Relationship between logic and reasoning

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Is there a relationship between logic and reasoning? If we define, or at least rescue the specific idea that the Logic studies thought, and, thus, reasoning as one of the elements that make it up, we could notice a clear link between the two elements under discussion. From the outset, this is at least a first approximation to our research.

Relationship between logic and reasoning
Relationship between logic and reasoning

To enjoy a greater analysis in greater depth, we must review the concepts of logic and reasoning, being able to understand what is the relationship between logic and reasoning, and if the statement made in the first section, can really have coherence in this regard.

Logic: the analysis of human thought and its components

When we talk about logic, we must understand that we are referring, first of all, to a science of the formal type, which means that it is a scientific discipline that obtains its knowledge through reasoning, with a priori studies specifically.

His object of material study is human thought , for which he resorts to the study and contrast of processes such as inference, propositions, demonstration and reasoning in essence. With this, logic is aimed at understanding the way in which the human being acquires knowledge, and how it allows him to access the truth.

The interest of this approach lies in explaining how through certain mechanisms implicit in thought, man can, from logic, generate valid knowledge, being able to reach high levels of rationality.

Logic allows us to illustrate the way in which thought happens , demonstrating how the human creates relationships between two or more elements in a rational way from the different processes mentioned above (propositions, reasoning, inference, etc.). With this, it is intended to understand how rational thought operates, being able to understand these main features.

Reasoning: a unique quality in the human being

On the other hand, we have reasoning, which we can define as the human capacity to interpret a situation in order to generate and / or determine the most feasible solutions. Through reasoning, people are able to solve problem situations, finding, from their knowledge, the most effective options in each case.

Reasoning is possible thanks to the understanding of laws and/or rules that understand reality, which allows a person to understand the way in which their actions could turn out in a certain context. Through this, reasoning operates as a mechanism for adaptation to complex scenarios.

However, reasoning could also be affected by cultural biases and some aspects such as the age of the person and the knowledge they possess. For example, it is likely that a math student may reason differently than a law student in a numerical problem situation.

Understanding this, we will notice that the reasoning of two people can lead them to different choices in the same situation. However, it is still true that these propitiate different processes in his mind that correspond to logic, inference and deduction as primary mechanisms for his reasoning.

There are different types of reasoning, which will be defined by the elements analyzed themselves, finding that there is mathematical reasoning, verbal reasoning, logical reasoning, inductive and deductive reasoning, etc. This quality is one of the most distinctive features of human beings before the rest of the organisms.

Defining reasoning has not been an easy task, as there are many biases as to its meaning. This has led to multiple conceptions of the term, sometimes generating some confusion.

Some conceptions could explain reasoning as a synonym for common sense, trying to refer to it as the way people conceive their reality, categorizing and interpreting it. Reasoning would be more involved in solving cognitive maps than in categorizing reality as one might think.

From a historical point of view, and as a consequence of the scientific revolution, reasoning began to be conceived as a human and voluntary quality, discarding faith in the divine as the distinctive element of all human beings. A then modern vision, endorsing reason as a strictly human characteristic.

How does logic relate to reasoning?

It seems that we can rescue the idea exposed at the beginning of our article, where we find that reasoning is part of the object of study of logic: human thought. Reasoning, along with inference, propositions and other processes, makes up human thought, and in this sense, we observe a direct relationship between these two elements.

A look at reasoning will allow us to understand much more how logic studies its units of analysis, since reasoning explains the way in which people create relationships between different elements to reach a conclusion or inference. Conceptualizing logic implies, in part, explaining reasoning.

There is no logic without reasoning

A relationship of interdependence, is what we could categorize defines the relationship between logic and reasoning. The former would not be possible without the latter, and the latter would be meaningless without the former. Remember that in reasoning premises and conclusions are built, which is then a starting point in thought itself.

Reasoning is the mechanism for interpreting reality, while logic becomes the mechanism for adapting to it. In operational terms, these could be the functions that each fulfills, clearly, in a correlated way. The greater the reasoning, the more likely logic is to reach the thought itself.

In addition, it should be mentioned that people’s reasoning is a completely voluntary process, which will change throughout the individual’s life as a result of their learning through causal relationships.

This is the relationship that exists between our two elements, logic and reasoning, two constructs that explain, or at least, give us an idea of the degree of complexity we characterize human beings for our very life.

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