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Introduction

In the system of humanities logic has a special place, its importance cannot be overestimated. Logic helps to prove true conclusions and refute false ones; it teaches us to think clearly, concisely, correctly; it is the observance of its rules that protects us from erroneous conclusions. In fact, logic was created by Aristotle as a science that allows one to distinguish correct definitions and inferences from incorrect ones and thereby reveal errors in the reasoning and public speeches of speakers. Currently, interest in logic is caused by many circumstances, and primarily by a significant expansion of the sphere of logical knowledge, the specific area of application of which is law.

High requirements for lawmaking, law enforcement practice and legal theory also apply to the professional thinking of a lawyer and are relevant in a modern legal society. At the same time, being logically prepared, a lawyer will be able to accurately and convincingly build his arguments, identify inconsistencies in the testimony of victims, witnesses, suspects, and in written sources. Logic will help him convincingly refute the erroneous arguments of his opponents, correctly draw up a work plan, official documents, build investigative leads, etc.

Obviously, the study of logic by a lawyer cannot replace special legal knowledge. However, it helps every future lawyer become a good specialist in his field. No wonder the famous Russian lawyer A.F. Koni believed that an educated lawyer should be a person in whom general education comes before special education. And in the general education system, one of the leading places belongs to formal-logical preparation. That is why, according to the outstanding domestic teacher K.D. Ushinsky, logic should stand on the threshold of all sciences. At the same time, knowledge of the rules and laws of logic is not the ultimate goal of its study. Final goal studying logic - the ability to apply its rules and laws in the process of thinking.

1. The subject of logic as a science

Term « LOGICS» comes from ancient Greek word lpgykYu- “the science of reasoning”, “the art of reasoning” - from lgpt- which means “thought”, “mind”, “word”, “speech”, “reasoning”, “regularity”, and is currently used in three main meanings. Firstly, to designate any objective pattern in the interconnection of phenomena, for example, “logic of facts”, “logic of things”, “logic of history” and so on. Secondly, to designate patterns in the development of thought, for example, “logic of reasoning”, “logic of thinking” and so on. Thirdly, logic is the science of the laws of correct thinking. Let us consider logic in its final meaning.

Thinking is studied by many sciences: psychology, cybernetics, physiology and others. The peculiarity of logic is that its subject is the forms and methods of correct thinking. So, logics - This is the science of the methods and forms of correct thinking. The main type of thinking is conceptual (or abstract-logical). This is what logic studies, that is, the object of logic is abstract thinking.

Abstract thinking- this is the process of rational reflection of the objective world in concepts, judgments, conclusions, hypotheses, theories, which allows one to penetrate into the essence, into the natural connections of reality, and creatively transform it, first in theory, and then in practice.

As you know, all objects, phenomena and processes have both content and form. Our knowledge of form is quite diverse. Logical form is also understood in a variety of ways. Our thoughts are composed of certain meaningful parts. The way they are connected represents the form of thought.

So, various items are reflected in abstract thinking in the same way - as a certain connection of their essential features, that is, in the form of a concept. The form of judgments reflects the relationships between objects and their properties. Changes in the properties of objects and relationships between them are reflected in the form of inferences.

Consequently, each of the main forms of abstract thinking has something in common that does not depend on the specific content of thoughts, namely: the way of connecting the elements of thought - features in a concept, concepts in a judgment and judgments in an inference. The content of thoughts determined by these connections does not exist on its own, but in certain logical forms: concepts, judgments and conclusions, each of which has its own specific structure.

Take, for example, two statements: “Some lawyers are teachers” and “Some socially dangerous acts are crimes against the personal property of citizens.” Let's replace all their meaningful components with symbols. Let's say that what we think about is the Latin letter S, and what we think about S is the Latin letter P. As a result, in both cases we get the same elements of thought: “Some S are P.” This is the logical form of the above judgments. It is obtained as a result of abstraction from specific content.

Thus, logical form(or a form of abstract thinking) is a way of connecting the elements of thought, its structure, thanks to which the content exists and reflects reality.

In the real process of thinking, the content and form of thought exist in inextricable unity. There is no pure, formless content, no pure, contentless logical forms. For example, the above logical form of the proposition “Some S are P” still has some content. From it we learn that every object of thought, denoted by the letter S (subject), has a characteristic, denoted by the letter P (predicate). Moreover, the word “some” shows that the attribute P belongs only to part of the elements that make up the subject of thought. This is “formal content”.

However, for the purpose of special analysis, we can abstract from the specific content of a thought, making its form the subject of study. The study of logical forms, regardless of their specific content, is the most important task of the science of logic. Hence its name - formal.

It should be borne in mind that formal logic, while studying the forms of thinking, does not ignore its content. Forms, as has already been canceled, are filled with specific content and are associated with a very specific, specific subject area. Outside of this specific content, form cannot exist, and in itself does not determine anything from a practical point of view. The form is always meaningful, and the content is always formalized. The distinction between its truth and correctness is connected with these aspects of thinking. Truth refers to the content of thoughts, and correctness refers to their form.

Considering the truth of thinking, formal (two-valued) logic proceeds from the fact that truth is understood as the content of thought that corresponds to reality itself. The concept of “truth” in the legal sphere is closely related to the concept of “truth” (“I undertake to tell the truth and only the truth!”). Truthful is not only true, but also correct, honest, just. If the thought in its content does not correspond to reality, then it is false. From here truth of thinking- this is its fundamental property, manifested in the ability to reproduce reality as it is, to correspond to it in its content. A falsity- the property of thinking to distort this content, to pervert it.

Another important characteristic of thinking is its correctness. Correct thinking- this is its fundamental property, which also manifests itself in relation to reality. It means the ability of thinking to reproduce the objective structure of being in the structure of thought, to correspond to the actual relationships of objects and phenomena. Conversely, incorrect thinking means its ability to distort structural connections and relationships of being.

Formal logic is abstracted from the specific content of thoughts, and not on the content in general. Therefore, it takes into account the truth or falsity of the judgments being studied. However, she shifts the center of gravity to correct thinking. Moreover, the logical structures themselves are considered regardless of their logical content. Since the task of logic includes the analysis of precisely correct thinking, it is also called logical by the name of this science. Correct (logical) thinking has the following essential features or PROPERTIES: certainty, consistency, consistency and validity.

Certainty- this is the property of correct thinking to reproduce in the structure of thought the real signs and relationships of the objects and phenomena themselves, their relative stability. It finds its expression in the accuracy and clarity of thought, the absence of confusion and confusion in the elements of thought and the thoughts themselves.

Consistency- the property of correct thinking to avoid contradictions in the structure of thought that do not exist in the reflected reality. It manifests itself in the inadmissibility of logical contradictions in strict reasoning.

Subsequence- the property of correct thinking to reproduce by the structure of thought those structural connections and relationships that are inherent in reality itself, the ability to follow the “logic of things and events.” It is revealed in the consistency of thought with itself.

Validity there is the property of correct thinking to reflect objective cause-and-effect relationships and relationships between objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. It manifests itself in establishing the truth or falsity of a thought on the basis of other thoughts, the truth of which was previously established.

The indicated essential signs of correct thinking are not arbitrary. They are the result of human interaction with the outside world. They can neither be identified with the fundamental properties of reality itself, nor separated from them. Correct thinking, reflecting, first of all, the objective laws of the world, arises and exists spontaneously, long before the emergence of any rules. The logical rules themselves are only milestones on the path to comprehending the features of correct thinking, the laws operating in them, which are immeasurably richer than any, even the most complete, set of such rules. But the rules are developed on the basis of these laws precisely in order to regulate subsequent mental activity, to ensure its correctness consciously.

Thus, the logical correctness of reasoning is determined by the laws of abstract thinking. Violation of the requirements arising from them leads to logical errors. Law of Thinking- this is a necessary, essential, stable connection of thoughts in the process of reasoning. These laws are the same for all people, regardless of their social and national origin. Logical laws operate independently of the will of people and are not created according to their desire. They are a reflection of the connections between things in the objective world. In this case, a person not only enters into the sphere of action of a certain logical law, not only passively submits to its regulatory influence, but also develops a conscious attitude towards objectively occurring thought processes. Knowledge of the laws of logic, determination of their objective basis allows us to put forward and formulate its principles. The principles of formal logic, like the principles of any science, represent the unity of the objective and the subjective. On the one hand, they express the objective content of the laws of logic, on the other hand, they act as the rules of human mental activity. It is through the conscious formulation of principles that the laws of logic become regulators of people’s mental activity.

Thus, formal logic, in order to be a means of discovering truth, must, based on the study of the formal structures of abstract thinking, preserve and take into account the logical correctness of reasoning determined by logical laws.

What aspects of abstract thinking does formal logic study? Firstly, it considers abstract thinking as a tool for understanding the world, as a means of obtaining formally true knowledge.

Secondly, she is interested in the practical effectiveness and correctness of indirect (inferential) knowledge obtained from previously established and verified truths without resorting to experience, but only as a result of taking into account formal logical laws and applying the appropriate rules of abstract thinking.

Thirdly, abstract thinking is considered as a formal process that has its own special structure, which differs from the structure of the objectively true content of thinking.

That is why formal logic allows one to abstract from the content of an object and focus attention only on the forms in which a particular thought process occurs. These aspects of the interdependence of Logic and thinking determine the features of formal logic as a science.

So, formal logic- is the science of generally valid forms and means of thought necessary for rational knowledge existence and its specific types. Generally valid forms of thought include concepts, judgments, and inferences. The generally valid means of thought are rules (principles), logical operations, techniques and procedures, formal logical laws underlying them, that is, everything that serves the purpose of implementing correct abstract thinking.

Consequently, the subject of formal logic is:

1) forms of the thought process - concept, judgment, inference, hypothesis, proof, etc.;

2) the laws to which abstract thinking is subject in the process of cognition of the objective world and thinking itself;

3) methods for obtaining new inferential knowledge - similarities, differences, accompanying changes, residues, etc.;

4) ways of proving the truth or falsity of the acquired knowledge - direct or indirect confirmation, refutation, etc.

Thus, logic in the broadest understanding of its subject explores the structure of abstract thinking and reveals the underlying laws. However, abstract thinking, generalized, indirectly and actively reflecting reality, is inextricably linked with language. Linguistic expressions are that reality, the structure and method of use of which gives us knowledge not only about the content of thoughts, but also about their form, about the laws of thinking. Therefore, logic sees one of its main tasks in the study of linguistic expressions and the relationships between them.

2. Specifics of logic as a science

logic thinking formal abstract

Logic as a science includes such sections as formal logic, dialectical, symbolic, modal and others. The purpose of this work is formal logic.

The principles and rules of logic are universal in nature, since in any science conclusions are constantly drawn, concepts are defined and clarified, statements are formulated, facts are generalized, hypotheses are tested, etc. From this point of view, every science can be considered as applied logic. But especially close connections exist between logic and those sciences that are engaged in the study of human mental activity, both individually and socially.

A clear delineation of the spheres of research in the sciences of spiritual activity is directly related to the definition of the subject and methods of research in logic.

The view of logic as a technology of thinking also has a number of attractive features if only because in practice we most need to skillfully use the rules of reasoning, recommendations on how to effectively find arguments (premises for conclusions), build and test hypotheses - in a word, all that is characterized as the art of thinking or guesses.

PnatureAlawslogic as science in that they reflect the basic, constantly occurring connections and relationships that exist in the real world. This is why logic can be used to their studying. But real world, its specific patterns serve as the subject of study of specific natural, social and technical sciences. Through the analysis of concepts, judgments and inferences used in these sciences, logic plays its role - a theoretical tool that serves to control the correctness and validity of reasoning and thereby contributes to the search and proof of truth.

The applied role of logic in specific sciences is not limited only to the direct analysis of reasoning. Her methods are widely used in methodology scientific knowledge to analyze such forms of scientific thinking as hypothesis, law, theory, as well as to reveal the logical structure of explanation and prediction, as the most important functions of any science. This direction of applied research in recent decades has given rise to logic of science, in which the concepts, laws and methods of logic are successfully applied to study not only purely logical, but also methodological problems that arise in scientific knowledge.

In modern conditions of the development of social processes in Russia, logic as a science does not lose its relevance. This is due to two main circumstances. One of them - features of the modern stage of development of society itself. This stage is characterized by an ever-increasing role of science in the development of all aspects public life, its penetration into all pores of the social organism. Accordingly, the importance of logic, which studies the means and laws of scientific knowledge, increases. And in the conditions of modernization of the Russian economy, which requires understanding new, complex, diverse economic and social processes occurring in the life of society, the role of science, and therefore logic, increases many times over.

Another circumstance - new, high-quality breakthroughscientific and technicalth progress. In the 21st century, science and technology open up previously unknown horizons of knowledge to society, and fundamental research allows us to penetrate into the secrets of the universe. At the same time, the importance of abstract thinking, and in this regard the growing importance of logic that studies its structure, forms and laws, cannot be overestimated. In modern conditions of the unfolding of a new stage of the scientific and technological revolution associated with profound structural and information changes in production and management, the implementation of the achievements of cybernetics and nanoindustry, the need for logic, especially symbolic, becomes even more tangible and necessary.

3. The place of logic amongother sciences that study thinking

Logic is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon of the spiritual life of mankind. Currently, there are a great variety of different industries scientific knowledge. Depending on the object of study, they are divided into sciences about nature - natural sciences and sciences about society - social sciences. In comparison with them, the uniqueness of logic lies in the fact that its object is thinking.

What is the place of logic among other sciences that study thinking?

Philosophy studies thinking in general. It solves a fundamental philosophical question related to the relationship of man and his thinking to the world around him.

Psychology studies thinking as one of the mental processes along with emotions, will, etc. It reveals the interaction of thinking with them in the course of practical activity and scientific knowledge, analyzes the incentive motives of human mental activity, reveals the peculiarities of thinking of children, adults, mentally normal people and persons with disabilities.

Physiology reveals material, physiological processes, studies the patterns of these processes, their physicochemical and biological mechanisms.

Cybernetics reveals general patterns of control and communication in a living organism, a technical device and in human thinking, associated primarily with his management activities.

Linguistics shows the inextricable connection between thinking and language, their unity and difference, their interaction with each other. It reveals ways of expressing thoughts using linguistic means.

The uniqueness of logic as a science of thinking lies precisely in the fact that it considers this object common to a number of sciences from the point of view of its functions and structure, that is, its role and meaning in cognition and practical activity, and at the same time from the point of view its constituent elements, as well as connections and relationships between them. This is its own, specific subject of logic. Therefore, it is defined as the science of the forms and laws of correct thinking leading to truth.

There is an opinion that the ability to reason logically is inherent in people by nature. It is wrong.

But if logical culture is not given to a person by nature, then how is it formed?

A logical culture of thinking is acquired through communication, studying at school and university, and in the process of reading literature. By repeatedly encountering certain methods of reasoning, we gradually assimilate them and begin to understand which of them are correct and which are not. The logical culture of a lawyer increases in the process of his professional activity.

This way of forming a logical culture can be called spontaneous. It is not the best, since people who have not studied logic, as a rule, do not master certain logical techniques, and, in addition, they have different logical cultures, which does not contribute to mutual understanding.

The importance of logic for lawyers.

The specificity of a lawyer’s work lies in the constant use of special logical techniques and methods: definitions and classifications, arguments and refutations, etc. The degree of proficiency in these techniques, methods and other logical means is an indicator of the level of logical culture of a lawyer.

Knowledge of logic is an integral part of legal education. It allows you to correctly build forensic investigative leads, draw up clear plans for investigating crimes, and avoid mistakes when drawing up official documents, protocols, indictments, decisions and resolutions.

Famous lawyers have always used knowledge of logic. In court, they usually did not limit themselves to simple disagreement, for example, with the prosecution’s arguments if they saw a logical error in them. They explained what mistake had been made, saying that this mistake was specially considered in logic and had a special name. This argument had an impact on everyone present, even if those present had never studied logic.

Knowledge of the rules and laws of logic is not the ultimate goal of its study. The ultimate goal of studying logic is the ability to apply its rules and laws in the process of thinking.

Truth and logic are interconnected, so the importance of logic cannot be overestimated. Logic helps to prove true conclusions and refute false ones; it teaches you to think clearly, concisely, and correctly. Logic is needed by all people, workers of various professions.

Conclusion

Human thinking is subject to logical laws and proceeds in logical forms, regardless of the science of logic. Many people think logically without knowing its rules. Of course, you can think correctly without studying logic, but you cannot underestimate the practical significance of this science.

The task of logic is to teach a person to consciously apply the laws and forms of thinking and, on the basis of this, to think more logically, to understand correctly the world. Knowledge of logic improves the culture of thinking, develops the skill of thinking “competently,” and develops a critical attitude towards one’s own and others’ thoughts.

Logic is a necessary tool that frees you from personal, unnecessary memorization, helping you find in the mass of information that valuable thing that a person needs. “Any specialist, be he a mathematician, a physician, or a biologist,” needs it. (Anokhin N.K.).

To think logically means to think accurately and consistently, to avoid contradictions in your reasoning, to be able to reveal logical errors. These qualities of thinking are of great importance in any field of scientific and practical activity, including in the work of a lawyer.

Knowledge of logic helps a lawyer prepare a logically coherent, well-reasoned speech, reveal contradictions in testimony, and so on. All this is important in the work of a lawyer aimed at strengthening law and order.

List of usedliterature

1. Geitmanova A.D. Logic textbook. Moscow 1995

2. Demidov I.V. Logic - tutorial Moscow 2000

3. Ruzavin G.I. Logic and argumentation. Moscow 1997

4. Brief dictionary according to logic. Edited by Gorsky. Moscow Enlightenment 1991

5. Kirillov V.I., Starchenko A.A. Logics. 5th edition 2004

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What is logical thinking?

To explain what “logical thinking” is, let’s divide this concept into two parts: thinking and logic. Now let's define each of these components.

Human thinking- this is the mental process of processing information and establishing connections between objects, their properties or phenomena of the surrounding world. Thinking allows a person to find connections between the phenomena of reality, but in order for the connections found to truly reflect the true state of affairs, thinking must be objective, correct or, in other words, logical, that is, subject to the laws of logic.

Logics translated from Greek has several meanings: “the science of correct thinking”, “the art of reasoning”, “speech”, “reasoning” and even “thought”. In our case, we will proceed from the most popular definition of logic as a normative science about the forms, methods and laws of human intellectual mental activity. Logic studies ways to achieve truth in the process of cognition in an indirect way, not from sensory experience, but from knowledge acquired earlier, therefore it can also be defined as the science of ways to obtain inferential knowledge. One of the main tasks of logic is to determine how to come to a conclusion from existing premises and gain true knowledge about the subject of thought in order to better understand the nuances of the subject of thought being studied and its relationships with other aspects of the phenomenon under consideration.

Now we can define logical thinking itself.

This is a thought process in which a person uses logical concepts and constructions, which is characterized by evidence, prudence, and the goal of which is to obtain a reasonable conclusion from existing premises.

There are also several types of logical thinking; we list them, starting with the simplest:

Figurative-logical thinking

Figurative-logical thinking (visual-figurative thinking) - various thought processes of the so-called “imaginative” problem solving, which involves a visual representation of the situation and operating with images of its constituent objects. Visual-figurative thinking, in fact, is synonymous with the word “imagination”, which allows us to most vividly and clearly recreate the whole variety of different actual characteristics of an object or phenomenon. This type of human mental activity is formed in childhood, starting from approximately 1.5 years.

To understand how developed this type of thinking is in you, we suggest you take the IQ Test “Raven’s Progressive Matrices”

The Raven test is a progressive matrix scale for assessing IQ and level of mental abilities, as well as logical thinking, developed in 1936 by John Raven in collaboration with Roger Penrose. This test can give the most objective assessment of the IQ of the people being tested, regardless of their level of education, social class, type of activity, linguistic and cultural characteristics. That is, it can be said with high probability that the data obtained as a result of this test in two people from different points the world will evaluate their IQ equally. The objectivity of the assessment is ensured by the fact that the basis of this test consists solely of images of figures, and since Raven's matrices are among non-verbal intelligence tests, its tasks do not contain text.

The test consists of 60 tables. You will be offered drawings with figures connected to each other by a certain relationship. One figure is missing; it is given at the bottom of the picture among 6-8 other figures. Your task is to establish a pattern that connects the figures in the picture and indicate the number of the correct figure by choosing from the proposed options. Each series of tables contains tasks of increasing difficulty, at the same time, the complication of the type of tasks is observed from series to series.

Abstract logical thinking

Abstract logical thinking- this is the completion of a thought process with the help of categories that do not exist in nature (abstractions). Abstract thinking helps a person model relationships not only between real objects, but also between abstract and figurative ideas that thinking itself has created. Abstract logical thinking has several forms: concept, judgment and inference, which you can learn more about in the lessons of our training.

Verbal and logical thinking

Verbal and logical thinking (verbal-logical thinking) is one of the types of logical thinking, characterized by the use of linguistic means and speech structures. This type of thinking requires not only the skillful use of thought processes, but also competent command of one’s speech. We need verbal-logical thinking for public speaking, writing texts, arguing, and in other situations where we have to express our thoughts using language.

Applying logic

Thinking using the tools of logic is necessary in almost any field human activity, including in the exact sciences and humanities, in economics and business, rhetoric and oratory, in the creative process and invention. In some cases, strict and formalized logic is used, for example, in mathematics, philosophy, and technology. In other cases, logic only provides a person with useful techniques for obtaining a reasonable conclusion, for example, in economics, history, or simply in ordinary “life” situations.

As already mentioned, we often try to think logically on an intuitive level. Some people do it well, some do it worse. But when connecting the logical apparatus, it is better to know exactly what mental techniques we use, since in this case we can:

More precisely, choose the right method that will allow you to come to the right conclusion;
Think faster and better - as a consequence of the previous point;
It is better to express your thoughts;
Avoid self-deception and logical fallacies,
Identify and eliminate errors in other people’s conclusions, cope with sophistry and demagoguery;
Use the necessary argumentation to convince your interlocutors.

The use of logical thinking is often associated with quickly solving logic tasks and passing tests to determine the level of intellectual development (IQ). But this direction is associated to a greater extent with bringing mental operations to automatism, which is a very insignificant part of how logic can be useful to a person.

The ability to think logically combines many skills in the use of various mental actions and includes:

Knowledge of the theoretical foundations of logic.
The ability to correctly perform such mental operations as: classification, specification, generalization, comparison, analogy and others.
Confident use of key forms of thinking: concept, judgment, inference.
The ability to argue your thoughts in accordance with the laws of logic.
The ability to quickly and effectively solve complex logical problems (both educational and applied).

Of course, such operations of thinking using logic as definition, classification and categorization, proof, refutation, inference, conclusion and many others are used by every person in his mental activity. But we use them unconsciously and often with errors, without a clear idea of the depth and complexity of those mental actions that make up even the most elementary act of thinking. And if you want your logical thinking to be truly correct and rigorous, you need to learn this specifically and purposefully.

How to learn this?

Logical thinking is not given to us from birth, it can only be learned. There are two main aspects of teaching logic: theoretical and practical.

Theoretical logic , which is taught at universities, introduces students to the basic categories, laws and rules of logic.

Practical training aimed at applying the acquired knowledge in life. However, in reality, modern teaching of practical logic is usually associated with passing various tests and solving problems to test the level of intelligence development (IQ) and for some reason does not address the application of logic in real life situations.

To truly master logic, you need to combine theoretical and applied aspects. Lessons and exercises should be aimed at developing intuitive, automated logical tools and consolidating the acquired knowledge in order to apply it in real situations.

Based on this principle, the online training that you are reading now was compiled. Target this course- teach you to think logically and apply logical thinking methods. Classes are aimed at introducing the basics of logical thinking (thesaurus, theories, methods, models), mental operations and forms of thinking, rules of argumentation and laws of logic. In addition, each lesson contains tasks and exercises to train you to use the acquired knowledge in practice.

Logic lessons

Having collected a wide range of theoretical materials, as well as having studied and adapted the experience of teaching applied forms of logical thinking, we have prepared a series of lessons for the full mastery of this skill.

We will devote the first lesson of our course to a complex but very important topic - the logical analysis of language. It’s worth mentioning right away that this topic may seem abstract to many, loaded with terminology, and inapplicable in practice. Don't be scared! Logical analysis of language is the basis of any logical system and correct reasoning. The terms that we learn here will become our logical alphabet, without knowledge of which we simply cannot go further, but gradually we will learn to use it with ease.

A logical concept is a form of thinking that reflects objects and phenomena in their essential features. There are concepts different types: concrete and abstract, individual and general, collective and non-collective, irrespective and correlative, positive and negative, and others. Within the framework of logical thinking, it is important to be able to distinguish these types of concepts, as well as produce new concepts and definitions, find relationships between concepts and perform special actions on them: generalization, limitation and division. You will learn all this in this lesson.

In the first two lessons, we talked about how the task of logic is to help us move from an intuitive use of language, accompanied by errors and disagreements, to a more orderly use of it, devoid of ambiguity. The ability to handle concepts correctly is one of the skills required for this. Another equally important skill is the ability to correctly define. In this lesson we will tell you how to learn this and how to avoid the most common mistakes.

Logical judgment is a form of thinking in which something is affirmed or denied about the surrounding world, objects, phenomena, as well as relationships and connections between them. Judgments in logic consist of a subject (what the judgment is about), a predicate (what is said about the subject), a copula (what connects the subject and the predicate) and a quantifier (the scope of the subject). Judgments can be of various types: simple and complex, categorical, general, particular, individual. The forms of connectives between the subject and the predicate also differ: equivalence, intersection, subordination and compatibility. In addition, within the framework of composite (complex) judgments there can be their own connectives, which define six more types of complex judgments. The ability to think logically presupposes the ability to correctly construct various types of judgments, understand their structural elements, features, relationships between judgments, and also check whether a judgment is true or false.

Before moving on to the last third form of thinking (inference), it is important to understand what logical laws exist, or, in other words, objectively existing rules building logical thinking. Their purpose, on the one hand, is to help build inferences and argumentation, and on the other hand, to prevent errors and violations of logic associated with reasoning. This lesson will examine the following laws of formal logic: the law of identity, the law of excluded middle, the law of contradiction, the law of sufficient reason, as well as De Morgan's laws, the laws of deductive inference, Clavius' law and the laws of division. By studying examples and completing special exercises, you will learn how to purposefully use each of these laws.

Inference is the third form of thinking in which from one, two or more propositions, called premises, a new proposition, called a conclusion or conclusion, follows. Inferences are divided into three types: deductive, inductive and analogical inferences. In deductive inference (deduction), a conclusion is drawn from a general rule for a particular case. Induction is inference in which a general rule is derived from several particular cases. In inferences by analogy, based on the similarity of objects in some characteristics, a conclusion is drawn about their similarity in other characteristics. In this lesson you will become familiar with all types and subtypes of inferences and learn how to build various cause-and-effect relationships.

This lesson will focus on multi-premise inferences. Just as in the case of single-premise inferences, all the necessary information in a hidden form will already be present in the premises. However, since there will now be many premises, the methods for extracting them become more complex, and therefore the information obtained in conclusion will not seem trivial. In addition, it should be noted that there are many different types of multi-premise inferences. We will focus only on syllogisms. They differ in that both in the premises and in the conclusion they have categorical attributive statements and, based on the presence or absence of certain properties of objects, allow one to draw a conclusion about the presence or absence of other properties.

In previous lessons we talked about the different logical operations that make up important part any reasoning. Among them were operations on concepts, definitions, judgments and inferences. So, on this moment It must be clear what components the reasoning consists of. However, we have not yet touched upon the questions of how reasoning as a whole can be organized and what types of reasoning there are in principle. This will be the topic of the last lesson. Let's start with the fact that reasoning is divided into deductive and plausible. All types of inferences discussed in previous lessons: inferences using a logical square, appeals, syllogisms, enthymemes, sorites, are precisely deductive reasoning. Their hallmark consists in the fact that the premises and conclusions in them are connected by a relation of strict logical implication, while in the case of plausible reasoning there is no such connection. First, let's talk more about deductive reasoning.

How to take classes?

The lessons themselves with all the exercises can be completed in 1-3 weeks, having mastered the theoretical material and practiced a little. But to develop logical thinking, it is important to study systematically, read a lot and constantly train.

For maximum effect, we recommend that you first simply read all the material, spending 1-2 evenings on it. Then take 1 lesson daily, doing the necessary exercises and following the suggested recommendations. After you have mastered all the lessons, engage in effective repetition in order to remember the material for a long time. Next, try to apply logical thinking techniques more often in life, when writing articles, letters, when communicating, in disputes, in business, and even in your leisure time. Reinforce your knowledge by reading books and textbooks, as well as using additional material, which will be discussed below.

Additional material

In addition to the lessons in this section, we tried to select a lot of useful material on the topic under consideration:

Logic problems;
Tests for logical thinking;
Logic games;
The smartest people in Russia and the world;
Video lessons and master classes.

As well as books and textbooks, articles, quotes, auxiliary trainings.

Books and textbooks on logic

On this page we have selected useful books and textbooks that will help you deepen your knowledge of logic and logical thinking:

"Applied Logic". Nikolai Nikolaevich Nepeyvoda;
"Textbook of Logic". Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov;
"Logic: lecture notes." Dmitry Shadrin;
"Logics. Training course" (training and metodology complex). Dmitry Alekseevich Gusev;
“Logic for Lawyers” (collection of problems). HELL. Getmanova;

Logic as the science of thinking. Subject and object of logic.

1. The word “logic” comes from the Greek logos, which means “thought”, “word”, “mind”, “law”. In modern language this word is used, as a rule, in three meanings:

1) to designate patterns and relationships between events or actions of people in the objective world; in this sense, they often talk about “the logic of facts”, “the logic of things”, “the logic of events”, “the logic of international relations”, “the logic of political struggle”, etc.;

2) to indicate the rigor, consistency, and regularity of the thinking process; in this case, the following expressions are used: “logic of thinking”, “logic of reasoning”, “iron logic of reasoning”, “there is no logic in the conclusion”, etc.

3) to designate a special science that studies logical forms, operations with them and the laws of thinking.

Object Logic as a science is human thinking. Subject Logics are logical forms, operations with them and laws of thinking.

2. The concept of logical law. Laws and forms of thinking.

Logical law (law of thinking)- a necessary, essential connection of thoughts in the process of reasoning.

Law of identity. Every statement is identical to itself: A = A

Law of non-contradiction. A statement cannot be both true and false. If the statement A- is true, then its negation not A must be false. Therefore, the logical product of a statement and its negation must be false: A&A=0

Law of the excluded middle. A statement can be either true or false, there is no third option. This means that the result of the logical addition of a statement and its negation always takes on the value of truth: A v A = 1

Law of sufficient reason- a law of logic, which is formulated as follows: in order to be considered completely reliable, any position must be proven, that is, sufficient reasons must be known by virtue of which it is considered true.

There are three main forms of thinking: concept, judgment and inference.

A concept is a form of thinking that reflects the general and, moreover, essential properties of objects and phenomena.

Judgment is a form of thinking that contains the affirmation or denial of any position regarding objects, phenomena or their properties.

Inference - a form of thinking in which a person, comparing and analyzing various judgments, derives a new judgment from them.

The formation of the science of logic, stages of its development.

Stage 1 - Aristotle. He tried to find an answer to the question: “How do we reason.” He analyzed human thinking, its forms - concepts, judgments, conclusions. This is how formal logic arose - the science of laws and forms of thinking.	ARISTOTLE (lat. Aristotle)(384-322 BC), ancient Greek scientist, philosopher
Stage 2 – the emergence of mathematical or symbolic logic. Its foundations were laid by the German scientist Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. He made an attempt to replace simple reasoning with actions with signs.	Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) German philosopher, mathematician, physicist, linguist.
Stage 3 - this idea was finally developed by the Englishman George Boole, he was the founder of mathematical logic. In his works, logic acquired its own alphabet, spelling and grammar. The initial section of mathematical logic was called the algebra of logic or Boolean algebra.	George Boole (1815-1864). English mathematician and logician.
George von Neumann based the computer's operation on a mathematical apparatus that uses the laws of mathematical logic.

An example of expanding the scope of a concept while reducing the content

Moscow State University → State University→ University → University → Educational institution → Educational institution → Institution → Organization → Subject of public law → Subject of law

The law is applicable only when the scope of one concept enters the scope of another, for example: “animal” - “dog”. The law does not work for non-coinciding concepts, for example: “book” - “doll”.

A decrease in the volume of a concept with the addition of new features (that is, expansion of content) does not always occur, but only when the feature is characteristic of part of the volume of the original concept.

Types of concepts.

Concepts are usually divided into the following types: 1) singular and general, 2) collective and non-collective, 3) concrete and abstract, 4) positive and negative, 5) irrespective and correlative.

1. Concepts are divided into single and general, depending on whether one element or many elements are thought of in them. A concept in which one element is conceived is called singular (for example, “Moscow”, “L.N. Tolstoy”, “Russian Federation”). A concept in which many elements are thought of is called general (for example, “capital”, “writer”, “federation”).

General concept, relating to an indefinite number of elements, is called non-registering. Thus, in the concepts of “person”, “investigator”, “decree”, the multitude of elements conceivable in them cannot be taken into account: all people, investigators, decrees of the past, present and future are conceived in them. Non-registering concepts have an infinite scope.

2. Concepts are divided into collective and non-collective.

Concepts in which the characteristics of a certain set of elements that make up a single whole are thought of are called collective. For example, “team”, “regiment”, “constellation”. These concepts reflect many elements (team members, soldiers and regiment commanders, stars), but this multitude is thought of as a single whole. The content of a collective concept cannot be attributed to each individual element included in its scope; it refers to the entire set of elements. For example, the essential characteristics of a team (a group of people united by common work, common interests) are not applicable to each individual member of the team.

The concept in which the attributes relating to each of its elements are thought is called non-collective. Such, for example, are the concepts of “star”, “regiment commander”, “state”.

3. Concepts are divided into concrete and abstract depending on what they reflect: an object (a class of objects) or its attribute (the relationship between objects).

The concept in which an object or a set of objects is conceived as something independently existing is called concrete; a concept in which a characteristic of an object or a relationship between objects is conceived is called abstract. Thus, the concepts “book”, “witness”, “state” are specific; the concepts of “whiteness”, “courage”, “responsibility” are abstract.

4. Concepts are divided into positive and negative depending on whether their content consists of properties inherent in the object or properties absent from it.

5. Concepts are divided into non-relative and correlative, depending on whether objects that exist separately or in relation to other objects are thought of in them.

Concepts that reflect objects that exist separately and are thought of outside their relationship to other objects are called non-relative. These are the concepts of “student”, “state”, “crime scene”, etc.

To determine what type a particular concept belongs to means to give it a logical characteristic. Thus, giving a logical characterization of the concept “Russian Federation”, it is necessary to indicate that this concept is singular, collective, specific, positive, irrespective. When characterizing the concept of “insanity,” it must be indicated that it is general (non-registering), non-collective, abstract, negative, and irrelevant.

6. Relationships between concepts. +++++++++++

Comparable concepts. In terms of content, there can be two main types of relations between concepts - comparability and incomparability. In this case, the concepts themselves are called comparable and incomparable, respectively.

Comparable concepts are divided into compatible And incompatible.

Compatibility relationships can be of three types. This includes equivalence, crossing And subordination.

Equivalence. The relation of equivalence is otherwise called the identity of concepts. It arises between concepts containing the same object. The scope of these concepts coincides completely with different contents. In these concepts, one thinks of either one object or a class of objects containing more than one element. To put it more simply, the relation of equivalence refers to concepts in which one and the same object is conceived. As an example illustrating the relationship of equivalence, we can cite the concepts of “equilateral rectangle” and “square”.

Intersection (crossing). Concepts in relation to intersection are those whose volumes partially coincide. The volume of one, thus, is partially included in the volume of the other and vice versa. The content of such concepts will be different. The intersection relationship is schematically reflected in the form of two partially combined circles (Fig. 2). The intersection in the diagram is shaded for convenience. An example is the concepts of “villager” and “tractor driver”; "mathematician" and "tutor".

Subordination (subordination). The relationship of subordination is characterized by the fact that the scope of one concept is completely included in the scope of the other, but does not exhaust it, but forms only a part.

Incompatibility relationships are usually divided into three types, among which there are subordination, opposition and contradiction.

Subordination. A relationship of subordination arises in the case when several concepts are considered that exclude each other, but at the same time have a subordination to another, common to them, broader (generic) concept.

Opposite (contrast). Concepts that are in a relationship of opposition can be called such types of the same genus, the contents of each of which reflect certain characteristics that are not only mutually exclusive, but also replace each other.

Contradiction (contradiction). A relation of contradiction arises between two concepts, one of which contains certain characteristics, and the other denies (excludes) these characteristics without replacing them with others.

Comparable- these are concepts that one way or another have in their content common essential features (by which they are compared - hence the name of their relationships). For example, the concepts of “law” and “morality” contain a common feature - “social phenomenon”.

Incomparable concepts. Incomparable- concepts that do not have any significant common features in one way or another: for example, “law” and “universal gravity”, “law” and “diagonal”, “right” and “love”.

True, such a division is to a certain extent conditional, relative in nature, since the degree of incomparability can also be different. For example, what do such seemingly different concepts as “spaceship” and “fountain pen” have in common, except for some purely external similarity in the form of the structure? And yet both are creations of human genius. What do the concepts “spy” and “letter B” have in common? It's like nothing. But here’s the unexpected association they evoked in A. Pushkin: “Spies are like the letter B. They are needed only in certain cases, but even here you can do without them, but they are used to poking around everywhere.” This means that the common feature is “sometimes necessary.”

There are incomparable concepts in any science. They exist in legal science and practice: “alibi” and “pension fund”, “guilt” and “version”, “legal consultant” and “independence of the judge”, etc., etc. Incomparability characterizes even what it would seem , similar in content concepts: “enterprise” and “enterprise administration”, “labor dispute” - “consideration of a labor dispute” and “body for consideration of a labor dispute”, “collective agreement” and “collective negotiations regarding a collective agreement”. It is important to take this circumstance into account when operating with such concepts, so as not to fall into a comical position against your will.

Classification of judgments.

The predicate of the judgment, which will be the bearer of novelty, can have a very different character. From this point of view, in the whole variety of judgments, three most common groups are distinguished: attributive, relational and existential.

Attributive judgments(from Latin altributum - property, sign), or judgments about the properties of something, reveal the presence or absence of certain properties (or signs) in the object of thought. For example: “All republics of the former USSR declared their independence”; “The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is fragile.” Since the concept expressing a predicate has content and volume, attributive judgments can be considered on two levels: content and volume.

Relational judgments(from Lat. relatio - relationship), or judgments about the relationship of something to something, reveal the presence or absence of a particular relationship to another object (or several objects) in the object of thought. Therefore, they are usually expressed by a special formula: x R y, where x and y are objects of thought, and R (from relatio) is the relationship between them. For example: “The CIS is not equal to the USSR”, “Moscow is larger than St. Petersburg”.

Examples. The proposition “All metals are electrically conductive” can be transformed into the proposition “All metals are like electrically conductive bodies.” In turn, the proposition “Ryazan is smaller than Moscow” can be turned into the proposition “Ryazan belongs to cities that are smaller than Moscow.” Or: “Knowledge is something that is like money.” In modern logic there is a tendency to reduce relational judgments to attributive ones.

Existential judgments(from Latin existentia - existence), or judgments about the existence of something, are those in which the presence or absence of the very subject of thought is revealed. The predicate here is expressed by the words “exists” (“does not exist”), “is” (“no”), “was” (“was not”), “will” (“will not”), etc. For example: “Smoke without there is no fire”, “the CIS exists”, “there is no Soviet Union”. In the legal process, the first question that is resolved is whether the event took place: “There is a crime” (“There is no evidence”).

According to the quality of the bundle

The quality of judgment is one of its most important logical characteristics. It does not mean the actual content of a judgment, but its most general logical form - affirmative, negative or negating. This reveals the deepest essence of any judgment in general - its ability to reveal the presence or absence of certain connections and relationships between imaginable objects. And this quality is determined by the nature of the connective – “is” or “is not.” Depending on this, simple judgments are divided according to the nature of the connective (or its quality) into affirmative, negative and denying.

In the affirmative judgments reveal the presence of any connection between the subject and the predicate. This is expressed through the affirmative connective “is” or the corresponding words, dashes, and agreement of words. The general formula for an affirmative proposition is “S is P.” For example: “Whales are mammals.”

In negative judgments, on the contrary, reveal the absence of one or another connection between the subject and the predicate. And this is achieved with the help of the negative connective “not” or words corresponding to it, as well as simply the particle “not”. The general formula is “S is not P.” For example: “Whales are not fish.” It is important to emphasize that the particle “not” in negative judgments certainly comes before the connective or is implied. If it is located after the connective and is part of the predicate (or subject) itself, then such a judgment will still be affirmative. For example: “It is not false freedom that gives life to my poems.”

negative judgments- these are judgments in which the nature of the connective is double. For example: “It is not true that a person will never leave solar system».

By subject volume

In addition to the initial, fundamental division of simple, categorical judgments by quality, there is also their division by quantity.

The amount of judgment is its other most important logical characteristic. By quantity here we do not mean any specific number of objects conceivable in it (for example, the number of days of the week, months or seasons, planets of the solar system, etc.), but the nature of the subject, i.e. its logical scope. Depending on this, general, particular and individual judgments are distinguished.

General judgments have their own varieties. First of all, they can be excretory or non-excretive.

Particular judgments are those in which something is expressed about a part of a group of objects. In Russian they are expressed by such words as “some”, “not all”, “most”, “part”, “separate”, etc. In modern logic they are called “quantifier of existence” and are denoted by the symbol “$” (from English exist - exist). The formula $ x P(x) reads like this: “There is x such that the property P(x) holds.” In traditional logic, the following formula for private judgments is accepted: “Some S are (are not) P.”

Examples: “Some wars are just,” “Some wars are unjust,” or “Some witnesses are truthful,” “Some witnesses are not truthful.” The quantifier word can also be omitted here. Therefore, in order to determine whether there is a particular or general judgment, one must mentally substitute the corresponding word. For example, the proverb “To err is human” does not mean that this applies to every person. Here the concept of “people” is taken in a collective sense.

By modality

The main informative function of judgment as a form of thinking is reflection in the form of an affirmation or denial of connections between objects and their characteristics. This applies to both simple and complex judgments, in which the presence or absence of a connection is complicated by connectives.

Judgment modality is additional information expressed in a judgment, either explicitly or implicitly, about the nature of the validity of the judgment or the type of dependence between the subject and the predicate, reflecting the objective relationships between objects and their characteristics.

Complex judgments and their types.

Complex judgments are formed from several simple judgments. This is, for example, the statement of Cicero: “After all, even if familiarization with the law were a huge difficulty, then even then the consciousness of its great benefits should encourage people to overcome this difficulty.”

Just like simple, complex propositions can be true or false. But unlike simple judgments, the truth or falsity of which is determined by their correspondence or non-compliance with reality, the truth or falsity of a complex judgment depends primarily on the truth or falsity of its constituent judgments.

The logical structure of complex judgments also differs from the structure of simple judgments. The main structure-forming elements here are no longer concepts, but simple judgments that make up a complex judgment. In this case, the connection between them is carried out not using connectives “is”, “is not”, etc., but through logical conjunctions “and”, “or”, “either”, “if [...], then” etc. Legal practice is especially rich in this kind of judgment.

In accordance with the functions of logical connectives, complex judgments are divided into the following types.

1 Connective judgments (conjunctive) are those judgments that include other judgments as components - conjuncts, united by the connective “and”. For example, “The exercise of human and civil rights and freedoms must not violate the rights and freedoms of others.”

2 Disjunctive (disjunctive) judgments - include as components of a judgment - disjuncts, united by the connective “or”. For example, “The plaintiff has the right to increase or decrease the amount of claims.”

There is a weak disjunction when the conjunction “or” has a connecting-disjunctive meaning, that is, the components included in a complex judgment do not exclude each other. For example, “A contract of sale may be concluded orally or in writing.” A strong disjunction arises, as a rule, when the logical conjunctions “or” and “or” are used in an exclusive-dividing sense, that is, its components exclude each other. For example, “Slander coupled with accusing a person of committing a grave or especially grave crime is punishable by restriction of liberty for a term of up to three years, or by arrest for a term of four to six months, or by imprisonment for a term of up to three years.”

Conditional (implicative) propositions are formed from two simple propositions through the logical conjunction “if [...], then.” For example, “If, after the expiration of the temporary work period, the contract with the employee has not been terminated, then he is considered accepted for permanent work.” The argument that begins with the word “if” in implicative propositions is called a reason, and the component that begins with the word “then” is called a consequence.

Conditional propositions reflect, first of all, objective cause-and-effect, spatio-temporal, functional and other connections between objects and phenomena of reality. However, in the practice of applying legislation, the rights and obligations of people associated with certain conditions can also be expressed in the form of implication. For example, “Military personnel of military units Russian Federation stationed outside the Russian Federation, for crimes committed on the territory of a foreign state, bear criminal liability under this Code, unless otherwise provided by an international treaty of the Russian Federation” (clause 2 of article 12 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

It must be borne in mind that the grammatical form “if [...], then” is not an exclusive feature of a conditional proposition; it can express a simple sequence. For example, “If the perpetrator is the person who directly committed the crime, then the instigator is the person who persuaded another person to commit

Types of questions.

Questions can be classified on different grounds. Let's consider the main types of issues that are most often addressed in the legal field.

1. Depending on the degree of expression in the text, questions can be explicit or hidden. An explicit question is expressed in language completely, along with its premises and the requirement to establish the unknown. A hidden question is expressed only by its premises, and the requirement to eliminate the unknown is restored after understanding the premises of the question. For example, after reading the text: “More and more ordinary citizens are becoming owners of shares, and sooner or later the day comes when there is a desire to sell them,” we will not find any clearly formulated questions here. However, when comprehending what you have read, you may want to ask: “What is a stock?”, “Why should they be sold?”, “How to sell stocks correctly?” etc. The text thus contains hidden questions.

2. According to their structure, questions are divided into simple and complex. A simple question structurally involves only one judgment. It cannot be broken down into elementary questions. A complex question is formed from simple ones using logical conjunctions “and”, “or”, “if, then”, etc. For example, “Which of those present identified the criminal, and how did he react to this?” When answering a complex question, it is preferable to break it down into simple questions. A question like: “If the weather is good, will we go on an excursion?” - does not relate to complex questions, since it cannot be divided into two independent simple questions. This is an example of a simple question. The meaning of the conjunctions that form complex questions is thus not identical to the meaning of the corresponding logical conjunctions, with the help of which complex true or false propositions are formed from simple true or false propositions. Questions are not true or false. They may be correct or incorrect.

3. Based on the method of asking the unknown, a distinction is made between clarifying and filling questions. Clarifying questions (or “whether” questions) are aimed at identifying the truth of the judgments expressed in them. In all these questions there is a particle “whether”, included in the phrases “is it true”, “is it really”, “is it necessary”, etc. For example, “Is it true that Semenov successfully defended his thesis?”, “Is there really more people in Moscow than in Paris?”, “Is it true that if he passes all exams with excellent marks, he will receive an increased scholarship?” etc. Filling questions (or “k” - questions) are intended to identify new properties in the object under study, to obtain new information. A grammatical feature is a question word like “Who?”, “What?”, “Why?”, “When ?", "Where?" and so on. For example, “How to conclude an agreement for the provision of brokerage services?”, “When was this traffic accident committed?”, “What does the word “sponsor” mean?” and etc

4. Depending on the number of possible answers, questions can be open or closed. An open question is a question to which there are an indefinite number of answers. A closed question is a question to which there is a finite, most often quite limited, number of answers. These questions are widely used in judicial and investigative practice, and in sociological research. For example, the question “How does this teacher lecture?” is an open question, as many answers can be given to it. It can be restructured in order to “close”: “How does this teacher lecture (good, satisfactory, bad)?”

5. In relation to the cognitive goal, questions can be divided into key and leading. A question is key if the correct answer to it directly serves to achieve the goal. A question is leading if the correct answer somehow prepares or brings a person closer to an understanding of the key question, which, as a rule, turns out to depend on the coverage of leading questions. Obviously, there is no clear boundary between key and leading questions.

6. Based on the correctness of formulation, questions are divided into correct and incorrect. A correct question (from the Latin correctus - polite, tactful, courteous) question is a question whose premise is true and consistent knowledge. An incorrect question is based on the premise of a false or contradictory proposition or a proposition whose meaning is not defined. There are two types of logically incorrect questions: trivially incorrect and non-trivial incorrect (from the Latin trivialis - hackneyed, vulgar, devoid of freshness and originality). A question is trivially incorrect, or meaningless, if it is expressed in sentences containing unclear (vague) words or phrases. An example would be next question: “Do critical metaphysics with abstractions and discrediting the tendency of cerebral subjectivism lead to ignoring the system of paradoxical illusions?”

Types of answers.

Among the answers there are: 1) true and false; 2) direct and indirect; 3) short and detailed; 4) complete and incomplete; 5) accurate (definite) and inaccurate (uncertain).

1. True and false answers. By semantic status, i.e. in relation to reality, answers can be true or false. The answer is regarded as true if the judgment expressed in it is correct or adequately reflects reality. An answer is regarded as false if the judgment expressed in it is incorrect or does not adequately reflect the state of affairs in reality.

2. Answers are direct and indirect. These are two types of answers that differ in the scope of their search.

A direct answer is an answer taken directly from the area of search for answers, the construction of which does not involve additional information and reasoning. For example, a direct answer to the question “In what year did the Russo-Japanese War end?” there will be a judgment: “The Russo-Japanese War ended in 1904.” A direct answer to the question “Is a whale a fish?” there will be a judgment: “No, the whale is not a fish.”

An answer is called indirect, which is obtained from a wider area than the area of search for the answer, and from which it is possible to obtain only by inference necessary information. So, for the question “In what year did the Russo-Japanese War end?” the following answer will be indirect: “The Russo-Japanese War ended one year before the First Russian Revolution.” To the question “Is a whale a fish?” the indirect answer would be: “The whale is a mammal.”

3. Short and detailed answers. In terms of grammatical form, answers can be short or detailed.

Brief answers are monosyllabic affirmative or negative answers: “yes” or “no.”

Expanded answers are answers, each of which repeats all the elements of the question. For example, to the question “Was J. Kennedy a Catholic?” affirmative answers can be received: short - “Yes”; expanded - “Yes, J. Kennedy was a Catholic.” Negative answers will be as follows: short - “No”; expanded - “No, J. Kennedy was not a Catholic.”

Brief answers are usually given to simple questions; For complex questions, it is advisable to use detailed answers, since monosyllabic answers in this case often turn out to be ambiguous.

4. Complete and incomplete answers. Based on the amount of information provided in the response, answers may be complete or incomplete. The problem of completeness most often arises when answering complex questions.

A complete answer includes information on all elements or parts of the question. For example, to answer the complex question “Is it true that Ivanov, Petrov and Sidorov are accomplices in the crime?” The following answer will be complete: “Ivanov and Sidorov are accomplices in the crime, and Petrov is the perpetrator.” To the complex what-question “Who, when and in connection with what was the poem “On the Death of a Poet” written?” The following answer will be complete:

“The poem “On the Death of a Poet” was written by M.Yu. Lermontov in 1837 in connection with the tragic death of A.S. Pushkin."

An incomplete answer includes information regarding individual elements or components of the question. So, to the above question “Is it true that Ivanov, Petrov and Sidorov are accomplices in the crime?” - the answer will be incomplete: “No, that’s incorrect, Petrov is the performer.”

5. Precise (definite) and imprecise (vague) answers! The logical relationship between question and answer means that the quality of the answer is largely determined by the quality of the question. It is no coincidence that in polemics and in the process of interrogation the rule applies: what is the question, so is the answer. This means that it is difficult to get a clear answer to a vague and ambiguous question; if you want to get an exact and definite answer, then formulate a precise and definite question.

Types of dilemmas

Conditional disjunctive inferences are inferences in which one of the premises is a disjunctive statement, and the rest are conditional statements. Another name for conditionally disjunctive inferences is lemmatic, which comes from the Greek word lemma - sentence, assumption. This name is based on the fact that these inferences consider various assumptions and their consequences. Depending on the number of conditional premises, conditionally dividing conclusions are called dilemmas (two conditional premises), trilemmas (three), polylemmas (four or more). In the practice of reasoning, dilemmas are most often used.

The following main types of dilemmas can be distinguished:

– a simple design dilemma,

– a complex design dilemma,

– a simple destructive dilemma,

- a complex destructive dilemma.

An example of a simple constructive dilemma (Socratic reasoning):

“If death is a transition to oblivion, then it is good. If death is a transition to another world, then it is good. Death is a transition into oblivion or into another world. Therefore, death is good.”

A simple constructive (affirmative) dilemma:

If A, then C.

If B, then C.

An example of a complex design dilemma:

A young Athenian turned to Socrates for advice: should he get married? Socrates replied: “If you get a good wife, then you will be a happy exception; if she gets a bad wife, then you will be like me, a philosopher. But you will get a good or bad wife. Therefore, you can either be a happy exception or a philosopher.”

A difficult design dilemma:

If A, then B.

If C, then D.

An example of a simple destructive dilemma:

"IN modern world If you want to be happy, you need to have a lot of money. However, it has always been the case that if you want to be happy, you need to have a clear conscience. But we know that life is structured in such a way that it is impossible to have both money and conscience at the same time, i.e. either there is no money, or there is no conscience. Therefore, give up hope of happiness.”

A simple destructive (denial) dilemma:

If A, then B.

If A, then C.

False B or False C.

Incorrect A.

An example of a complex destructive dilemma:

“If he is smart, he will see his mistake. If he is sincere, then he will admit it. But he either does not see his mistake or does not admit it. Therefore, he is either not smart or not sincere.”

Complex destructive dilemma:

If A, then B.

If C, then D.

Not-B or not-D.

Not-A or not-C.

An example of a complete inductive inference.

All convictions are issued in a special procedural manner.

All acquittals are issued in a special procedural manner.

Convictions and acquittals are court decisions.

All court decisions are issued in a special procedural manner.

This example reflects the class of objects - court decisions. All (both) of its elements have been specified. The right side of each of the premises is true in relation to the left. Therefore, the general conclusion, which is directly related to each case separately, is objective and true.

Incomplete induction called an inference that, based on the presence of certain repeating features, classifies this or that object into a class of homogeneous objects that also have such a feature.

Incomplete induction is often used in Everyday life person and scientific activity, since it allows you to make a conclusion based on the analysis of a certain part of a given class of objects, it saves human time and effort. At the same time, we must not forget that as a result of incomplete induction, a probabilistic conclusion is obtained, which, depending on the type of incomplete induction, will fluctuate from less probable to more probable (11).

The above can be illustrated by the following example.

The word "milk" changes according to cases. The word “library” changes according to cases. The word “doctor” changes according to cases. The word "ink" changes according to cases.

The words “milk”, “library”, “doctor”, “ink” are nouns.

Probably all nouns change by case.

Depending on

Book: LOGIC FOR LAWYERS: LECTURES. / Law College of LNU named after. Franco

2. Logic as a science: its subject, method, as well as the practical significance of its knowledge.

When determining the subject of the science of logic in logical-philosophical literature, they take into account three aspects: ontological (philosophical doctrine of being), epistemological (cognitive) and formal-logical . IN ontological aspect, the objective basis of the science of logic is determined - the objective existence of objects, phenomena, processes (empirical objects), between which there are various relationships (cause-and-effect, spatial, temporal, genetic, etc.), that is, what is called the “logic of things”. IN epistemological (late shaft) aspect the process of mapping the “logic of things”, the “logic of events” into the “logic of concepts” and the formation of a system of concepts (categories) that capture the essence of objectively existing things, phenomena and processes are determined. IN formal-logical aspect the necessary relationships between logical forms of thinking (concepts, judgments, conclusions), which are determined not by the content of thinking, but only by its structure, are determined. All these aspects appear in unity. Taking this unity into account, we can give the following definition of the subject of the science of logic:

Logic is a science that studies the laws and forms of mental activity of people, the principles and means of constructing correct judgments and reasoning about objects and phenomena of the objective world, methods of formalizing knowledge as a result of the cognitive process.

Features of logic as a science:

- studies the laws and forms of mental activity of people based on the analysis of theirlinguistic utterances, that is, through the implementation (materialization) of the results of mental activity in language; creates its own specific language (logical language) to analyze the structure of thinking and formalize knowledge.

- The study of logic requires concentration and a systematic approach. All sections of the textbook are interconnected; it is impossible to understand the next topic without mastering the previous one. Learning logic requires a lot of time and effort. As one wise man said: “In the waters of logic one should not sail with sails raised.”

- theoretical assimilationThe amount of material from logic does not mean that a person will be able to apply it in practice. It is possible to find a way out of this situation by combining theory with solving practical problems. In this regard, after studying a particular topic, it is recommended to complete relevant practical tasks, as well as consciously apply the acquired logical skills in everyday life, when writing tests and tests, as often as possible. coursework, mastering the material of legal disciplines, in discussions, disputes, etc. Only under these conditions can a person learn to think logically correctly, avoiding elementary logical errors in his reasoning and recognizing them in the reasoning of other people.

As a result of successfully mastering theoretical material and practicing it in practice, the student will be able to:

♦ identify basic concepts in the text, clarify their structure, establish the relationship between them;

♦ logically correctly divide, classify, define concepts;

♦ find errors in sections, classifications, definitions, criticize them and not allow them in your reasoning;

♦ identify the logical structure of statements and interpret them based on this;

♦ reason in accordance with the laws of logic; find pardons in the texts and reasoning of other people related to their violation;

♦ analyze question-and-answer situations, logically ask questions and give answers to them;

♦ demonstrate reasoning, starting points and consequences contained in the text;

♦ draw rational conclusions from the available information according to the rules and laws of logic;

♦ construct your reasoning logically and correctly and find errors in your opponents’ reasoning;

♦ construct correct argumentation;

♦ convincingly criticize your opponent’s argumentation;

♦ avoid typical mistakes in argumentation and criticism;

♦ recognize techniques for manipulating your interlocutor and resist them.

Mastering logical thinking skills has special meaning for lawyers whose specific work is the constant use of logical techniques and methods: definitions and classifications, divisions, argumentations, refutations, etc.

Knowledge of logic greatly helps a lawyer:

♦ analyze legal terminology in codes and other regulations; find out whether a certain norm follows from other norms, its inclusion in a legal document would not be superfluous, whether the new normative act is an addition or negation of the old one, etc.;

♦ apply logical methods in the process of criminal legal classification of a crime;

♦ build forensic investigative versions using logical methods;

♦ draw up clear crime investigation plans;

♦ apply logical methods in the process of predicting crime and assessing the activities of law enforcement agencies;

♦ avoid logical errors when drawing up official documents: protocols of interrogation and inspection of the crime scene, decisions And resolutions, reports, contracts, etc.;

♦ conduct disputes in court at a high level: defend
own opinion and criticize the opponent’s opinion; quickly find logical errors during a court hearing;

♦ apply logical methods for research scientific problems in jurisprudence.

1.	LOGIC FOR LAWYERS: LECTURES. / Law College of LNU named after. Franco

2.	2. Logic as a science: its subject, method, as well as the practical significance of its knowledge.

3.	3. Historical stages in the development of logical knowledge: logic of Ancient India, logic of Ancient Greece

4.	4. Features of general or traditional (Aristotelian) logic.

5.	5. Features of symbolic or mathematical logic.

6.	6. Theoretical and practical logic.

7.	Topic 2: THINKING AND SPEECH 1. Thinking (reasoning): definition and features.

8.	2. Activity and thinking

9.	3. Structure of thinking

10.	4. Correct and incorrect reasoning. Concept of logical fallacy

11.	5. Logical form of reasoning

12.	6. Types and types of thinking.

13.	7. Features of a lawyer’s thinking

14.	8. The importance of logic for lawyers

15.	Topic 3: Semiotics as the science of signs. Language as a sign system. 1. Semiotics as the science of signs

16.	2. The concept of a sign. Types of interchangeable signs

17.	3. Language as a sign system. Language signs.

18.	4. Structure of the sign process. Structure of the meaning of a sign. Typical logical errors

19.	5. Dimensions and levels of the sign process

20.	6. Language of law

21.	Section III. METHODOLOGICAL FUNCTION OF FORMAL LOGIC 1. Method and methodology.

22.	2. Logical methods of research (cognition)

23.	3. Method of formalization

24.	BASIC FORMS AND LAWS OF ABSTRACT LOGICAL THINKING 1. General characteristics of the concept as a form of thinking. Concept structure

25.	2. Types of concepts. Logical characteristics of concepts

26.	3. Types of relationships between concepts

27.	4. Operations with concepts 4.1. Limitation and generalization of concepts

28.	4.2. Concept division operation

29.	4.3. Addition, multiplication and subtraction of concepts (more precisely, their volumes)

30.	4.4 Concept definition operation

31.	BASIC FORMS AND LAWS OF ABSTRACT LOGICAL THINKING II. Statements. 1. General characteristics of the statement

32.	2. The truth and falsity of the statement.

33.	3. Simple statements, their structure and types

34.

Logic is philosophical discipline, and philosophers, studying the process of cognition, found that each science has its own object and subject of research. An object is reality or a part of it towards which cognition is directed. All sciences study the real world, focusing on certain objects. The subject of science is what this science studies in the object, what it mentally identifies in reality. The objects of individual sciences may coincide: a person, for example, is an object for many sciences - philosophy, psychology, physiology, anthropology, pedagogy, etc. But in the subjects of science they never coincide, because each chooses its own perspective in the object, examines a separate side of the object.

As you can see, the essence of science and its difference from others lies in subject science, therefore, entry into a scientific discipline begins with defining its subject.

During the existence of logic as a science, its subject has undergone very significant changes. The specificity of logic lies in the fact that it studies not the objective world of nature and not the subjective world of experiences, but thinking, through which a person cognizes both. The task of this science is to study the forms and laws of thinking itself. The natural historical course of human knowledge is characterized by the fact that first knowledge of the external objective world develops, and only after, as a result of this knowledge, humanity has reached a certain degree of perfection, problems arise associated with the process of knowledge itself. The need to resolve these problems gave rise to the theory of knowledge and logic.

Logics- one of ancient sciences, originated in within philosophy more than 2300 years ago in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who first systematized the forms and rules of thinking. He left us the first major works on logic, later united under the general title “Organon”. Logic, the foundations of which were laid by Aristotle, is called traditional formal logic. Formal means associated with form (this is how we think), studying as something separate, separate from content (this is what we think about). Russian scientists made a huge contribution to the development of formal logic. Original logical concepts in Russia were developed in the 18th century and are associated with the names of M.V. Lomonosov and A.N. Radishchev. The heyday of logical research in our country dates back to the end of the 19th century. These are, first of all, such scientists as M. Karinsky, L. Rutkovsky, S. Povarnin. Logic studies thinking. Knowledge of the world as its reflection in consciousness is carried out in two forms: sensory and abstract knowledge.

Sensory cognition occurs in such forms as sensation, perception, representation and is a direct reflection of the external, individual at the level of phenomena. At the level of abstract thinking, which occurs in the form of concepts, judgments, conclusions in the process of reflection, thinking penetrates into the essence of the phenomena and objects being studied, is generalized and indirect in nature, and is inextricably linked with language. Logic is not studied sensual forms cognition, she studies the forms of abstract thinking. Logic, in the broadest understanding of its subject, also explores the structure of abstract thinking and reveals the laws underlying it. Abstract thinking, generalized, indirectly and actively reflecting reality, is inextricably linked with language. Linguistic expressions are that reality, the structure and method of use of which gives us knowledge not only about the content of thoughts, but also about their form, about the laws of thinking. Logic uses an artificial language, which is created using formalization, which means that in logic operations with thoughts are replaced by actions with signs. The main signs of formal logic are words, and the complex signs are sentences of natural language. Therefore, logic sees one of its main tasks in the study of linguistic expressions and the relationships between them.

Thinking is studied by many sciences. The subject of the study of logic is forms of thinking, laws of inferential knowledge, laws of connection of thoughts. Logic studies the forms of correct reasoning. Traditional formal logic explores the laws of communication between existing thoughts, methods of operating with them.

WITH mid-19th century, on the basis of formal, traditional logic, mathematical (symbolic) logic begins to develop. Its ideas were expressed by the German scientist G. Leibniz (1646–1716). These are ideas about the possibility and productivity of reducing reasoning to calculation. Its further development is associated with the names of J. Boole, A. M. De Morgan, C. Pierce, G. Frege and others. Russian scientists P. S. Poretsky and E. L. Bunitsky made a significant contribution to the development of symbolic logic. Symbolic logic uses tools and methods that are traditionally considered to belong to mathematics to analyze the forms and laws of thinking. The Russian logician P. Poretsky saw the essence of mathematical logic in the fact that “in its subject it is logic, and in its method it is mathematics.”

A student of logic often finds it difficult to distinguish between concepts: the content of thought and the form of thought, the form of thinking and the laws of thinking. The content of thoughts consists of the connections between objects and phenomena of reality reflected in the thought, i.e. correspondence of the content of thought to the subject. Logic does not study the content of thoughts, it studies forms, i.e. ways of connecting parts of mental content, how parts of mental content are located relative to each other. The transition from one form of thought to another, while maintaining the correct logical connection between parts of mental content, is ensured by compliance with the laws of logic. Formal logical laws- these are connections between thoughts in which the truth of some necessarily determines the truth of other thoughts. Logical laws reflect general, internal, necessary, essential connections between thoughts and their elements. This reflection occurs in the process of people's practical activities. The logic of thinking is a certain way of reflecting reality. It is the observance of logical laws that makes thinking correct, i.e. capable, subject to a number of conditions, of achieving true knowledge. Thus, logic studies that common thing that connects thoughts in their movement towards the knowledge of truth.

The history of logic provides a wide variety of views on the subject and tasks of logic; in particular, we can mention the dispute between psychologism and antipsychologism in logic. Psychological logic reduced the subject of the science of logic to the study of the psychology of thinking and, thus, abolished logic as an independent science with its own specific tasks. The position of psychologism is advocated by N. Grot, T. Lipps and others. On the contrary, Husserl sharply dissociates logic from psychology and develops the methodology of antipsychologism as the basis for the construction of logical theories. The “concinnism” of the logic of Siegwart, Wundt, Erdmann and Ziegen closely connects logic with psychology without dissolving logic in it; however, the psychology that is widely used here is idealistic.

Today, the development of formal logic goes in two main directions:

1. development of new systems of non-classical logic (logic of imperatives, evaluations, questions, inductive logic, theory of logical implication, etc.), study of the properties of these systems and the relationships between them, creation of their general theory;

2. expansion of the scope of formal logic. The most important final result obtained in this direction of scientific research is that formal logic has become, in the words of M.M. Novoselov, not only an instrument of precise thought, but also the “thought” of the first precise instrument - an electronic device, directly in the role of a partner included by a person in the sphere of solving intellectual problems.

Logic has become an integral part of human culture. Its achievements are used in a wide variety of areas of human activity. It is widely used in psychology, linguistics, management theory, pedagogy, law, management, and ethics. Its formal sections are the theoretical basis of cybernetics, computational mathematics and technology, and information theory. Without the principles and laws of logic, modern methodology, knowledge and communication are unthinkable.

Each specialist identifies his own aspect of logic and finds some of the diversity of knowledge accumulated in it useful. There are problems of interest to specialists of any profile. These are, for example, problems relating to communication between people. Communication is an integral property of human life. The human essence manifests itself only in communication, in the unity of man with man, in unity based only on the reality of the difference between I and YOU. Interpersonal dialogical relationships are the actual reality of social relations.

Special attention deserves logic in the communicative training of production managers, lawyers, journalists, politicians and everyone for whom verbal communication is almost the only channel of implementation social functions. Development logical foundations the process of communication is the most important task of modern logic; it is directly related to the question of the most effective means of communication between people, the formulation of thoughts in order to correctly understand them and convince them of their truth.

Another important area of application of logic is the creation of new artificial intelligence systems. Science of artificial intelligence has reached a point where it is necessary to solve problems of knowledge manipulation in computer systems not only with the “knowledge + inference” paradigm, but also in the “knowledge + inference + understanding” complex. Researchers' attention is increasingly being drawn to the problems of reasoning by analogy, reflection, and constructing models of metaphorical judgments.

Scorpion

The place of logic in the system of social sciences. Features of modern logic. Logic as a science: its subject, method, as well as the practical significance of its knowledge

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