Book

McInerny, Dennis Q.

Being logical : a guide to good thinking / D.Q. McInerny.

1st ed.

New York : Random House, ©2004.

xvi, 137 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

"Whether regarded as a science, an art, or a skill - and it can properly be regarded as all three - logic is the basis of our ability to think, analyze, argue, and communicate. Indeed, logic goes to the very core of what we mean by human intelligence. In this book, Professor D.Q. McInerny offers a guide to using logic to advantage in everyday life. Written explicitly for the layperson, McInerny's Being Logical promises to take its place beside Strunk and White's The Elements of Style as a classic of lucid, invaluable advice." "In Being Logical, D.Q. McInerny breaks logic down to its essentials through clear analysis, accessible examples, and focused insights. Whether you are a student or a teacher, a professional honing your career skills or a generalist devoted to the fine points of thought and expression, you are sure to find Being Logical an invaluable guide to reasoning."--Jacket.

Logic.

Reasoning.

Thought and thinking.

Includes index.

Preparing the mind for logic -- The basic principles of logic -- Argument : the language of logic -- The sources of illogical thinking -- The principal forms of illogical thinking.

Part One: Preparing the mind for logic -- Be attentive -- Get the facts straight -- Ideas and the objects of ideas -- Be mindful of the origins of ideas -- Match ideas to facts -- Match words to ideas -- Effective communication -- Avoid vague and ambiguous language -- Avoid evasive language -- Truth -- Part Two: The basic principles of logic -- First principles -- Real gray areas, manufactured gray areas -- There's an explanation for everything, eventually -- Don't stop short in the search for causes -- Distinguish among causes -- Define your terms -- The categorical statement -- Generalizing -- Part Three: Argument: the language of logic -- Founding an argument -- The move from universal to particular -- The move from particular to universal -- Predication -- Negative statements -- Making comparisons -- Comparison and argument -- Sound argument -- Conditional argument -- Syllogistic argument -- The truth of premises -- The relevancy of premises -- Statements of fact, statements of value -- Argumentative form -- Conclusions must reflect quanitity of premises -- Conclusions must reflect quality of premises -- Inductive argument -- Assessing argument -- Constructing an argument -- Part Four: The sources of illogical thinking -- Skepticism -- Evasive agnosticism -- Cynicism and naive optimism -- Narrow-mindedness -- Emotion and argument -- The reason for reasoning -- Argumentation is not quarreling -- The limits of sincerity -- Common sense -- Part Five: The principal forms of illogical thinking -- Denying the antecedent -- Affirming the consequent -- The undistributed middle term -- Equivocation -- Begging the question -- False assumptions -- The straw-man fallacy -- Using and abusing tradition -- Two wrongs don't make a right -- The democratic fallacy -- Substituting for the force of reason -- The uses and abuses of expertise -- The quantifying of quality -- Consider more than the source -- Stopping short at analysis -- Reductionism -- Misclassification -- The red herring -- Laughter as diversionary tactic -- Tears as diversionary tactic -- An inability to disprove does not prove -- The false dilemma -- Post hoc ergo propter hoc -- Special pleading -- The fallacy of expediency -- Avoiding conclusions -- Simplistic reasoning -- Afterword.

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Contributor biographical information

Publisher description

2003058779

1400061717

9781400061716

1400061717

53091068

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