Saturday, January 9, 2010
I am wrong, but confident.
While I do not think that it always is, I think that J.W. Krutch is right that logic can be "the art of going wrong with confidence." At its base, logic is forming connections between objects or occurrences in order to justify or predict outcomes, something that sounds, well, logical. It is often said that while two of the same thing is a coincidence that three connotes a pattern, and, again, that makes logical sense - but it is not the end-all-be-all. When assessing something, anything, it is important to not only look at the logic based on facts, but to look at each thing as an individual as well in order to form a more holistic view. Logic does, often, work and make sense, but in the cases where it doesn't quite follow or apply, those using logic have the excuse of "Well, logic dictates..." to hide behind; a false sense of confidence that can often fool others into assuming that they're right.
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I think you might be confusing being logical and being "right". What Krutch is saying is that confidence comes from one's idea that their statement is logical, not right or true.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, Zach! And I think that since logic is usually associated with being "right", that by finding the logic in something, it gives one confidence to believe that they are right. However, like you said, it's important to not use "well, if logic says so..." as the only reason behind somethings validity.
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