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Quote by Augustus De Morgan

“I end with a word on the new symbols which I have employed. Most writers on logic strongly object to all symbols. ... I should advise the reader not to make up his mind on this point until he has well weighed two facts which nobody disputes, both separately and in connexion. First, logic is the only science which has made no progress since the revival of letters; secondly, logic is the only science which has produced no growth of symbols.”

Book:Syllabus of a Proposed System of Logic

Work

Syllabus of a Proposed System of Logic

This book is a foundational text in the field of logic, offering a detailed exploration of the principles and methods of logical analysis. It is considered a seminal work in the development of modern logic. more

Author

Augustus De Morgan

Augustus De Morgan was a distinguished British mathematician recognized for his contributions to algebra and logic. Born on June 27, 1806, and passing away on March 18, 1871, De Morgan's work laid the groundwork for modern symbolic logic and he is also renowned for his research in number theory and mathematical analysis. more

“In every enterprise ... the mind is always reasoning, and, even when we seem to act without a motive, an instinctive logic still directs the mind. Only we are not aware of it, because we begin by reasoning before we know or say that we are reasoning, just as we begin by speaking before we observe that we are speaking, and just as we begin by seeing and hearing before we know what we see or what we hear.”

Knows Mind Stills Seems Science Seeing Logic Hearing Motive Reasoning Enterprise

Author:Claude Bernard

“It is evidently equally foolish to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician and to demand from a rhetorician demonstrative proofs.”

Science Accepting Demand Logic Proof Foolish Reasoning Mathematician Nicomachean Ethics

Book:The Nicomachean ethics

Source: The Nicomachean ethics

“It is time, therefore, to abandon the superstition that natural science cannot be regarded as logically respectable until philosophers have solved the problem of induction. The problem of induction is, roughly speaking, the problem of finding a way to prove that certain empirical generalizations which are derived from past experience will hold good also in the future.”

Way Problem Past Certain Natural Prove Findings Logic Philosopher Abandon Superstitions Respectable Natural Science Generalization Past Experiences

Author:A.J. Ayer

“It must be granted that in every syllogism, considered as an argument to prove the conclusion, there is a petitio principii. When we say, All men are mortal Socrates is a man therefore Socrates is mortal; it is unanswerably urged by the adversaries of the syllogistic theory, that the proposition, Socrates is mortal.”

Men Theory Prove Argument Logic Conclusion Mortals Granted Propositions Adversaries

Book:A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive: Being a Connected View of the Principles of Evidence, and the Methods of Scientific Investigation

Source: A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive: Being a Connected View of the Principles of Evidence, and the Methods of Scientific Investigation

“It really is worth the trouble to invent a new symbol if we can thus remove not a few logical difficulties and ensure the rigour of the proofs. But many mathematicians seem to have so little feeling for logical purity and accuracy that they will use a word to mean three or four different things, sooner than make the frightful decision to invent a new word.”