An inspiration, perhaps, for the title of this blog was the title of the book we will be referring to: Fundamentals of Reasoning: A Logic Book by Robert M. Johnson, 4th edition.
The intended progression of the class is to begin with the art of logic, followed by the study of natural theology, and finishing with apologetics. In this blog I will try to recount the major items discussed in class, perhaps in a digestible order for a reader/onlooker; pertinent and appropriate comments/insights/discoveries are very welcome.
Doctor began introducing us to what is Natural Theology. It is defined as the attempt to understand the existence and attributes of God, and His relation with His creatures, using our human reason alone. Vatican I proclaimed as dogma that there are indeed some truths of the Catholic Faith that can be known by our natural reason alone; for these truths to be known, Faith is not required. Examples of these truths which can be discovered by natural reason are: the existence and nature of God, the immortality of the soul, that men are judged, that good is rewarded and evil punished.
Natural Theology is different from Revealed Theology in that God is the Object of Natural Theology, while He reveals Himself as the Subject of Revealed Theology, opens Himself up for us to see. An object is something that is definitively distinct from ourselves, something that we can look at, walk around, and describe. In the study of Natural Theology, God is that object, and that study tells man that there is only one God.
Until Vatican II, Thomistic reasoning had a monopoly on colleges and universities here in the United States. The Catholic Church had kept the principles of rational/logical thought alive until the 1960's. With the Second Vatican Council, all of the attempts of the Church to translate Thomistic thought into usable and understandable sources for interested and eager students were flushed down the toilet, and the age of doubt began. Logical thinking is no longer a part of modern curriculum, though it served mankind well from the time of ancient Greece until the early 1900's. Talk about reinventing the wheel!
The trivium, or the first three of the seven liberal arts taught in ancient times, were Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. Grammar, the art and study of language, learning how words are put together. Rhetoric, the art of speaking well, so as to convince others, because knowledge and sound reasoning are meant to be shared. Where does logic fit in? It seems a selfish art, for it is the creation of one's own orderly thought processes. The formal definition: The art of reasoning well, so as to produce true and valid conclusions from true premises.
The human mind wants and needs truth, and has the ability to recognize truth though judgements based on sense perceptions that are true. The example we used in class was the dry erase board, of which was said: the board is white. The class agreed that this was a true statement, but what made it true? One of the most basic philosophy definitions is that truth is the matching of the mind to reality, or the correspondence of the mind to reality. What man perceives with his senses, unless there is an actual deformity of the organ itself, must be true, and this is the basis of all Thomistic thought, and indeed the basis of any conversation, discussion, or argument that can be had. Disagreement on the fundamentals of what is real was the only option for the modern philosophers, and so they chose to say that we cannot really know anything, and that the board may not be white at all, in spite of everyone's perception.
We know truth or falsity by looking at reality and forming a judgment. Validity and invalidity are a different story. A conclusion is valid when it necessarily follows from the premises, and invalid if it does not necessarily follow from the premises. Logical reasoning culminates in the syllogism, an argument made up of three propositions. The most famous syllogism is that if Aristotle, who said:
"All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal."
And so it will be the first object of our study of logic to study words and how to come to properly define and fully understand words, for they are the raw ingredients of logic.
The second object will be the study of propositions, putting the words together into true statements.
And the third object, and one that I am definitely anticipating, is the study of the argument as a whole.
So much to look forward to and so much to ponder. Development of the discussion is encouraged, as well as keeping your eyes and ears open for interesting anecdotes or sources.
Always remember: As Catholics we are not, nor do we wish to be considered blind believers! We hold a Faith based on reason!
