Epistemology and Logic 23proaches to understanding the answer to the question, what is
truth? Obviously there are others, some worthy of consideration,
others fallacious. What criteria one uses in determining truth is
essential to what one comes to believe.
To use criteria such as majority rule, emotions, customs, and
various other approaches can be valid. However, a reasoned
understanding will help overcome the dangers of the subjective
nature of these methods. Most people tend to determine truth and
to act on the basis of personal, particular, and emotional re
sponses to stimuli. Hopefully we can learn to determine truth and
to act upon general, universal, and rational principles. It is
important to note that the discovery of truth based upon sound
methods of making the determination is nothing if one does not
have the will to act upon those discoveries.
One of the means to better understanding is through clear
thinking. Logic teaches us how to think clearly, reason properly,
and in the process, discover truths. There are many kinds of
logic; common sense is a type of logic called natural logic.
Induction is a type of logic wherein we gather information and
come to tentative conclusions. Deduction requires we argue
from the universal to the particular. The study of logic is a major
task; to understand the basics of logic could easily require a
semester or two. Obviously we will not have the time in this
introduction to basic philosophical ideas to learn formal logic,
despite its importance. Hopefully, however, a short explanation
of the syllogism, the classic deductive method, will whet the
appetite for more inquiry into the study of logic. Also, we will
examine some other methods, less formal, but of real value in the
development of critical thinking skills. None of what follows
will guarantee that we will perfect our thinking skills, but an
awareness of the need to improve those skills should become
apparent.
One of the best brief explanations of the syllogism appears in
the National Council of Teachers of English publication, A
Glossary of Literature and Composition by Arnold Lazarus and
H. Wendell Smith.
Syllogism - A formal argument, chiefly in deductive
reasoning, couched in rigid form, and observing rules that
insure the validity of the conclusion. A typical syllogism