will go to the library;

It is rainny today;

So Ami will not go to the library.

Nevertheless, the reasoning is inconsequential in fact, for it breaks the rule that sufficient conditions of hypothetical reasoning must observe. We all know only when a sufficient conditions of hypothetical reasoning strictly adhere to the following two rules, it is true.

1. If you want to affirm first component, you must affirm consequent; if you want to deny first componen, you can not deny consequent.

2. If you want to deny consequent, you must deny first component; if you want to affirm consequent, you can not affirm first component.

Now we can see clearly, John broke the first rule. He denied consequent through denying first componen, then he came to the conclusion that Ami won’t go to the library. This was not logiclly. Ami only said “ If it is not rainny, I will go to the library.” but she didn not say “ If it is rainny, I will not go to the library.” So, Ami did not break her promise, it just because John did not reason logiclly.

We can find the importance of logic methods through this story, which will help us to

understand others’ words. Or we maight misunderstand others.

The third story I want to share is about law of contradiction. There is a legend in history of science. A young man wanted to work in Edison’s laboratory, Edison granted an interview to this young man, and then the yong man said with confidence, “ I want to invent a almighty liquor, which can dissolve everything. ” Edison asked in surprise, “ Then what container do you want to place this liquor? It can disslove everything! ” At this time the young man was rendered speechless. This young man’s idea included logical contradiction that cant not be overcome, and it violated the logical requirement of law of contradiction.

Law of contradiction is one of basic laws of formal logic, which means that two contradictory thoughts can not be true at the same time. Therefore, in the process of thinking, we can not affirm one thing and deny the same thing, we shouldn’t contradict oueselves,which is really ridiculous. To avoid this situation, we had better think everything in all directions.

The last story I want to say is about dilemma reasoning. What’s dilemma reasoning? It is a reasoning that is made up of two hypothetical judgements and a disjunctive judgement which includes two disjunctive limbs, and it is a comprehensive application of conditional Inference and disjunctive reasoning. It sounds very abstract, so I will explain it through an interesting story.

Long long ago, there was a king in ancient Greek who wanted to put a batch of prisoners to death. At that time, these prisoners could choose a kind of way of death from two choices: behead and hanging. The king had an idea, he let these peisoners say a word, which needed to be judged true or false, if the prisoner told truth, then he would be hanged; if the prisoner told falsehood, he would be chopped off the head. As a result, lots of people were hanged for truth or were chopped off the head for falsehood among these prisoners. However, there was a young man said, “ You will chop off my head.” After hearing this word, the king was in a dilemmma. At last, the king released

the prisoner. How did the young clever prisoner make it? Because he used a dilemma reasoning. If the king chopped off his head, then the king broke his quondam appoint, for the person who told truth should be hanged; if the king hunged the young man, then the king broke his quondam appoint, too, for the person who told falsehood should be chopped off his head. The yong prisoner should be hanged or chopped off his head, but in any case, the king brokr his promise. So the king only had to release the young prisoner.

The above stories are the embody of logic methods in daily life, we can see that logic is not far away from our life. Using the knowledge of reasoning accurately can help us to improve the veracity that we think things and solve problems, and it also make oue life more convenient. Logic methods in daily life is everywhere, all we should do is to find them and experience them by heart.

In the garden we mankind live, logic is a beautiflul flower, which roots in our thought. When we think things and solve problems, we use logic methods to bring our intelligence and wisdom into play. Life is like a river, flowing slowly; logic is like the fishes in the river, swimming in it. Because of the existence of fishes, the river is more comely. We may think we can also live well without logic, but once there is no logic in our life, our life will be in a terrible mess, and we can not live, let alone live with interest. In essence, logic thought is companying with human beings, and it

permeate in our life, everywhere and anytime. Logic is like air, we don not have to deliberately to use it but we surely live with it. When we talk, when we write, we use logic methods to express ourselves clearly in order to avoid be misunderstood by others.

British philosopher Francis Bacon once said, “ Histories make men wise ; poems witty; the mathematics subtle; natural philosophy deep ; moral grave ; logic and rhetoric able to contend .” As he said, logic is a subject that can make us become more intelligent.

With logic methods, we can distinguish and defeat all kinds of fallacy and sophistry, we can find more spices in daily life, we can solve more problems by ourselves.

In a word, the application of logic methods in daily life is everywhere, we need to find them and learn from them. Then we will find our life become more interesting.

【references】

http://wendang.chazidian.com/link?url=L11_cIIYJiEUsOcIfNMDreUiALxSE4T6hMqbWVD3Qf41Fe8xeWX1MEWnex7V_QBSBof97RYHhnXL_AINB6-hbxzXIm8yEj71sWBeNW_H-de