Category: Philosophy & Ethics
"Reasoning" is defined as: "The act, process or art of exercising the faculty of reason; the act or faculty of employing reason in argument; argumentation, ratiocination; reasoning power; disputation, discussion, argumentation." Stewart says: "The word _reason_ itself is far f...
A _Fallacy_ is: "An unsound argument or mode of arguing, which, while appearing to be decisive of a question, is in reality not so; an argument or proposition apparently sound,...
6. CHAPTER VI.In logic the words _concept_ and _term_ are practically identical, but in the popular usage of the terms there is a distinct difference. This difference is warranted, if we depa...
14. CHAPTER XIV.The older philosophers and logicians were often at a loss how to reasonably account for the origin of hypotheses. It will be seen, after giving the matter a little thought, that...
15. CHAPTER XV.We have seen that there are two great classes of reasoning, known respectively, as (1) Inductive Reasoning, or the discovery of general truth from particular truths; and (2) Ded...
3. CHAPTER III.In considering the process of thinking, we must classify the several steps or stages of thought that we may examine each in detail for the purpose of comprehending them combined...
17. CHAPTER XVII.The authorities in Logic hold that with the four kinds of propositions grouped in every possible order of arrangement, it is possible to form nineteen different kinds of valid a...
4. CHAPTER IV.Having observed the several steps or stages of a concept, let us now consider the use and misuse of the latter. At first glance it would appear difficult to misuse a concept, bu...
16. CHAPTER XVI.The third and highest phase or step in reasoning--the step which follows after those styled Conception and Judgment--is generally known by the general term "Reasoning," which te...
12. CHAPTER XII.The term "Induction," in its logical usage, is defined as follows: "(a) The process of investigating and collecting facts; and (b) the deducing of an inference from these facts;...
7. CHAPTER VII.Every term has its _meaning_, or _content_, as some authorities prefer to call it. The word or words of which the term is composed are merely vocal sounds, serving as a symbol f...
11. CHAPTER XI.Inductive Reasoning, as we have said, is the process of discovering general truth from particular truths, or inferring general laws from particular facts. Thus, from the experie...
9. CHAPTER IX.In Logic, a _Proposition_ is: "A sentence, or part of a sentence, affirming or denying a connection between the terms; limited to express assertions rather than extended to ques...
5. CHAPTER V.As we have said, a concept cannot be imaged--cannot be used as the subject of a mental image. This statement is perplexing to the student who has been accustomed to the idea tha...
8. CHAPTER VIII.The first step in the process of reasoning is that of Conception or the forming of Concepts. The second step is that of Judgment, or the process of perceiving the agreement or d...
1. CHAPTER I."Reasoning" is defined as: "The act, process or art of exercising the faculty of reason; the act or faculty of employing reason in argument; argumentation, ratiocination; reason...
2. CHAPTER II.I. _Abstraction_, by which is meant the process of _drawing off_ and _setting aside_ from an object, person or thing, _a quality or attribute_, and making of it a distinct objec...
10. CHAPTER X.In the process of Judgment we must compare two concepts and ascertain their agreement of disagreement. In the process of Reasoning we follow a similar method and compare two jud...
18. CHAPTER XVIII.What is called Reasoning by Analogy is one of the most elementary forms of reasoning, and the one which the majority of us most frequently employ. It is a primitive form of hast...
13. CHAPTER XIII.A _Hypothesis_ is: "A supposition, proposition or principle _assumed or taken for granted_ in order to draw a conclusion or inference in proof of the point or question; a propos...