In simple words, logic is “the study of correct reasoning, especially regarding making inferences.” Logic began as a philosophical term and is now used in other disciplines like math and computer science.
When I think about language and linguistics, I often do it through the lens of logic and so I sometimes apply these terms to language. This might not be the ‘normal’ way we use the terminology, but I find it a useful way to discuss the language being used. Language is the way we try…
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“You can’t prove a negative” is such a common phrase among atheists these days and it’s ridiculous!
Do You really think you can’t prove a negative or non-existence?
Well, you’re mistaken – check out this post to find out how!
I’m an atheist, I believe gods do not exist, though atheism is polysemous so not all atheists use it that way and I want to address a term some atheists use known as agnostic atheism. This article is the written form of the video, so, if you prefer to watch, please check the below: Agnostic…
The null hypothesis is used in science, and we atheists tend to have a lot of respect for science, the scientific method, scientific and empirical evidence. We think of ourselves as logical and rational people. We feel we know a lot about the topics we discuss, especially when it comes to science. In conversations with…
Read More “Misunderstanding The Null Hypothesis and Knowledge.” »
Something that comes up quite often in conversations is people saying things are logically impossible. This, at times, is used correctly however, there is often a misunderstanding over what is meant by logical and what it means by possible. Possibility When speaking of possibility we are talking about the likelihood something can happen. This is…
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As a site that proclaims to have ‘Answers in Reason’ we have very few articles about what this actually means. When we speak of reason, we are speaking of the cognitive process of; actively thinking through a topic and coming to conclusions based on all available/known arguments and data. To summarise Plato, reason is the…
The repetitious nature of folks trying to prescribe a singular definition of atheism, and claiming that other definitions are, “talking about something else” or are “wrong”, seems to never die. What’s worse, these folks who take you saying that there are actually multiple uses of atheism claim that YOU are the one being prescriptive and…
There are some people who like to oversimplify not believing a proposition. They will say things like “You either do believe or you don’t believe, there is no third option!” On the surface, this statement is correct. The problem is, it doesn’t actually fully capture the type of not believing. This is why conflations of…
Read More “Different Types of Not Believing & The Law of Excluded Middle” »
As an atheist, even one that doesn’t feel that in tune with many other atheists, I still want atheists to come from a position of strength. I want us to have good arguments, sound reasoning and solid logic. This is a big part of why I have the Bad atheist arguments series and the SciPhi…
Read More “The Problem With ‘Atheism is the Default Position’ Arguments” »
Begging the question is a fallacy in which the premises of an argument assume the truth of the conclusion instead of supporting it. You may have also heard of this being called circular reasoning. The phrase begging the question originated in the 16th century as a mistranslation of the Latin petitio principii, which in turn…
A proposition is a bivalent statement (or claim) that expresses a judgement or opinion. It is truth-apt and, therefore, can be true or false. A claim is an assertion something is true (or false). There’s is propositional content in a claim but they are not exactly the same thing, at least not always. What’s the…
Why should we be interested in logic? What does it mean to be logical? How does logic tie into rationality? Questions we should be thinking about, especially if we view ourselves as logical and/or rational people. What Does it Mean to Be Logical? Something is logical if it adheres to the rules of logic. There…
When something is subjective, it is based on personal opinion*. We are saying that there is no real external truth value, just opinions. *The term subjective can mean different things, though they are mostly akin to this definition, and this is how it is being used in the article. Preferences and Standards We can see…
I’ve said language is descriptive and people are free to identify how they like a number of times, but when discussing definitions I speak of the normative or most logical. This can be met with some hostility, with people often telling me I am the one being illogical or that I don’t understand what normative…
It is very common to hear folks use the term agnostic atheist to describe themselves, and others. Let me say that you are free to identify how you like, though I would suggest you don’t be prescriptive with your identification on to others. If you wonder why; consider if you are the sort to tell…
I figured I would write some notes in response to a video I watched of ‘Caffeine Corner’ with Steve and Chesh and found I ended up writing almost 11 pages of notes – I figured may as well sort it out and post it as an article. Before I get accused of bias, I will…
Read More “Analysis of ‘Caffeine Corner w/David C. Smalley: A Philosophical Discussion’” »
