Can logic ever be wrong?

Question

There are times when you may assume something becuase of some statistic but be wrong but that is different becuse you didn't get every detail. So if you knew every thing and detail about one subject, can you possibly be wrong?

What about the Bible. If it is illogical, does it make it wrong?

Answer 1

Religion is an abstract concept. Trying to use logic to figure it out is like trying to use a smile to loosen a rusty bolt. They belong to totally different realms.

Answer 2

1. I suppose it would be possible for logic to be wrong, if your perceptions are not in tune with the way the world really is.

2. If you knew EVERYTHING about one subject, then I would believe that your logic regarding that subject would be reliable...UNLESS you didn't like the truth of of that knowledge.

3. Many people think heaven is a place where good people go. That's not what the Bible teaches. It teaches grace. The concept of grace is illogical. (Getting something we didn't earn.) Allowing us into heaven by grace just by trusting in His son, Jesus, and not earning our way in...by good works.
It may not be logical, but it doesn't make it false.

There are many other things about the Bible that are illogical --- like all the miracles. But the things that the Bible teaches about the nature of man, good and evil, the creation of this world, and pain & suffering correspond more to reality than any other belief or philosophy that I've heard.

Answer 3

According to logic, logic can't be wrong. When someone doesn't follow logic, we by definition call them "unreasonable"

It's generally assumed that the rules of logic are impossible to breech. There are two precidents for that (though I will say that these precidents are inherently logical in nature: more on that later). First, humanity cannot conceive of anything illogical. We can accept the terms, but there's no way we can think of something that, say, isn't identical to itself (you can say it, but you can't actually percieve an object like that in your mind's eye). Secondly, everything that we deal with in reality follows the rules of logic (though that may simply be restating the first; if things exist in reality that aren't logical, we likely can't percieve them). So we use logic because that's what intelligent minds do: you can't make deductions or conclusions based on anything else (faith is inheritly an assumption; the existence of faith is logical, but the conclusions made therein aren't).

So logic can't be wrong. God can lift any stone, and he can create a stone of any size, but he can't create a stone that he himself cannot lift. If we percieve a god that is able to defeat the barriers of logic (which omnipotence colloqually means, but not in the logical definition), then sure, the bible can be illogical and still "Right." But if this is the case, the accuracy of the bible, or virtually anything else, is irrelevant, because if the bible is right, it can also be wrong: normally that'd be impossible, but if it's illogical, there's no limitation.

A lot of what gets people confused and thinking that logic is wrong is when someone makes what appears to be a logical arguement, but that is in fact incorrect in some matter. Any logical arguement is based from a series of premises, which lead to a logical conclusion: if any of these premises is false, then the arguement doesn't stand. Moreover, there are ambiguities in human communication, that make us draw false conclusions; one word might mean two different things, and thus we might attribute the aspects of one object to another object. This also brings up some trickier questions about what the nature of objects is (what constitutes an entity for example), but I won't get into that.

Having all the information is just step one. The second step is analyzing the information; the second step is logic. If you do the second step incorrectly, it ceases to be logic. Also: don't confuse science with logic. Science is based upon logic and observations, but it's still a series of data and assumptions. Science changes all the time, but the rules of logic don't.

Answer 4

Logic can indeed be wrong. If it can be logically proven that a statement is the same as its negation (a = ~a), then the whole house of logic comes tumbling down.

But, as you suggest, life is very complex. However, if one "knew every thing and detail about one subject", he can still be wrong by misinterpreting the relationships. Knowing and understanding are two different things.

I'm not aware of the Bible being illogical anywhere. However, many people are quick to point out that there are many statements in the Bible that APPEAR to be contradictory. An example:

"Do not answer a fool according to his folly,..."
(Proverbs 26:4)

Yet the very next verse says:

"Answer a fool according to his folly,..."
(Proverbs 26:5)

Logically, these two statements are contradictory. But there is more to them; and a discerning understanding is required to use them properly.

The rest of verse 4 states, "Lest you also be like him." And the rest of verse 5, "Lest he be wise in his own eyes." It will require an understanding of the particular situation as to which of these actions is to be taken.

{Note: I find this Scripturre is particularly important in determining which Yahoo! Answers question to answer -- especially in regards to atheist's questions.}

So, to the best of my knowledge, all alleged Bible contradictions can be thusly resolved.

Many (very many) times the Bible requires much more than a superficial reading of its statements. It requires study and meditation, and most of all, the spirit of God, to unlock and understand it properly.

Answer 5

"Can logic ever be wrong?"
Logic can be wrong in comparison to a truth which is more logical than the initial conclusion. For example, logic indicates the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In space, this may not be the case: the shortest distance between two points may be a curve.

"What about the Bible. If it is illogical, does it make it wrong?"
Absolutely.

Answer 6

I imagine the question would be, "Do you know everything about everything, and therefore have enough information to make a logical decision about the Bible and things of the spirit?"

Logic isn't perfect, since we're not perfect. It's a sad thing to admit, but how you wield it is dependant on the person. What's logical to one person might not be so logical to another, simply because of how one person views the situation based on the information they have available.

Also, be careful not to confuse bias for logical thinking. It's something we all struggle with, but objectivity is key.

Answer 7

Being illogical or having flawed logic makes a person or something wrong, or at least partly wrong. Unflawed logic is the truth in something, so there isn't much to say about it, it's just what it real. Only unflawed logic is not wrong, else it becomes flawed.

Answer 8

That does not necessarily make something wrong, but 99.999% of the time it does. So there is a 1/10,000th of a chance that the Bible holds true. I think I will stick with logic.

Answer 9

Of course logic can be wrong.

"This statement is false." Figure that one out logically.

There is objective truth that cannot be explained by logic, science, or religion. Truth is objectively true regardless of which branch of thought is observing it.

The only truth is whatever God says it is. Handily, he gave us the Bible to lead us to Truth.

There are parts of the Bible which are literally true and should be taken literally as truth. There are also parts of the Bible which are figuratively true.

Like I said before, Truth transcends the method used to reach it.

Answer 10

Logic in itself is "perfect" in a mathematical sense.
It is when you argue form imperfect knowledge or poor assumptions that things go wrong.

While being logical is no garantee of being right, if something is illogical, it is most definitely wrong.