The citizen dimension of logical reasoning

In the current context of our society, logic seems to have a fundamental role. This was made clear in our report on January 17, and this is demonstrated by the arguments that run through our daily lives, our social interactions and our civic life.

The question about human rationality, that is, if the human being thinks and acts on the basis of reason, usually points to logic as a model of what is rationally expected.

There are many definitions of logic, and not all of them agree with each other. What is clear is its impact on multiple scenarios of our performance in society. A current and vital discipline, which functions as an invisible tool in environments conducive to argumentation, debate, discourse, or in the development of aspects such as artificial intelligence and other areas related to computer science or mathematics.

“If different people are asked what music is, they will give different answers. Now, if you ask them what music theory is, many won't know, but among those interested there will also be different answers, and that –contrary to what one might think– is enriching”, explains Andrés Bobenrieth, adding that, in In the case of logic, “it is clear that all human beings are in contact with it in some way. Hence the old Aristotelian definition that we are 'rational animals' which, in a more direct translation, would be that 'we are capable of having logos', a word that makes a lot of sense and that is the origin of the word logic”.

Philosopher and lawyer, Bobenrieth maintains that logic is present in the practice of all beings that make inferences. That, he says, includes human and non-human animals, and machines. "Inferring is starting from certain statements or assumptions to reach certain conclusions."

Now, he adds, “Logic, as a discipline, is the study of these processes, trying to distinguish between what would be a well-made inference, from an inference that we consider to be poorly made and, therefore, we call invalid” .

The academic from the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Valparaíso and the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile, points out that this is similar to music. “We all have a 'musical sense', including non-human animals, but only some humans engage in music theory. It is like Mòliere's phrase about the gentle Bourgeois man who did not know that he 'spoke in prose'. Also, all computers, tablets, and cell phones are nothing more than Logic made into electronic circuits,” he says.

Cognitive biases and Fake News

The relationship that exists between logic and human reasoning is part of the research field of Alba Massolo, an academic from the Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities of the National University of Córdoba. Through the creation of formal models of human reasoning, this has allowed us to know the characteristics and limitations of our own thinking.

“In conjunction with the cognitive sciences, empirical research has shown the existence of certain common patterns of reasoning, the so-called cognitive biases. Although it is believed that cognitive biases were largely responsible for our adaptive success as a species, it has now been shown that these biases are also responsible for certain undesirable actions, such as believing and accepting false news, ”he says. she.

These so-called Fake News have played a very damaging role both in electoral processes and in the proliferation of anti-vaccine movements. For this reason, says Massolo, “in areas of such fundamental decision-making, such as an election in a democratic society or a vaccination campaign in the current context of a pandemic, the tools of logic could be applied to help mitigate these biases inherent in human reasoning that might otherwise have negative social consequences.”

For Bobenrieth, what has happened in the United States in the last five years is an excellent example of what can happen in a society when, in an important part of it, argumentative rigor is left aside and what "convinces" the people, appealing to emotions, prejudices, set phrases, preconceived ideas, conspiracy theories, etc. “There has been a lot of talk about Trump not paying attention to science, but I think that he, especially he, did not pay attention to logical criteria to justify consequences; that is, it was not so much that he started from wrong premises, but that he drew wrong conclusions, which were accommodating for his rhetorical purposes. This is very evident in the generalizations and extrapolations that he frequently made”.

Natalia M. Buacar agrees with them: “the phenomenon of Fake News alerts us to the power that social networks have when it comes to building our symbolic world. More than ever, then, it is necessary to have tools to be able to identify presuppositions and biases, distinguish relevant information, weigh whether or not certain opinions are based on evidence, whether or not the available information is sufficient, adequate or not. Logic provides us with crucial tools to undertake these tasks”, points out the research professor at the University of Buenos Aires and the Torcuato di Tella University. In this sense, logic helps us to be critical when facing this world of information and helps us to be responsible citizens.

Vaccination, abortion law and a feminist perspective

The study of the arguments that are expressed in our ordinary or colloquial language is called informal logic, a concept that has its source in Aristotle who, in his work known as Órganon, considered only in part the inferential aspects that logic privileges in its contemporary sense. .

Wilfredo Quezada points out that, in general, Aristotle paid attention to "the formal features of discourse, as a dialectical exercise of human beings", and that "the inferential objective appears only in part of his writings on logic, those that correspond to what he would call the analytic, while the other parts largely concern the dialectical, rhetorical, or eristic dimensions of argumentative uses.

There are various ways in which logic, in this natural sense, is inadvertently present in our ways of conceiving of certain processes or people's cognitive abilities. "One tends to unconsciously admit this perspective when accepting that one speaks, for example, in an entrance test to first-year university students to explore in them 'logical-mathematical abilities,'" warns the academic from the University's Philosophy department. of Santiago de Chile and the Institute of Philosophy of the University of Valparaíso

And, in this context, the social relevance of logic appears. As Buacar points out, “the object of study of logic makes it extremely important for our current society. The arguments cross our daily life, our social interactions, our civic life, scientific practice, among others. We live in a society in which we trust (or want to trust) that authority is based on reason, dialogue and the possibility of consensus. The argumentation is at the base of these dialogic exchanges and the logic deals, precisely, with the argumentation”.

Buacar gives as an example what happened in the Argentine legislature, just a few weeks ago, around the discussion on the voluntary interruption of pregnancy where, he says, one can see argumentative practices in action and assess their role in collective life.

“What happened there was an exchange of arguments; certainly some better than others. Logic helps us to analyze and evaluate them. In general, decision-making in the field of public policy is based on arguments. For example, when deciding to whom a vaccine should be applied first, epidemiological, sociological, medical information is required, but it is also necessary to conclude something from it. Logic helps us in that transit”, he explains.

In another aspect, he adds, “the multiple explanations of why the coronavirus is so contagious, to which we had access in the last year, for example, are nothing more than arguments. Predictions about the possible advances of the pandemic are based on the construction of scenarios and models that also suppose innumerable arguments and inferences”.

On the other hand, the way of understanding the discussion or the practice of argumentation can be imposed culturally and obscure aspects that can be much more favorable from a social point of view. The feminist perspective contributes in this sense, by promoting and highlighting these aspects.

Buacar points out that “for a long time, argumentation was conceived as a battlefield, of confrontation, whose result was a winning party and a losing party: whoever managed to impose his position and whoever was defeated. From an alternative perspective, the feminist study of argumentation currently proposes another way of understanding argumentation, and characterizes it as a cooperative effort to answer the questions that concern us, and to make those decisions that are imposed on us. My own research, at present, focuses on these developments.”

Constitution and society

The legal system is a social reality where logic plays a permanent and essential role. To exemplify this, Bobenrieth points out that, in Chile, "contradicting the principles of logic" is a cause for annulment of sentences, there is even talk of "the laws of sound logic."

“Unfortunately, among lawyers, there is little knowledge of Logic as a discipline, but it is used permanently, and in general very competently, logical inferential structures”, he maintains. In this sense, he points out that in the constituent process it will be The integration of all the articles in a structure that is logical and coherent is essential, since the Constitution is more than the sum of its articles, it establishes the general regulatory framework of the country.

“We must take care of both the internal logical structure of the new fundamental letter, and its correlation with all the rest of the current regulations. The new Constitution is going to be decisive, but it has to be done with the entire legal system in mind. For the famous “Kelsen pyramid” its logical articulation is essential”, says Bobenrieth.

In his opinion, “considering that we hope that people with diverse life histories, backgrounds, professions (not just lawyers), orientations, interests, concerns, etc., will be chosen as constituents, which fortunately will explicitly include members of indigenous peoples, It will be very important that there are common bases that generate a collective understanding and, in this sense, logic can contribute a lot. The new institutional scaffolding has to be well established. The future of the country depends largely on whether we can make a good Constitution”.

In the current scenario, logic then seems to have a fundamental role, even more so in the development of issues related to the humanities.

“If Plato were consulted about the development and exercise of Logic in societies like ours, surely he would say that it is important because it is the only path that assures virtue to youth. Today it would be difficult to even suggest that”, reflects Quezada.

In his opinion, there are two answers to the question, depending on what is meant by society: “If it is the so-called Knowledge Society, with a predominance of artificial intelligence and information highways, the development and exercise of logic, whether direct or indirect, it is already insured because, in part, it has been responsible for this type of company. There, logic is a passive instrument and the responsibility of those who use it is so scattered in that common effort that it is indiscernible”, he maintains.

Now, if the society in which one thinks is a cultural and socio-economic continuum determined by a specific political ethos, he says, “logic and its exercise can become a crucial instrument to, at least, introduce critical clarification in the arguments common and make more responsible the subjects that in the future will make decisions for others. Thus, unlike Plato, the only thing that in my opinion could be asked at this time of the exercise of logic among the youngest, is not to achieve greater virtue but, at least, greater responsibility. That this happens, of course, is the responsibility of educational institutions and, by the way, of those who teach logic. In Chile that is still a challenge.”

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