Logic (from the Greek λογική, logikē)1 refers to both the study of modes of reasoning (which are
valid and which are fallacious)2 and the use of
valid reasoning. In the latter sense, logic is used in most intellectual activities, including philosophy and science, but in the first sense, is primarily studied in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science. It examines general forms that arguments may take. In mathematics, it is the study of valid inferences within some formal language.
3 Logic is also studied in argumentation theory.4
Logic was studied in several ancient civilizations, including
India,5 China,6 and
Greece. In the
west, logic was established as a formal discipline by Aristotle, who gave it a fundamental place in philosophy. The study of logic was part of the classical trivium, which also included
grammar and rhetoric.
Logic is often divided into three parts, inductive reasoning, abductive reasoning, and deductive reasoning.
What are you working on
Charles?
Oh, I am doing logic homework!
What is it about?
Oh, its a subject about reasoning in a logical manner, I am doing a
proof that involves the transitive property of equality.
