Chesterton states, “Logic and truth, as a matter of fact, have very little to do with each other. Logic is concerned merely with the fidelity and accuracy with which a certain process is performed, a process which can be performed with any materials, with any assumption. You can be as logical about griffins and basilisks as about sheep and pigs.” Indeed, “Logic, then, is not necessarily an instrument for finding truth; on the contrary, truth is necessarily an instrument for using logic – for using it, that is, for the discovery of further truth and for the profit of humanity. Briefly, you can only find truth with logic if you have already found truth without it.”
The book would do better to more clearly illustrate the role of logic in its traditional Christian role as “handmaiden” to Christian belief, or theology. But given the intended audience, and the overall tone of the book, this is a rather small criticism. After all, logic is identified in the title and throughout the book as a tool, and very important one, but a tool nonetheless.
The Bluedorns have certainly achieved their goal of creating a logic textbook that is neither boring nor distant, but rather informative, approachable, enjoyable, and valuable. This little book could admirably play a large and important role in the education of any child.
Edited: PC
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Article comments
1 - Warren
Excellent review of this book -- I'm 80% through my own copy, and have had similar reactions.
The strength of the book, I think, is that while it's geared toward a Christian audience, the principles in it are useful to anyone who wants to be a more critical thinker.