logic

This Happened

“You know those protesters are being paid by somebody.”
“Which protesters?’
“Those up in Wisconsin and Portland.”
“Oh, so you are referring to the black protesters regarding the police violence and stuff.”
“Well, they are being paid.  There’s no way they can afford those hotels they stay in.  They don’t work.”
“You don’t know anything about those people.  You are making unwarranted assumptions, and my guess is that you are trying to blame the ‘left’ or ‘Democrats’.  I don’t care, but I think that’s probably what you’re doing.”
“I know what I see.  And yes, it’s probably the liberal communists.”
“They’re what?!”
“They’re communists.”
“Your need to stop watching so much Fox News and get your facts straight.  I’ll bet you don’t even know what communism is.”
“Of course, I DO know what it is.”
“Then what is it?  Define it.”
“I don’t have to do any such thing.”
“You don’t know what it is.  You’re not really even making an argument.  You’re just making unwarranted claims.”

“That’s just your opinion.  AND I know what communism is.”
“Well some of this is my opinion, but  I haven’t made any claims, and I’m asking you to back up what your saying.  I’m just asking for a logical argument.  We have to define terms if we’re going to have this discussion.”
“Your just trying pull  intellectual, elitist tricks.”
“No.  I’m just trying to have a logical argument.  And you won’t define your terms.  We have to be on the same page if we’re to have this discussion.  And don’t get mad.  You started this.”
“No, you’re just trying to make me feel foolish.  I know what logic is, and I’m being logical.”
“Now why would I do that?  I’m not.  I’m just not going to get in a pissing match about opinions.  But I don’t believe you know what logic is.  If you do, define it.”
“I don’t have to.  You define it.”
“I’m not the one making all these claims and I won’t define it for you.”
“You think I’m ignorant.”
“You are ignorant.  But, so am I about a lot of things.  There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“And I don’t watch that much Fox News.  I get a lot of my news from Epoch News.”

“I don’t know them.

“See.  You don’t know everything.”

“I never said I did.”

Logic

Logic will not save us but it is not because it cannot. It is unfortunate that logic cannot save us because as civilizations are built upon the shoulders of giants they are destroyed by the hands of fools

The fools among us turn their crooked backs on logic and cut the branch upon which they sit. Those who do not put a price on logic are those who do not put a price on anything of value. At best they are stupid and at worst they are liars and cheats.

Those that dismiss logic are those that dismiss the importance of not only being and doing good but of their own potential, their very lives; and perhaps most importantly, they dismiss those that do.

Truth is Like Poetry 3

Problem: Critical Thinking

It is not a secret that common sense is not that common, but it is necessary.  Common sense is nothing more than the ability to think logically and critically.  And although it is not common and at the same time necessary, logical, critical thought is the only process by which we can problem-solve and come to conclusions that are both not contradictory, and can be applied with no doubt and trustworthy consequences to objective issues and subjective arguments.  From philosophy, to engineering, to the scientific method and the arts, critical thinking is core.

But critical thinking takes practice. Common sense is learned and not simply a “natural state”.  Critical thinking entails educating one’s self to be a critical thinker and then putting in practice those basic logical methods.  This takes work, and this is the first problem.  Secondly, most people in power do not want a thinking populace.  Such populaces do not follow orders, question authorities, and generally do not fall into place and so it is not pushed in education.  As a result public and private education systems (for the most part) are based upon ideologies (religious and political) that do not coincide with critical thinking.  John Stuart Mill summed this problem up very succinctly.  Paraphrased, he wrote that if a leaders do not educate the public, they get what they deserve.

Solution:

Like all solutions, education is key.  But here the solution itself needs work.  Most countries (some doing better than others) use public education as a method of nationalizing its citizens, brainwashing for meritocratic and economic reasons.  However, education must be based, solely, on critical thinking methods in all subjects.  Secondly, but perhaps more importantly, non-critical ideologies must be phased out, taught out, and starved. Education, in short, must be overhauled. We have examples to follow, especially in Scandinavia.

Secondly, a quality, critical-thinking based education must be made available and accessible to all within the society, no matter their economic, social, or cultural standing.  This “extreme” idea is not new as it is one which several founding fathers, including Thomas Jefferson, proposed it. This will take a social and a political push.

Finally, from the Judaic traditions to the eastern traditions, from nationalistic to patriotic, from social to cultural norms, ideological beliefs must not be immune to critical analysis or consideration for they are the core of the problem. ideological beliefs have no place in educational systems outside of historical interest.  No leaf shall remain in the shadows, hiding from critical consideration.