logic

/ˈlɑdʒɪk/

/ˈlɒdʒɪk/

Other forms: logics

Some people think of logic as cold in its insistence on reasoning based only on what can be proven. But without logic's systematic thinking, most mathematical and scientific advances would never have been made.

Over time, the meaning of logic has expanded to include any system of thought––you might talk about the "three-year-old logic that puts lollipops ahead of safety," or talk about the "flawed logic of thinking that anyone you meet on the Internet must be cool."

Definitions of logic

1. noun

   the branch of philosophy that analyzes inference
   types:

   modal logic

   the logical study of necessity and possibility

   type of:

   philosophy

   the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics
2. noun

   reasoned and reasonable judgment
   “it made a certain kind of logic”

   type of:

   common sense, good sense, gumption, horse sense, mother wit, sense

   sound practical judgment
3. noun

   the principles that guide reasoning within a given field or situation
   “economic logic requires it”

   “by the logic of war”

   type of:

   principle

   a basic truth or law or assumption
4. noun

   a system of reasoning
   synonyms: logical system, system of logic

   types:

   Aristotelian logic

   the syllogistic logic of Aristotle as developed by Boethius in the Middle Ages

   formal logic, mathematical logic, symbolic logic

   any logical system that abstracts the form of statements away from their content in order to establish abstract criteria of consistency and validity

   Boolean algebra, Boolean logic

   a system of symbolic logic devised by George Boole; used in computers

   propositional calculus, propositional logic

   a branch of symbolic logic dealing with propositions as units and with their combinations and the connectives that relate them

   functional calculus, predicate calculus

   a system of symbolic logic that represents individuals and predicates and quantification over individuals (as well as the relations between propositions)

   modal logic

   a system of logic whose formal properties resemble certain moral and epistemological concepts

   fuzzy logic

   a form of mathematical logic in which truth can assume a continuum of values between 0 and 1

   type of:

   system, system of rules

   a complex of methods or rules governing behavior
5. noun

   the system of operations performed by a computer that underlies the machine's representation of logical operations
   type of:

   system, system of rules

   a complex of methods or rules governing behavior