What defines logic?

Question

It seems to me that if the majority of human brains come to a certain conclusion, then that conclusion is logical by definition.

Even though it could be said that some religious people have thrown away thier minds to embrace an unprovable faith, still, it makes sence to them. No sane person would choose to believe in a thing that did not make sense in their mind. It is impossible to prove a spiritual theory by physical means. So anyone coming to any spiritual conclusions must use faith to do so. Whether for or against it. So a religious person would say that an atheist has thrown away his mind to embrace his faith, even though the atheist says it makes sense to him. Both say that the other side is ignoring "facts".

But if logic was defined as the conclusion of the mafority of minds, I think by definnition, it is logical to believe a god exists and illogical to believe one does not. Any open minded thoughts?

So lower educated people are religious and highly educated people are atheistic? Idon't know, but I doubt the stats support that.

I wasn't saying I am right, I'm saying I'm logical. And I understand that logic isn't foolproof, it's just the beginning.

SEomer - interesting point,might be correct, but I think in issues of life and death(religion) mob mentality doesn't apply

Answer 1

"Logic is a tweeting bird. Logic is a wreath of flowers that smells bad." - Mr. Spock

By the way, I took logic as a class in college, and have a high I.Q. (Not that I really care about that...)

Answer 2

We believe countless things that don't make sense in our minds. We've just never stopped to think about it.

How does an airplane fly?

Yet there is evidence that they do fly - so we believe - whether or not the Bernoulli principle is explained to us.

The majority of minds in any group are partially informed and are not a reliable source of logic. Think about mob mentality and the recent riots in France - thousands of rioters with no idea why they were rioting.

Facts provide us with some information that, depending on our biases, allows us to logically project a conclusion, without requiring all the intermediate facts. Sometimes this produces differing conclusions. The process is not flawed, a logical conclusion is reached, but it has been filtered through our bias.

Answer 3

Logic is not defined as the conclusion of the majority of minds, that's where your theory falls down.


1. the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference.
2. a particular method of reasoning or argumentation: We were unable to follow his logic.
3. the system or principles of reasoning applicable to any branch of knowledge or study.
4. reason or sound judgment, as in utterances or actions: There wasn't much logic in her move.
5. convincing forcefulness; inexorable truth or persuasiveness: the irresistible logic of the facts.

Edit: Actually what studies have been done do support the correlation of IQ/education with atheism. The following site might seem a little reactionary, but it's a good wrap-up of the studies.

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligence%20&%20religion.htm

Answer 4

We live in a certain plane of existence. Everyone's plane of existence is then same as mine, for all I personally know.

That means that when I see 3 (base 10) apples I can be certain that the person next to me sees 3 (base 10) apples as well, all things being equal (ie, no mirrors, mirages, etc..)

However, if the person next to me says they saw 4 (base 10) apples, or hell, even bananas... they would be wrong.

Absolutely wrong, by all accounts.

What you are arguing is that there is no "truth" in the universe, and that "truth" is subjective to each and every person. If I saw 3 apples I would be "right" but my friend would be right also if he say bananas.

This is not the case. Everyone's universe is the same (which is a safe assumption to make) and as such everyone see the exact same occurrences happen.

If person A sees a bush catch on fire due to desert heat (the "logical" explanation) and person B sees God create a miracle by talking through a bush then B is not correct, assuming it WAS in fact desert heat that caused the fire.

Answer 5

Logic is not defined by the majority because the majority could be wrong. My dictionary states: "1. the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference."

Answer 6

Of course religion "makes sense" to people, because its an extremely simplistic answer to explain the entire world to uneducated people. It worked for people 2000 years ago, and its scary that, with all of the knowledge that we've accumulated since then, its still working.

Once you start learning more, you realize that the universe is far more complex than anything that religion claims it to be.

Answer 7

the first fallacy in your logic is that it is dependant on the opinions of others. Logic is mathematical: this, hense thus. Logic is also a human thing. God does not particularly concern Himself with logic, He promotes wisdom, which is the human capability to garner truth beyond the bounds of logic. Logic is the beginning of wisdom, it is not wisdom in and of itself. The Bible tells us that the foolishness of God is wiser than all the wisdom of man. We cannot prove Him in logic, because He is beyond all logic. We cannot prove Him in the intelligence, because He is beyond all human intelligence. He can only be proven and discovered in wisdom. And note that throughout the Bible, God tells us that His greatest mysteries will only be solved by the wise, not the smart, and not the logicians. God is not confined to our understanding, and He continually chooses the foolish thing to confound the wise. Don't seek logic. Seek wisdom.

Answer 8

I define logic as it's commonly defined and I've added to it analytical examination of the world around me along with all of the studies I've engaged in, which includes various forms of philosophy. Study logic and you'll understand better.

_()_

Answer 9

Human logic cannot be explained or truly defined due to the fact that we cannot say whether logic is based on spiritual or physical things because both have "flaws".

Answer 10

Well said
If you believe in God, then the entire Christian Bible becomes logical.
If you don't believe in God, the entire Bible is silly.

Logic also says that something had to create the universe so I find it easy to believe in God.