(February 29, 2016 at 4:49 pm)little_monkey Wrote:(February 29, 2016 at 2:15 pm)Harris Wrote: Logic can accurately represent the true nature of reality. Beginning with simple descriptions of particular things, we can eventually assemble our information in order to achieve a comprehensive view of the world.
Logic is a tool used to iron out inconsistencies. It may reflect reality, but not necessarily so. For instance, the following syllogism will illustrate my point:
- All fire-breathing dragons are mortal
- My pet is a fire-breathing dragon
- Therefore my pet is mortal.
Though the syllogism is correctly constructed, it doesn't reflect reality, unless I can prove that fire-breathing dragons do exist. Is logic important? Very important but by itself, it is not sufficient to guarantee that I have a set of statements that describes reality. I need to investigate empirically if the content of my statements have any reality basis - in this case, the existence of fire-breathing dragons.
Logic always starts from observable and intelligible objects and then goes to metaphysical concepts. Your syllogism is not starting with a rational, intelligible, and observable object therefore it cannot be taken as logical.
