[lit-ideas] Illogicisms -- And how to spot them
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:58:19 EST
`Contrariwise,' continued Tweedledee, `if it was so, it might be; and if it
were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.'
It was fashionable in Paris for a while to write books against Aristotle.
Deleuze, La logic de sense, etc.
>What is, pray, an illogicism?
[Echoes of Andreas: 'illogical statement'
R. Paul: whoa??
TEST YOUR ILLOGICALITY. GO OVER THIS LIST OF QUOTES FROM THE OED -- under
'illogic' and CHECK whether YOU THINK it's
logic or illogic,
1588 FRAUNCE Lawiers Log. I. xii. 56b,
Illogical lawyers who think it a fruiteless point of superfluous curiosity
to understand the words of a man's own profession.
GIST: If a lawyer says this below he is stating an illogical
statement:
"It's a fruitless point of superfluous curiosity to
understand the words of a man's own profession."
1663 COWLEY Verses & Ess., Shortness of Life (1669) 137
What is there among the actions of Beasts so illogical and repugnant to
Reason?
This corresponds to what a beast do, e.g. shit on carpets.
-- or eating rugs.
So the statement would have to be expressed in the point
of view of the Schrodinger's Cat
"I piss where I like"
1788 Warburton's Div. Legat. III. iv. Wks. II. 95
Though their principles were often unnatural, their conclusions were rarely
illogical.
Too many meiosis for the general understanding.
Anyway, a conclusion would be illogical
Men are angels
Angels have wings
___________________
Ergo, angels are men.
1850 KINGSLEY Alt. Locke i. (1876) 14
A foolish and illogical antipathy.
These are the worst. E.g. antipathy towards the Queen, if you
are her subject.
statement, "I abhorr the Queen" Donal McE. (<---- illogical)
1856 J. SKELTON in Edin. Ess. 88
An article pervaded by the fervid illogic of Mr. Kingsley's mind.
This is possibly related to the previous one.
So I can take his example as illogical, "Skelton's antipathy is
illogical"
1887 Pall Mall G. 1 Apr. 4 There is..one delicious bit of Thereor rather
ratherin this morning's chorus.
Perhaps it was:
"The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ the lord"
1889 Sat. Rev. 7 Dec., The illogic of the official position is clear.
"War to Argentina!"
1955 Bull. Atomic Sci. Apr. 131/1
So there was no illogic or softheadedness in the Commission's concern about
the dangers inherent in the investigative process or in clearance
determinations.
Not sure about that. I think there _was_ sofheadedness. But
a concern is illogical in almost every
respect when overdue -- except when it comes to Atomic
Science.
1965 Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 23 May 21/1 There's no room for illogic in
an Ellery Queen mystery.
I follow that. Note that we don't have to find an
example here
as there's no room for it.
Borges's first story appeared in the Ellery Queen
magazine ("The garden of forking paths")
And Borges used to cite Chesterton who would say that
the good thing of a mystery is the NON-appeal to
the supernatural (which would be 'illogical' -- e.g.
appeal to magic or divine intervention)
1972 Nature 1 Sept. 54/2 With the same illogic with which the Englishman
will eat cow but not dog, will hang game but not chicken.
Hadn't thought about that.
Cows are harder to train to stay warm by the fireside.
Also clumsier at hunting foxes.
So why the change?
Nice thing of the game is the antlers (if that's the word).
Nothing extravagant about a poulet.
Dog meat probably tastes worse than cow meat. They say
(Columbus) that the tastier meat is man's.
And that was naturally written by an non-Englishman, and we may
concede that each nation has its own logic.
1830 Blackw. Mag. XXVIII. 874 The utter illogicality of any argument drawn
from their misery.
Here it's an argument deemed 'illogical' if it has "We are
miserable" as premise. Not enough information to judge this.
1873 H. SPENCER Study Sociol. xvi. (1877) 396 The illogicalities and
absurdities to be found..in current opinions.
Again, enthymematic. But current opinions tend to be
_contradictory_.
In Spanish we have,
no por mucho madrugar se amanece mas temprano.
Waking up early doesn't make it
_dawn_ early.
but an anti-thetical proverb,
al que madruga dios lo ayuda
He who wakes up at dawn, is helped by God.
I suppose it's that kind of illogicality that Spencer may
be at?
Another one would be, by 1873, about Evolution:
"Man was created by God, and thus had no Navel.
Woman was created out of Man's rib.
Man and Woman started to reproduce
and here we are!"
1882 Athenæum 15 July 72/1 Another instance of unpoetic illogicality.
This would be something like "2 + 2 = 5"
1660 R. COKE Justice Vind. 54
They..most illogically confound the relations of agencie and patiencie in
the same subject.
That's terrible. This is Aristotelian science. "Ergon" vs.
"pathos" -- and in the same Subject.
As when they say, "I have a terrible headache. Must have
been something I ate".
ERGON: "I have a headache"
PATHOS: "Something I ate"
It's usually a _stomach ache_ that is caused (patience) by
something you ate (agencie)
1752 WARBURTON Serm. xiii. Wks. IX. (R.), He would infer, and not
illogically on such a..Principle, that [etc.].
He is distinguishing between inferring logically and
illogically.
ILOGICAL INFERENCE
Snow is white or grass is green
grass is not green
____________________________
snow is not white.
1869 Spectator 24 July 861 The affair..was settled English fashion,
illogically and stupidly, but finally.
"Let's set the affair this way.
They say Oxford does not allow dogs -- and Mr.
Schrodinger has a dog?
But Oxford will allow cat? Well, let's deem that Mr. Schrodinger's dog is a
cat.
(recoll. by Grice, WOW).
1639 HAMMOND Serm., Pastors Motto Wks. 1683 IV. 546 The illogicalness of
the inference.
Apparently this is the good area.
Cfr. Strawson on 'therefore'.
Note that 'therefore' is a metalogical conjunctive (unlike
'and' and 'or')
If snow is white, grass is green
grass is green
__________________________
snow is white
That would be illogical.
if snow is white, grass is green
snow is white
____________________________
grass is green
That would be logical
If snow is white, grass is green
grass is not green.
__________________________
snow is not white.
That would be logical
-----
1683 O. U. Parish Churches no Conventicles 7 We may plainly see the
Illogicalness of his Arguing.
1890 Daily News 10 Mar. 5/3 That curious illogicalness which the rural
magisterial mind is sometimes ‘very cunning in’.
1884 A. BIRRELL Obiter Dicta Ser. I. 182 The baffled illogician, persecuted
in one position, flees into another.
1886 Daily Tel. 9 Apr. 5/1 The measure..is pervaded by one obvious
illogicity.
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