01.03.07
Presuppositions of Logic
At the outset of McInerny’s opening chapter, he lists three presuppositions that undergird Logic:
1) The discipline presupposes our having a sensitivity to language and a knack for its effective use, for logic and language are inseparable.
2) Logic also presupposes our having a healthy respect for the firm factualness of the world in which we live, for logic is about reality.
3) Finally, being logical presupposes a lively awareness of how the facts that are our ideas related to the facts that are the objects in the world, for logic is about truth. (Emphasis mine).
What i found so fascinating (but not surprising) was how these presuppositions cohered so well with Christian theism. The last two points really struck me.
I would like to see others thoughts here on the implications of #2 & #3. Here are some questions to begin with, since i am eager to learn from others out there:
1) What implications are there for Christians who devalue reason (Both good & bad)?
2) For those of us who do value reason, how does the use of antimony, and appealing to mystery cohere with #2 & #3? Are such devices valid, and to what extent?
3) Since Christians believe that the universe is created and governed by a God of order, are Christians in the best position to reason correctly?
Grace for the intellectual
God give me grace to serve you with my mind to the best of my abilities, not fearing that it will all be in vain. May the realization of my incomplete knowledge be a cause for humility and charity among others with whom i disagree, and a teachable spirit among those i am bold enough to instruct. May i be an intellectual journeyman, and not a man frozen in stone. May my refuge be in your son, who is the truth. May he be my center where i can rest in my finiteness.
