THE MYTH OF FORMAL LOGIC

When I went off to college, I studied ‘formal logic.’ I had a professor who was in love with ‘formal logic’ and so he attempted to proselytize us to become disciples along with him. We had to read multiple chapters about the logic of syllogisms and work out syllogistic puzzles. Years later when I began my research into thinking, I was actually surprised to come across book after book that included not just one, but multiple chapters on syllogisms. The authors in those books argued that this was the basis for rational thinking. It all arose from the first syllogism: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates if mortal.