Relevance of Logic to Nation Building

Logic (definition) is the art/science of good reasoning (arguments or inferences). Reasoning is a species or kind of thinking that aims at a conclusion. Thus good reasoning is thinking well that aims at a conclusion.(Aristotle: A horse is an animal. Therefore the head of a horse is the head of an animal.) Thus Logic is the study of arguments. More specifically, logic is the study of the criteria for distinguishing good arguments from bad arguments

Logic is the study of propositions and their use in argumentation. Study of inference and argument

Logic is important because it delimits a class of problems which can reliably be solved by computers, and which therefore can be handed over to the global network for solution without human checking of the results or comprehension of the methods. It is a large class of problems, since it encompasses all mathematical problems, and also superficially non-logical problems in the fields of engineering and science, once necessary modeling assumptions are made explicit. It is a class which computer networks could be trusted to solve.

The most immediate and obvious benefit from such a study is that it can allow you to improve the quality of the arguments you use. When you create logically unsound arguments, you are much less likely to convince people that you have a valid point to make, or get them to agree with you

A second and closely related benefit will be an improved ability to evaluate the arguments of others. When you can identify bad arguments, it will be easier for you to free yourself from beliefs which are not well founded. It also allows you to challenge people making claims which you think are suspect, but you would otherwise have difficulty in explaining why. That won't always be easy, because we often have a heavy emotional and psychological investment in some beliefs, regardless of their validity. Still, having such tools at your disposal can only aid you in this process.

Logic is the study of necessary truths and of systematic methods for clearly expressing and rigorously demonstrating such truths

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Generally, our decision making involves the mind (or the brain) sensory mechanism, perception, cognition and the expression of results. We often will feel, perceive, think, remember and reason in an adaptive conscious and unconscious manner. In our daily lives, when we are faced with problems or just a situation which require a decision, we are often reminded to apply logic and reasoning for the most desired results. Hence, this is a basic reason why logic and reason are so essential in our lives. But there are other reasons. The emphasis we are often reminded of is the theoretical, philosophical or moral in our decisions Ð'- Decision Support Systems at http://danpatch.ecn.purdue.edu.

Logic is generally based on deduction which is a method of exact inference. It is a study of correct reasoning that consist of language and reasoning. Reasoning practically in our daily lives involves deciding what to do and when successful, issuing in an intention. Importantly, we are to remember that a problem of reasoning about actions is given in terms of an initial situation, a terminal situation, a set of feasible actions, a set of constraints and such alike. Our task in a situation, such as, for example, whether to take an air flight or the train to visit families this Thanksgiving Day, is to find the best acceptable sequence of permissible events and actions that will enable us to move from just planning the journey to actually accomplishing by arriving for Thanksgiving. As we take each step by step thought and action, we are reminded to do so logically and with good reasoning for the best results Ð'- Reasoning at www.aaai.org.

In addition, we often apply common sense in our daily routine. Common sense determines what we do, regardless of what we think. Common sense is a key factor for acting in our real world. For if we use logic alone, we would probably be able to take only a few actions a day. Common sense helps us to deal with the complexity of the real world. Common sense provides a shortcut to making critical decisions very quickly. An applying common sense sometimes will produce the desired results when we need to make a decision quickly, but not always Ð'- Common Sense: Engineering the Mind at www.thymos.com.

When faced with moral questions in our daily lives, sometimes we act instinctively and sometimes we pause to reason about what we ought to do. But we are to be more consistent in our thinking and actions. If we are faced with a situation of great importance, such as whether to accept what some refer to as a dangerous job like fire-fighting or policing, or to attend college instead, there are normally three possibilities that are to be explored to discover alternative decision-making solutions. They are: The possibility that the situation circumstances may be comparable to others we have faced, but since dissatisfaction occurred with the results of actions in those previous cases, our decision may necessitate investigating other alternatives;

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