Introduction to Logic and

Reasoning

Lecture: 1
Logic and Reasoning
Dr. Muhammad Ali
What is Logic?
• Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and
informal logic.
• The word "logic" originates from the Greek word "logos", which has a
variety of translations, such as reason, discourse, or language. Logic is
traditionally defined as the study of the laws of thought or correct
reasoning, and is usually understood in terms of inferences or
arguments.
Laws of thought
• Generally they are taken as laws that guide and underlie everyone's
thinking, thoughts, expressions, discussions, etc.
Correct Reasoning
• A mental activity that aims to arrive at a conclusion in a rigorous way.
Inference
• Two possible definitions of "inference" are:
1. A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.
2. The process of reaching such a conclusion
Arguments
• An argument is a series of sentences, statements or propositions
some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion.
• The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via
justification, explanation, and/or persuasion.
• Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or logical
truths. It studies how conclusions follow from premises due to the
structure of arguments alone, independent of their topic and content.
• Informal logic is associated with informal fallacies, critical thinking,
and argumentation theory. It examines arguments expressed in
natural language
• When used as a countable noun, the term "a logic" refers to a logical
formal system that articulates a proof system. Logic plays a central
role in many fields, such as philosophy, mathematics, computer
science, and linguistics.
Discussion