Why We Need Logic in Schools
Logic, the science of evaluating arguments, helps order the mind and enhances reasoning abilities. Thus, a logically oriented mind is better prepared to discern truth. The following 15 quotes are a sample of actual statements I’ve heard from students throughout my 20+ years of teaching at the college level. Many of the statements are funny but they also demonstrate the need we all have to order our thinking by studying logic rigorously. As a professor, I greatly enjoy helping my students grow in their understanding of logic, especially as it applies to the big questions of life. My hope is that when students leave my class, they’ll leave with better means of supporting their ideas and perspectives.
- “I hate to say it, but the truth is that there is no truth.”
- “All truths are half-truths.”
- “I’m certain you can never know anything for certain.”
- “My [invisible] idea is that I only believe in what I see.”
- “Everybody knows that nobody knows.”
- [Without evidence] “I accept the principle that one should only believe in things that have evidence to support them.”
- “My daddy told me, ‘Only believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.’”
- “Okay, I’m absolutely certain that there are no absolutes.”
- “Professor Samples, I would like to give you a few reasons why logic is invalid.”
- “Objective morality may actually exist for you, but not for me.”
- “We should be tolerant of all people, except those who are intolerant, like those Republican creeps!”
- “The answer is that there are no answers.”
- “No, it’s true that everything I say is a lie.”
- “But, Professor Samples, if I can’t attack my opponent’s character, I have nothing left.”
- “But what you don’t understand is that some ad hominems are true.”