Questions tagged [logic]
Use this tag for general questions about logic that are not categorizable under some more specific tag, like "mathematical logic", "informal logic", "classical logic", etc.
4,231 questions
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Is it a fallacy if someone claims they need an explanation for every word of your argument to the point where they don't understand common terms?
Is it a fallacy if someone claims they need an explanation for every word of your argument to the point where they don't understand common terms?
For example, suppose someone said, "If a dog bites ...
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Isn't the notion that everything will occur in an infinite timeline an example of the gambler's fallacy?
I've seen a few different formulations of this, but the most famous is "monkeys on a typewriter" - that if you put a team of monkeys on a typewriter, given infinite time, they will ...
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What is the difference between a statement and a proposition?
I'm doing a MOOC on mathematical philosophy and the lecturer drew a distinction between a proposition and a statement. This is very puzzling to me. My background is in math and I regard those two ...
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What is the difference between Fact and Truth?
I'm curious about the difference between Fact and Truth. I was searching on the internet if I could find it. But still I'm confused about the exact meaning.
I first read the forum discussion here
Fact ...
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Difference between implication/conditional and logical entailment?
What is the difference between the implication/conditional truth function and the notion of logical entailment?
My naive understanding as a computer programmer is that the conditional is a function ...
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Where is the weakness in the ontological proof for God's existence?
I read the ontological proof for God's existence. As much as I understood, it says that if you consider that existence is part of essence, then the most complete essence should also exist.
Now, I see ...
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What are the major research programmes in contemporary logic?
As an interested outsider who is prone to reading about different formulations of logic, I've become interested in better understanding the big picture of what people are trying to accomplish as they ...
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Is the claim "this coin is fair" falsifiable?
Wikipedia says,
The claim "No human lives forever" is
not falsifiable since one would have
to observe a human living forever to
falsify that claim.
Thinking on similar lines, even if the coin ...
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What is modal logic for?
I understand "pure" logic as a structural description of what a valid proof is but I have never understood the reasons for using modal logic.
What's an example typical of how modal logic is used?
user3085
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Is infinite regress of causation possible? Is infinite regress of causation necessary?
For a number of reasons — including perhaps a desire to feel that we have a complete understanding of where we came from, or at least an understanding which is completely sufficient for all of ...
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What are the philosophical implications of category theory?
I have heard about topoi being the ideal entities to use for foundations of mathematics (since we are able to reasonably interpret our theories in them), so I imagine there might possibly be some ...
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What type of rhetorical device is the offering of a source which is really long and not specifying what part of the source is relevant?
I'm encountering a frequent recurrence of a rhetorical device that seems to me fallacious but I can't figure out what it's called. When making an argument, the person does the following:
Makes a ...
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answers
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What is the difference between "reductio ad absurdum" and "proof by contradiction"?
What is the exact difference between reductio ad absurdum and proof by contradiction?
Wikipedia used to state that:
Reductio ad absurdum (Latin: "reduction to the absurd") is a form of argument in ...
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Is there just one zero?
Once, I was discussing zero with my kids. I picked up a pen, and asked what it is. They said one pen, then I kept the pen and showed them my empty hand and asked how about now, they said zero pens, ...
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Could law be written in formal logic?
I essentially have two questions:
Could law be written in formal logic?
If that's indeed possible, should it be?
I see possible drawbacks being:
Difficulty to express certain concepts, I can't ...
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