logic

[loj-ik] /ˈlɒdʒ ɪk/

noun

the science that investigates the principles governing correct or reliable inference.

a particular method of reasoning or argumentation:

We were unable to follow his logic.

the system or principles of reasoning applicable to any branch of knowledge or study.

reason or sound judgment, as in utterances or actions:

There wasn't much logic in her move.

convincing forcefulness; inexorable truth or persuasiveness:

the irresistible logic of the facts.

Computers. logic circuit.

Origin

1325-75; Middle English logik < Latin logica, noun use of neuter plural (in ML taken as feminine singular) of Greek logikós of speech or reason. See logo-, -ic

Related forms

logicless, adjective

nonlogic, noun

Synonyms

4. sense, cogency.

-logic

a combining form used in the formation of adjectives corresponding to nouns ending in -logy:

analogic.

Origin

< Greek -logikós. See logic

Examples from the web for logic

We dealt with him by systematically tearing his comments apart using logic and reasoning.
These issues are too important, many appear to believe, for logic and science to play a part.
Not to mention the brains ability to perform fuzzy logic, and many other lines of reasoning.
While addressing a problem in the arcane field of mathematical logic, he imagined a machine that could mimic human reasoning.
Armed with such logic, a coalition of the hopeful is trying to buck the rude trend, even to reverse it.
It provides logic and sense and order in what might otherwise seem chaotic.
As with many other government regulations, the research has not been done, and there is no logic to this legislation.
Supposedly safer, but if you see the hits that go on, you would have to wonder about that logic.
Malaria is a confounding disease-often, it seems, contradictory to logic.
Timber companies are publicly questioning the logic of protecting forest that spotted owls no longer inhabit.

British Dictionary definitions for logic

logic

/ˈlɒdʒɪk/

noun

the branch of philosophy concerned with analysing the patterns of reasoning by which a conclusion is properly drawn from a set of premises, without reference to meaning or context See also formal logic, deduction (sense 4), induction (sense 4)

any particular formal system in which are defined axioms and rules of inference Compare formal system, formal language

the system and principles of reasoning used in a specific field of study

a particular method of argument or reasoning

force or effectiveness in argument or dispute

reasoned thought or argument, as distinguished from irrationality

the relationship and interdependence of a series of events, facts, etc

chop logic, to use excessively subtle or involved logic or argument

(electronics, computing)

the principles underlying the units in a computer system that perform arithmetical and logical operations See also logic circuit
(as modifier): a logic element

Word Origin

C14: from Old French logique from Medieval Latin logica (neuter plural, treated in Medieval Latin as feminine singular), from Greek logikos concerning speech or reasoning

Word Origin and History for logic

mid-14c., "branch of philosophy that treats of forms of thinking," from Old French logique (13c.), from Latin (ars) logica, from Greek logike (techne) "reasoning (art)," from fem. of logikos "pertaining to speaking or reasoning," from logos "reason, idea, word" (see logos). Meaning "logical argumentation" is from c.1600.

logic in Science

logic

(lŏj'ĭk)
The study of the principles of reasoning, especially of the structure of propositions as distinguished from their content and of method and validity in deductive reasoning.

logic in Culture

logic definition

The branch of philosophy dealing with the principles of reasoning. Classical logic, as taught in ancient Greece and Rome, systematized rules for deduction. The modern scientific and philosophical logic of deduction has become closely allied to mathematics, especially in showing how the foundations of mathematics lie in logic.

logic in Technology

1. A branch of philosophy and mathematics that deals with the formal principles, methods and criteria of validity of inference, reasoning and knowledge.
Logic is concerned with what is true and how we can know whether something is true. This involves the formalisation of logical arguments and proofs in terms of symbols representing propositions and logical connectives. The meanings of these logical connectives are expressed by a set of rules which are assumed to be self-evident.
Boolean algebra deals with the basic operations of truth values: AND, OR, NOT and combinations thereof. Predicate logic extends this with existential and universal quantifiers and symbols standing for predicates which may depend on variables. The rules of natural deduction describe how we may proceed from valid premises to valid conclusions, where the premises and conclusions are expressions in predicate logic.
Symbolic logic uses a meta-language concerned with truth, which may or may not have a corresponding expression in the world of objects called existance. In symbolic logic, arguments and proofs are made in terms of symbols representing propositions and logical connectives. The meanings of these begin with a set of rules or primitives which are assumed to be self-evident. Fortunately, even from vague primitives, functions can be defined with precise meaning.
Boolean logic deals with the basic operations of truth values: AND, OR, NOT and combinations thereof. Predicate logic extends this with existential quantifiers and universal quantifiers which introduce bound variables ranging over finite sets; the predicate itself takes on only the values true and false. Deduction describes how we may proceed from valid premises to valid conclusions, where these are expressions in predicate logic.
Carnap used the phrase "rational reconstruction" to describe the logical analysis of thought. Thus logic is less concerned with how thought does proceed, which is considered the realm of psychology, and more with how it should proceed to discover truth. It is the touchstone of the results of thinking, but neither its regulator nor a motive for its practice.
See also fuzzy logic, logic programming, arithmetic and logic unit, first-order logic,
See also Boolean logic, fuzzy logic, logic programming, first-order logic, logic bomb, combinatory logic, higher-order logic, intuitionistic logic, equational logic, modal logic, linear logic, paradox.
2. Boolean logic circuits.
See also arithmetic and logic unit, asynchronous logic, TTL.
(1995-03-17)