Logic, Inductive and Deductive

William Minto

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• Publié par: enkae
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 73
• Langue: English

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Project Gutenberg's Logic, Inductive and Deductive, by William Minto This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Logic, Inductive and Deductive Author: William Minto Release Date: March 27, 2010 [EBook #31796] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LOGIC, INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE *** Produced by Thierry Alberto, Lesley Halamek and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [page ii] UNIVERSITY MANUALS EDITED BY PROFESSOR KNIGHT LOGIC INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE [page iii] PUBLISHED MAY , 1893 Reprinted December, 1893 " November, 1894 " January, 1899 " August, 1904 " June, 1909 " September, 1912 " July, 1913 " January, 1915 [page iv] LOGIC INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE BY WILLIAM MINTO, M.A. HON. LL.D. ST. ANDREWS LATE PROFESSOR OF LOGIC IN THE U NIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1915 [page v] PREFACE. In this little treatise two things are attempted that at first might appear incompatible. One of them is to put the study of logical formulæ on a historical basis. Strangely enough, the scientific evolution of logical forms, is a bit of history that still awaits the zeal and genius of some great scholar. I have neither ambition nor qualification for such a magnum opus, and my life is already more than half spent; but the gap in evolutionary research is so obvious that doubtless some younger man is now at work in the field unknown to me. All that I can hope to do is to act as a humble pioneer according to my imperfect lights. Even the little I have done represents work begun more than twenty years ago, and continuously pursued for the last twelve years during a considerable portion of my time. The other aim, which might at first appear inconsistent with this, is to increase the power of Logic as a practical discipline. The main purpose of this practical science, or scientific art, is conceived to be the organisation of reason against error, and error in its various kinds is made the basis of the division of the subject. To carry out this practical aim along with the historical one is not hopeless, because throughout its long history Logic has been a practical science; and, as I have tried to show at some length in introductory chapters, has concerned itself at different periods with the risks of error peculiar to each. To enumerate the various books, ancient and modern, to which I have been indebted, would be a vain parade. Where I have consciously adopted any distinctive recent contribution to the long line of tradition, I have made particular acknowledgment. My greatest obligation is to my old professor, Alexander Bain, to whom I owe my first interest in the subject, and more details than I can possibly separate from the general body of my knowledge. W. M. ABERDEEN, January, 1893. [page vi] [page vii] Since these sentences were written, the author of this book has died; and Professor Minto's Logic is his last contribution to the literature of his country. It embodies a large part of his teaching in the philosophical classroom of his University, and doubtless reflects the spirit of the whole of it. Scottish Philosophy has lost in him one of its typical representatives, and the University of the North one of its most stimulating teachers. There have been few more distinguished men than William Minto in the professoriate of Aberdeen; and the memory of what he was, of his wide and varied learning, his brilliant conversation, his urbanity, and his rare power of sympathy with men with whose opinions he did not agree, will remain a possession to many who mourn his loss. It will be something if this little book keeps his memory alive, both amongst the students who owed so much to him, and in the large circle of friends who used to feel the charm of his personality. WILLIAM KNIGHT. [page viii] GENERAL PLAN OF THE SERIES. This Series is primarily designed to aid the University Extension Movement throughout Great Britain and America, and to supply the need so widely felt by students, of Text-books for study and reference, in connexion with the authorised Courses of Lectures. The Manuals differ from those already in existence in that they are not intended for School use, or for Examination purposes; and that their aim is to educate, rather than to inform. The statement of details is meant to illustrate the working of general laws, and the development of principles; while the historical evolution of the subject dealt with is kept in view, along with its philosophical significance. The remarkable success which has attended University Extension in Britain has been partly due to the combination of scientific treatment with popularity, and to the union of simplicity with thoroughness. This movement, however, can only reach those resident in the larger centres of population, while all over the country there are thoughtful persons who desire the same kind of teaching. It is for them also that this Series is designed. Its aim is to supply the general reader with the same kind of teaching as is given in the Lectures, and to reflect the spirit which has characterised the movement, viz., the combination of principles with facts, and of methods with results. The Manuals are also intended to be contributions to the Literature of the Subjects with which they respectively deal, quite apart from University Extension; and some of them will be found to meet a general rather than a special want. They will be issued simultaneously in England and America. Volumes dealing with separate sections of Literature, Science, Philosophy, History, and Art have been assigned to representative literary men, to University Professors, or to Extension Lecturers connected with Oxford, Cambridge, London, and the Universities of Scotland and Ireland. A list of the works in this Series will be found at the end of the volume. [page ix] CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. I. The Origin and Scope of Logic, PAGE 1 II. Logic as a Preventive of Error or Fallacy—The Inner Sophist, 17 III. The Axioms of Dialectic and of Syllogism, 29 BOOK I. THE LOGIC OF CONSISTENCY—SYLLOGISM AND DEFINITION. PART I. THE ELEMENTS OF PROPOSITIONS. CHAPTER I. General Names and Allied Distinctions, 43 CHAPTER II. The Syllogistic Analysis of Proposition, into Terms. (1) The Bare Analytic Forms. (2) The Practice of Syllogistic Analysis. (3) Some Technical Difficulties, [page x] 62 PART II. DEFINITION. CHAPTER I. (1) Imperfect Understanding of Words. 82 (2) Verification of the Meaning—Dialectic. (3) Fixation of the Meaning—Division or Classification, Definition, Naming, CHAPTER II. The Five Predicables—Verbal and Real Predication, 105 CHAPTER III. Aristotle's Categories, 112 CHAPTER IV. The Controversy about Universals—Difficulties concerning the Relation of General Names to Thought and to Reality, 120 PART III. THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPOSITIONS. CHAPTER I. Theories of Predication—Theories of Judgment, 131 CHAPTER II. The "Opposition" of Propositions—The Interpretation 139 of "No," CHAPTER III. The Implication of Propositions—Immediate Formal Inference—Eduction, 146 CHAPTER IV. The Counter-Implication of Propositions, 156 PART IV. THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF PROPOSITIONS. CHAPTER I. The Syllogism, [page xi] 167 CHAPTER II. The Figures and Moods of the Syllogism. (1) The First Figure. (2) The Minor Figures and their Reduction to the First. (3) Sorites, 173 CHAPTER III. The Demonstration of the Syllogistic Moods—The Canons of the Syllogism, 185 CHAPTER IV. The Analysis of Arguments into Syllogistic Forms, 196 CHAPTER V. Enthymemes, 205 CHAPTER VI. The Utility of the Syllogism, 209 CHAPTER VII. Conditional Arguments—Hypothetical Syllogism, Disjunctive Syllogism and Dilemma, 215 CHAPTER VIII. Fallacies in Deductive Argument—Petitio Principii and Ignoratio Elenchi , 226 CHAPTER IX. Formal or Aristotelian Induction—Inductive Argument 235 —The Inductive Syllogism, BOOK II. INDUCTIVE LOGIC, OR THE LOGIC OF SCIENCE. Introduction, 243 CHAPTER I. The Data of Experience as Grounds of Inference or Rational Belief, 273 CHAPTER II. Ascertainment of Simple Facts in their Order —Personal Observation— 285 Hearsay Evidence—Method of Testing Traditional Evidence, [page xii] CHAPTER III. Ascertainment of Facts of Causation. (1) Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc. (2) Meaning of Cause—Methods of Observation —Mill's Experimental Methods, 295 CHAPTER IV. Method of Observation—Single Difference. (1) The Principle of Single Difference. (2) Application of the Principle, 308 CHAPTER V. Methods of Observation—Elimination—Single Agreement. (1) The Principle of Elimination. (2) The Principle of Single Agreement. (3) Mill's "Joint Method of Agreement and Difference," 318 CHAPTER VI. Methods of Observation—Minor Methods. (1) Concomitant Variations. (2) Single Residue, 329 CHAPTER VII. The Method of Explanation. (1) The Four Stages of Orderly Procedure. (2) Obstacles to Explanation—Plurality of Causes and Intermixture of Effects. (3) The Proof of a Hypothesis, 334 CHAPTER VIII. Supplementary Methods of Investigation. 351 (1) The Maintenance of Averages—Supplement to the Method of Difference. (2) The Presumption from Extra-Casual Coincidence, CHAPTER IX. Probable Inference to Particulars—The Measurement of Probability, 362 CHAPTER X. Inference from Analogy, [page 1] 367 INTRODUCTION. I.—THE ORIGIN AND SCOPE OF LOGIC. The question has sometimes been asked, Where should we begin in Logic? Particularly within the present century has this difficulty been felt, when the study of Logic has been revived and made intricate by the different purposes of its cultivators. Where did the founder of Logic begin? Where did Aristotle begin? This seems to be the simplest way of settling where we should