How to develop logical thinking as an adult? How to develop logical thinking.

Hello, dear readers!

So, I still didn’t get any questions about the previous one. Although it is the questions that indicate that the topic has touched a person, and he wants to clarify something for himself.

I think there will be a lot of questions on today’s topic. I will be happy to answer.

How often do we lack the ability to logically express our thoughts, especially if the result of this presentation is important to us. It is at this moment that we are overwhelmed with emotions, and our inability to argue only leads to heightened passions, turning to elevated tones. But since this does not lead to results, insults often come into play, which then turn into threats or even a fight.

Mutual understanding never materialized. And the reason is the inability to competently construct one’s thoughts and conduct a discussion.

I think many people are familiar with the situation described. Almost every day we can observe something similar in life, and even more often from television screens.

Disputes in which there is little logic, but a lot of emotion and aggressiveness.

It is believed that 70% of conflicts arise during communication. How can we communicate correctly if our emotional competence is not developed (which I wrote about), and no one taught us the logic of statements and the ability of logical thinking.

Development of logic and thinking

What is usually the emphasis when it comes to developing thinking?

The main focus is on development creative thinking. Solving creative problems, finding new solutions, and generating ideas certainly requires unconventional thinking.

And the bulk of the literature is devoted to this development.

It's fashionable to think outside the box. True, sometimes this unconventionality becomes too shocking and, in order to attract attention, elementary logic is neglected.

Throwing a bucket of paint on a canvas and calling it a work of art may be true, but then you have to define in terms what art is.

It is pointless to argue about this until definitions and concepts are introduced, which is what logic actually does.

Although many people think that Logic is the ability to solve logical puzzles. First of all, logic is the science of correct thinking . Consistent, consistent, justified.

We agree that we are missing logical thinking . Yet in life this is what is most often required. You don’t have to make discoveries and generate ideas very often, but you have to communicate, convince, prove, and think every day.

There are people who are difficult to understand - there is no logic in their reasoning. And, unfortunately, there are more and more of them. Just listen to any talk show.

So today we'll talk about development of logical thinking and about Logic as science and its application in everyday life.

Is it possible to reason logically without knowing the basics of logic??

Yes, you can, because you can speak and write decently without knowing grammar. But by studying logic, we increase the level of our thinking. We learn to express our thoughts more clearly and consistently.

Why do we need this?

We are so accustomed to practical results from our efforts, but learning logic requires effort. Therefore, I will dwell on this issue in more detail.

Although, as usually happens, - yeah, the reader thinks - the title is “Development of Logical Thinking”, now I’ll drop in for 20 seconds (by the way, such visitors are more than 60%), I’ll see a list of actions with 10 points, and I’ll start thinking logically.

And the entire Internet is filled with such motivating algorithms, consisting of 7-10 steps. But after superficially going through one method and another, a person becomes disappointed - how can this be, but where are those great changes that are promised. Kindergarten, in a word...

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, motivation wears off within an hour, at best, and another motivational kick is required. The motive to do something must be stable, perceived as a necessity, and not as a simple satisfaction of curiosity. Needed emotional vector , to put it “simpler”.

Therefore, to begin with, I will give a few advantages of studying logic:

1. Logic teaches you to think clearly and express your thoughts clearly. Incoherent speech, when a person cannot connect even two words, is common.

2. The ability to persuade and defend one’s point of view is developed. A convincing, logically structured speech is required.

3. The study of logic develops the habit of analyzing one's own and other people's judgments. And also find errors in them and fight demagoguery. After all, often there is nothing to argue with other than “he’s a fool himself.”

4. Logic teaches you to argue. And do not lead the dispute to an altercation and a fight. Helps to find compromises and refute false reasoning.

5. Logic generally develops the ability to think. Have your own thoughts, and not thoughts imposed by an external source.

I think even this is enough to read the article to the end. What if something comes in handy?

Although, as Bertrand Russell said, “ Many people would rather die than think. And they die before they even begin ».

I think that this does not apply to my readers.

A little history of the study of logic

Before the 1917 revolution, logic was studied in gymnasiums. But after the revolution, logic was declared a bourgeois subject and excluded from the school curriculum.

The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, in the resolution “On the teaching of logic and psychology in secondary school” dated December 3, 1946, considered it necessary to introduce, starting from 1947/48 academic year, teaching these subjects in all schools of the Soviet Union.

There was such a famous textbook on logic by Vinogradov in 1954.

But in 1956, the teaching of logic in high school was abolished. Like this….

Now Logic is studied only in certain universities.

And a little more about the sad.

The study of formal logic does not always contribute to the development of thinking. You can study logical operations, work with judgments, etc., but not everyone succeeds in applying this in life. Logic students simply don't know how to do this.

The problem with most logic textbooks is in abstract examples: all mosquitoes are insects, if autumn comes, leaves fall, etc. Logical, yes logical, but some non-real-life examples, so it’s difficult to move on to real situations.

It is even more difficult to use the laws of logic or how to apply the semantics of the predicate logic language. What kind of desire do you need to have to deal with all this?

How to develop the ability for logical thinking?

Of course not by solution logic puzzles and crosswords. The most you can get from these classes is to improve your ability to solve puzzles, nothing more. And although this is certainly useful for the brain, the goal is still to learn how to correctly construct your thoughts, and the exercises should be of a different kind.

First of all, those close to those situations when such a need arises: to prove, convince, discuss, etc.

It is in real conditions You can gain experience rather than by studying the theoretical laws of logic. What you need to learn is how to apply theory in practice.

And to do this, you first need to find out for yourself when the need for logical thoughts arises. I mentioned five such situations above, but there are many more.

To understand in general terms what Logic studies, let us consider its main sections:
1. Concepts.
2. Definitions.
3. Judgments.
4. Basic laws of logic. Law of identity. Law of contradiction. The law of the excluded middle. Law of sufficient reason.
5. Inductive reasoning
6. Deductive reasoning.
7. Analogies, hypotheses, evidence.

Let's add the basic techniques of logical thinking - comparison, analysis and synthesis, abstraction and generalization. That's all the sections.

Approach to training

The problem is how to translate knowledge of formal logic into practical logic.
I will suggest one approach that may be of interest to you. I mentioned him in my book ""

Pyotr Spiridonovich Agafoshin (1874-1950) is a famous Russian guitarist. In the book “The School of the Six-String Guitar,” he described one of the basic principles of training:

The student must study play playing . Those. to acquire the necessary playing skills not on dry educational and training material such as exercises and etudes, but on skillfully selected highly artistic material that cultivates taste and brings, along with practical and technical skills, aesthetic satisfaction.

Why not use this principle here too, i.e. solve practical mental problems that arise in reality, where the use of logic is required. These are not case studies that are solved in ideal conditions, but life situations where there is room for surprises and manifestations of emotions.

For example, discussions/disputes.

In order for various discussions, disputes and simply discussions to be logically cultural in nature, it is important that the participants equally understand exact value terms involved in this discussion.

For example, it is difficult to understand a person - what he is talking about if he has not given a definition of the subject of his conversation. Without specifying the concept and definition, each participant in the conversation/dispute can understand something different by this concept (to the best of their knowledge). It’s not clear what the dispute is actually about.

And if a scientific dispute concerns concepts - infinity, matter, space, etc., then in working discussions more prosaic things appear: for example, margin, strategy, marketing, and in everyday situations the number of things discussed is much larger.

Therefore, the first rule of logic: the main terms of the statement, theses must be clearly defined, regardless of whether others know them or not. Uniformity of understanding is important.

From here first skill of practical logic – ability to operate with concepts.

Knowing the importance of this, you can study in more detail the theoretical part of the logic section - “ Definitions" Here are its subsections (for example, according to Vinogradov’s textbook):

1. Content and scope of concepts.
2. The relationship between the content and scope of the concept.
3. Limitation and generalization of the concept.
4. Generic and specific concepts.
5. Main classes of concepts.
6. Relationships between concepts.
7. The essence of the definition of the concept.
8. Determination rules.
9. Genetic determination.
10. Nominal definition.
11. Meaning of definitions.
12. Techniques that replace definition.
13. The essence of the division of the concept.
14. Division rules.
15. Dichotomous division.
16. Techniques similar to division.
17. Classification.

By studying this issue theoretically, you can already imagine how this knowledge can be used in practice.

Another important skill is the ability to ask questions.. As I said earlier, our thinking consists of questions and the search for answers to them.

But in order to correctly pose questions and answer them, you need to know what a correctly posed question is. This is already in the area of Logic.

Any question has premise question, i.e. information about the object about which the question arose.

For example: question - do you like articles on my benefit?
The question assumes the presence of a blog and articles posted on it, as well as the author. Those. premise.

What is a correctly asked question??

Firstly, it is necessary to have the necessary amount of information and the ability to use this information.

It is also necessary to check all the premises of the question - they must be true, if at least one premise is false, then the question is incorrect.

For example, if there is only one article on the blog, and the question is about “articles”. The premise is not true, therefore the question is incorrect.

IN general view- a question is correct if, in principle, there can be an answer to it.

After all, there is also this: “ One fool can ask a question that even a hundred wise men cannot find the answer to.».

Knowing that the question must satisfy the formal rules of logic, we study this part of Logic more carefully.

Let's consider another logical form - reasoning .

Reasoning is a mental activity (i.e. our thinking) when interaction of individual judgments and on their basis new judgments emerge. This whole process is reasoning.

We can talk about the structure of reasoning: i.e. Some judgments are known to us, others are not. They are connected by a logical operation.

There are several types of reasoning. If from a known judgment (called premise ) a previously unknown judgment comes out ( conclusion ), then this is called conclusions e.

Known deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning.

You can also find out what logical laws reasoning is based on from a logic textbook.

But it is better to do this after clearly, in a real situation, highlighting the reasoning and trying to understand how it is constructed now, without knowledge of formal logic. Then turn to the textbook.

So the sequence is like this:

1. Let's get acquainted with the main sections of Logic.
To do this, you will need the skills to read complex business literature, which I described in the book "", in particular synoptic reading and techniques for reading business literature.
Result: a general idea of formal logic.

2. Applications. You already know the areas where logic will be useful. We defined this above, in general terms.
The next thing you can do is to gradually introduce logical forms into these situations, i.e. practically use individual elements of the theory of Logic.

To begin with, you should choose situations that are not too critical for you - after all, you don’t have experience yet. We learn from simple everyday situations where failure will not affect you personally. Gradually we increase the complexity of the situation.
There are a lot of such opportunities in life - from a store to a visit to government institutions.

It can be useful to notice logical tricks that arise along the way. For example, advertising “Today - on credit, tomorrow - for cash.” It is necessary to eliminate logical uncertainty: today is when, and tomorrow is when? Find out from the advertiser why the laws of logic are violated. And there are many such examples.

3. We introduce logical forms gradually, step by step, element by element.

Task: analyze individual logical forms and try to use them in practice.
First we introduce definitions and concepts. Those. When starting any discussion, we define the concepts involved in it. To do this, we carefully study the theoretical part of logic – Definitions and Concepts.

In any communication, try to find the subject of discussion, formulate definitions and try to apply the knowledge gained.

Then - the formulation of questions. We try to ask the right questions.

Then we try to reason. We study the theory of reasoning. And so on, we include the remaining elements of logic.

To some extent, we can say that this approach uses logical thinking techniques, such analysis and synthesis, abstraction and generalization.

By using analysis we have identified individual parts of Logic. Studied and applied.

Abstraction helped us eliminate minor, unimportant features logical forms. By using synthesis and generalization – combined individual parts into a single one. And now we can use all logical elements in our communication.

This is how, gradually moving from simple to complex, Logic will take an important place in your thinking.

At the same time, we study not only theoretical, but also popular literature on Logic.
The main thing is to start.

It is not necessary to become a great mathematician who has mathematical logic in first place. The level of logical thinking required in everyday life is sufficient.

You can talk endlessly about logic, but you can’t cover everything in one article.

Therefore, I will offer you a list of literature to study, but this is not an easy subject.

It is better to study theory from textbooks, and from old textbooks. Still, the previous generation had a better command of Logic. So the list could be like this:

1. V.G. Chelpanov. Textbook of logic. 1915
2. V.F. Asmus. Logics. 1947
3. S.N.Vinogradov, A.F. Kuzmin. Logics. Tutorial for high school. 1954
4. A. D. Getmanova. Logic textbook. 1995
5. D.A Gusev. Short course logic. The art of correct thinking. 2003
6. V.I. Kirillov, A.A. Starchenko. Logics. 2008
7. A.L. Nikiforov. Book on logic. 1998
8. D. Halpern. Psychology of critical thinking. 2000 g

And more useful books:

9. A.I. Uemov. Logical errors. How they interfere with thinking correctly. 1958
10. Yu.A.Petrov. The ABC of logical thinking. 1991
11. A.A. Ivin. The art of thinking correctly. 1986

You can get acquainted with the book by M. Cohen, E. Nagel. Introduction to Logic and scientific method. 2010 (656 pages). For a long time it was the main textbook for universities in the United States.

You can study and Aristotle- the founder of formal logic. His Organon.

Organon (instrument, method) is the traditional name of Aristotle’s philosophical works on logic.

The Organon includes:
1. Categories.
2. On interpretation.
3. First analytics.
4. Second analytics.
5. Topeka.
6. Sophistical refutations.

Aristotle calls logic " Analytics", and in the treatise "The Analyst" (First and Second), he outlined its main teachings: about inference and about proof.

I think this will be enough. Next time we will continue to look at other approaches to developing thinking.

I look forward to your comments and questions.

If you liked the article, please click on the social buttons. Thank you!

Best regards, Nikolay Medvedev.

6 comments on the post “Formation of logical thinking”

Amazing Features Russian education: asking what was not taught. On the Unified State Exam in Russian, even the logical coherence of the text was included in the essay criteria, who else would have taught this to a graduate. Only a talented teacher will combine very superficial teaching of his subject and logic. Therefore, children, except for screaming, have nothing to learn from adults, and sometimes it is embarrassing to watch programs with a discussion agenda.

And now the question: “Why has the study of logic and psychology been excluded from schools and is not taught in some universities? How many insults do you have to receive from misunderstanding by your interlocutors in order to acquire logical thinking skills, or are they given by nature and passed on by inheritance?” Thank you for your material, it is very important.

Thanks Lana for your comment!
Why was logic excluded from the school curriculum?
The official version is the fight against overload of schoolchildren. At this time, many changes took place in the education system, textbooks were rewritten, the management system changed, etc.
Although logic was introduced in 1948, the level of teaching was ? Who taught, as a rule, these were not specially trained teachers, but more often literature teachers.
It’s the same now - teaching the fundamentals of religion is questionable - who will teach this discipline.
Unfortunately, logical thinking skills are not inherited. At the level of everyday logic, we learn from examples from life.
But this is not enough. In addition, logical thinking is not only knowledge of logical forms, but also a general outlook. Without it, there will simply be nothing to connect logically.

Where is the logic in not teaching Logic?

After the change of the tsarist regime, the abolition of Logic was dictated, most likely, as its replacement with the code of the builder of communism, and this was an underestimation of its importance in everyday life. Now its absence is the result of thoughtless education reform under Western influence.

It’s not only a pleasure to read Aristotle, but any ancient book, in which there is no double meaning, unnecessary complications of speech, and everything is presented simply and clearly. There is no more magical and meaningful language on earth than Russian, from which other languages actually originated, which is easy to see in the example of English if you pay attention to words. The ease of reading ancient literature also speaks to the author’s full understanding of what he writes, in contrast to modern books and especially textbooks (everything that the author of this blog, Medvedev, writes does not apply here), filled with completely unnecessary complexity of presentation, coming from an insufficient understanding of the subject. And here you go Russian word“difficult”, what does it mean? Difficult = false. And, on the contrary, “simple, like everything ingenious.” While studying at school in the 60-70s, I really didn’t like writing essays, although everything was excellent with the Russian language. And, once I took old textbooks from my mother, a Russian language teacher, pre-war and post-war, I was amazed at how much better they were than ours - everything was explained in them so simply and clearly. These textbooks were a godsend for me; writing essays using them was a delight. And already in those in which I studied, formalization began to prevail everywhere over simplicity and clarity of presentation. Why do we need formalization, especially for children? At home, we speak to them not in a formalized language, but in a simple one. And remember what Lenin used at his speeches. He spoke to people in a language that was understandable and accessible to ordinary people, although at that time the theory of Marxism-Leninism was considered very complex and few could understand it. By the way, in the library, where I was a regular weekly visitor, I somehow came across an article by Lenin about proper organization labor. There’s no other way to call it genius; I still regret that I didn’t rewrite it then.

I see the most important value of logic as the ability to create own opinion on any issue, and not use other people’s mental “chewing gum”. And I understand the main property of logic as a sequence of thoughts to achieve a certain result, in which each subsequent thought follows from the previous one. Those. Logic is the structure by which we organize our thoughts to achieve a specific goal.

For example, I need to create my opinion about an object, phenomenon or situation. I start collecting information, then I separate the facts, the objective information from the subjective. I consider the subject of study in its development, evolution, determining patterns and development trends. And, based on these objective factors, I form my opinion. If my opinion is different from another, then I will try to determine what the other opinion is based on, on what premises, facts or subjective things.

It was this main feature of logic - the sequence of thoughts - that the famous Socrates used in his disputes and convictions, when, starting from some indisputable fact, recognized by both sides, began a consistent movement from one indisputable statement to another, eventually coming to convince his opponent that he was right.

Today I, too, using logic, namely, by showing the bank employee the lack of consistency between their declarations of good service and the real state of affairs, convinced him of the need to take appropriate action.

Thank you, Nikolay, for the good current topic and, as always, an interesting article!

Thank you Konstantin for the excellent continuation of the article!
In one of my articles, I mentioned 10 issues of a systematic approach to the study of a subject, so I completely agree with you on the technology for creating your opinion about the subject that you described.
I also prefer earlier editions, and I usually read the creators of ideas and teachings, and not their subsequent interpretations and “chewing.”
In the next article I will give practical advice on the use of logical forms. Let's talk about critical thinking, especially important for the present time.
I can already see that this article is too long, so I’ll use the 3,000-character format as a basis (this one has 17,000 characters).
I’ll also add a few old publications on labor organization, and before they knew how to organize:
1. G.F. Popov. Personal work technique.
2. A.K. Gastev. How to work. 1972
3. P.M. Kerzhentsev. Principles of organization. 1968
4. M.A. Shtremel. Engineer in the laboratory. Labor organization. 1983

In everyday life, every person has to use every day logical thinking. The use of logic and the construction of chains of relationships is required, both in career matters and during ordinary everyday activities, for example, visiting a supermarket or drawing up routes. Some cope with this easily and naturally, while others experience certain difficulties in finding answers to even the most basic logical problems, the speed and correctness of solving which depend primarily on how well developed a person’s logical thinking is. This article will tell you what logic is, as well as introduce you to methods and methods for developing logical thinking in an adult.

The essence of the concept of “logical thinking”

Logic is not identical to knowledge, although its area coincides with the area of knowledge. Logic is the general connoisseur and judge of all particular studies. It does not set out to find evidence; it only determines whether evidence has been found or not.

Logic does not observe, does not invent, does not discover - it judges. So, logic is the science of the functions of the mind that serve to evaluate evidence; it is the doctrine both of the process of transition from known truths to unknown ones, and of all other mental actions insofar as they help this process

John Stuart Mill

Important to know! Decreased vision leads to blindness!

To correct and restore vision without surgery, our readers use the increasingly popular ISRAELI OPTIVISION - the best remedy, now available for only RUR 99!
Having carefully reviewed it, we decided to offer it to your attention...

To begin with, let us examine separately the two components of the concept of logical thinking - logic and human thinking.

What is logic? Translated from Greek, logic is called “the science of true thinking” and “the ability to reason.” In the generally accepted sense, logic is the science of the methods and laws of human intellectual activity. Logic is the study of methods for achieving truth using experience and knowledge gained previously.

Thinking is considered to be a mental process during which previously received information is processed and interdisciplinary connections are established. Thanks to objectivity and correct thinking, a person has the opportunity to get an idea of the true state of things.

Taken together, we get a definition of what human logical thinking is. This is a thought process during which logic is used and logical constructs are applied. The goal of this type of thinking is to arrive at valid, objective conclusions based on available information.

Areas and uses of logic

There is no branch of human life where the use of thinking skills using logic is required. Including the humanities, which are no exception; logical constructs are also used in their study.

Often, a person’s logical thinking manifests itself at an intuitive level, regardless of the efforts made. The use of logic makes it possible to speed up the thinking process, make it better, express your thoughts more correctly, and also draw true conclusions, avoiding false judgments.

Why you need to develop the ability to think logically:

Express all your thoughts and arguments clearly and in an accessible form.
Find quickly the right decision problems, even in a critical situation
Correct your mistakes, avoid making new mistakes
Developing the skills to build objective connections helps you achieve success in your career or study
A creative approach to problem solving is sometimes more productive than generally accepted standards

Many people think that logical thinking is the ability to brilliantly solve puzzles and tricky problems. However, this is not entirely true. The structure of logical thinking includes many thinking skills, such as the ability to make correct conclusions, succinctly argue one’s point of view during debate, specify, generalize, analyze and systematize acquired knowledge.

Human logical thinking is divided into three points: figurative, verbal (verbal) and abstract.

Figurative-logical thinking. This type of thinking is based on visualization of problems and a visual search for solutions. Simply put, figurative appearance can be another name for the property of imagination.
Abstract logical thinking. Logical structures contain abstract models, that is, unreal objects that do not exist in nature. In order to thoroughly master this type of thinking, an individual must be able to abstract from the material.
Verbal and logical thinking. Manifested through use speech structures. Successful verbal thinking requires not only the construction of strict logical chains, but also competent, coherent speech.

When logical thinking begins

Only a few people think logically. Most of us are biased, prejudiced, infected with preconceptions, jealousy, suspicion, fear, pride and envy.

Dale Carnegie

A person is not born immediately with certain inclinations to successfully draw correct conclusions and build logical structures. Human logical thinking is not an innate, but an acquired property. Even the basic type of figurative thinking appears in children at 1.5 years old. The ability to think abstractly appears much later – in childhood school age, approximately 7 - 8 years old. Logic develops gradually with the development of the personality itself. However, regular training and exercises will only give positive results in the development of logical thinking.

The main type of child development preschool age is precisely logical tasks and exercises. Since it is logical thinking that will help the child achieve success in the future by using his intellect. Development occurs in game form respectively age characteristics children. Logic lessons are included in both the curriculum kindergarten, and to school. However, parents should not neglect independent studies at home. After all, by developing logical thinking, you improve your child’s intellectual skills.

Is it possible for an adult to improve and improve his logical thinking? Of course, this is possible and even necessary, because in modern world everything is subject to very rapid changes, the knowledge acquired at school and university gradually becomes outdated, and there is a need to update information. Developing the ability to build logical conclusions for an adult can be a very enjoyable process, since, as in the case of children, it can take place in a playful way. If you are an eternal student or a typical pedant, then you can draw up a detailed plan for serious exercises. However, it will be much more interesting to get together with friends and play logic games. Information obtained in this way will settle more reliably in the mind and be fixed in a person’s memory than dry memorization of rules and solving boring problems.

Ways to develop logical thinking

If you are determined to take up pumping your brain, then the first thing you need to do is eradicate your laziness and start looking for suitable methods and tasks. There are a huge number of ways to train your thinking. Let's look at some of them in more detail:

Board games. Couples and for a large group of friends, serious and humorous - the choice is huge, you just need to determine which type is more interesting to you. To the most popular board games for the development of human logical thinking include:

Chess
Checkers
Backgammon
"Monopoly" ("Big Business")
"Scrabble" ("Scrabble", "Bolda")
Card games (“Munchkin”, “Uno”)

2. Logic problems. When searching for and selecting logical problems, use books or the Internet, where there is plenty various examples and thematic collections. Start with the easiest level, gradually increasing the load, moving towards the highest level of difficulty. If you don’t know the answer, don’t hesitate to peek, because knowing the source data will help you understand the solution and the construction of a logical chain. This type of task includes:

Rebuses
Graphic puzzles
Word problems
Riddles
Anagrams
Puzzles
Rubik's Cube
Solitaire games (“Mahjong”, types of card layouts)

Example logical problem: Seven sisters spend their leisure time together. The first one plays chess. The second one is reading. The third one is cleaning. The fourth one is watering the flowers. The fifth one is playing with the cat. The sixth one is embroidering. What does the seventh sister do? Correct answer: The seventh sister plays chess with the first.

3. . There are many online tests based on the principle of cause and effect. Most often these are games of the “Find the odd one out” type.

4. Puzzles, crosswords, scanwords, teawords, etc.. Particularly difficult are the digital types - Japanese crosswords and Sudoku. Also, an excellent task for developing the ability to think logically would be to independently compose a crossword puzzle.

5. Mastering deductive and inductive methods.Deduction- this is the logic in pure form. In 99.99% of cases, the deductive method gives the correct answer to the problem. In everyday life, induction is more often used - reasoning based on facts that have a certain percentage of falsity. To explain more in simple language, then inductive reasoning begins with private conclusions and seeks confirmation in general concepts. The deductive method, on the contrary, originates from the external world, and the conclusion is already presented in the form of individual conclusions.

Example of a deductive method: Winter has come and that’s why it’s snowing outside.

An example of the inductive method: It snowed outside, therefore winter has come.

There are several useful tips, which contribute to the development of a person’s logical thinking without putting much effort:

Learn to write right hand, if you are left-handed. And vice versa. This exercise helps develop the skills of the less involved hemisphere of the brain.
Constant change of activities. Spend exactly an hour on one type, after the time has elapsed, move on to another activity. Changing your job quickly will help speed up your adaptive thinking skills.
Read detective novels. And try to guess the culprit yourself. By doing this, you will do a great job of developing your own deduction.
Daily walks fresh air are able to improve not only logical, but also all other types of thinking.
Give reasons for your actions. Analyze everything you do, calculate the options: what will happen if you leave the job unfinished, what the final outcome of the work looks like, etc.

Human logical thinking: why you need to develop logic

Perhaps some people believe that it is not at all necessary to develop logical thinking; you can do just fine without using logical connections. Such judgments are fundamentally wrong. After all, logical thinking and human activity are inextricably linked. Even in everyday life, you should have the skills to build objective chains. For example, in ancient times people were able to save lives thanks to logic and observations - if their fellow tribesman ate a berry and died, then it is quite logical that others should not eat these berries. Or, for the first gardeners and farmers, such skills were useful in order to know that if, for example, plant cherry pit, then, logically, a cherry will grow from it and nothing else.

We will not consider the benefits of constructing mental structures for managers or representatives of technical professions. Even an ordinary janitor understands that sweeping dust against the wind is absolutely illogical. Or the painter, using logical connections, will not start painting the floor from door to wall.

Therefore, a person’s logical thinking plays an important role in the construction successful career, logic is the key to normalizing communication between people, the ability to defend and argue one’s opinion, as well as to realize the truth and objectivity of everything that happens.

Logical thinking is exactly what helped our ancestors survive in the wild primitive world. Only the ability to analyze the situation and assume it possible development saved us from complete extinction.

With the development of computerization, humanity began to lose quite a lot of memory, intelligence, attention and logic. Now all these qualities are simpler and easier to transfer to a machine than to use your brain, and this state of affairs can simply lead to catastrophic consequences.

In addition, a person who does not load his “gray matter” with problem solving and analysis has a high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, the so-called “senile dementia.” Moreover, this disease is getting “younger” every year. If forty years ago it affected elderly people in their seventh decade of life, now cases of the disease are recorded in young people under forty years of age.

In order to be in good shape and have clear thinking at any age, you need to take care of yourself and not allow your brain cells to atrophy. And the best activity for his work is logical problem solving.

The ability to think logically can be developed at any age.

So, even if you have never been distinguished by coherent logical conclusions, everything can be fixed. Want to learn how to develop logic? We begin to perform special exercises that will awaken dormant abilities in you.

Exercises to develop logical thinking are games that can be played either alone or with a group of friends. It's even more fun this way.

Logic development games

The quintessence of logic is chess. Perfectly develops logical thinking. Reaction speed is not important here, but thoughtfulness and analysis are necessary qualities;
Crosswords, puzzles, scanwords, Sudoku and Japanese crosswords are what will keep your brains awake. Solve at least one small mysterious text every day and you will see changes pretty quickly;
Associations. Choose any object or action and give it as many associations as possible. For example: shaman - tambourine - dancing - spirits - mysticism - the unknown - real - creepy, etc.;
Solve problems to develop logic. There are many of them, both in paper form and on the Internet. Don’t jump at the difficult ones right away, start with the basics and gradually increase the difficulty. Very soon you will begin to “click like seeds” any intricate task, correctly building logical conclusions;
Invent new words and find an explanation for them. For example: “pervodactyl” is the very first dinosaur on the planet. Or: “Tatar treatment” - medicine in Tatar. Sometimes such pearls arise that the cheerful mood returns at any time, you just need to remember the invented neologism;
Make up your own crosswords and puzzles. Making a guess is a little more difficult than guessing. Thinking begins to work in a different direction, building new logical connections;
Enough fun game, allowing you to see the world through the eyes of another being. Imagine that you are a cat. Describe your vision of surrounding objects. Or you are a fool. What does the world look like in this case? Or maybe you came from another planet? Describe such sensations as well. The development of logic and expansion of worldview in this game are guaranteed;
Come up with several options for what this or that item can be used for, in addition to the main one. For example, a chair can be used as a stepladder, as a latch, and upside down you can ride on it small child etc. The more such options you come up with, the better.

Additional actions

Games are, of course, good and very effective. But besides them, there are also actions, the implementation of which will allow your thinking to quickly and flexibly respond to any situation, instantly analyze and make the right decision.

The main rule: You must be sincerely interested in the subject you are studying.

In order for the brain to get used to analyzing deeply and not “crawl along the surface,” then when studying new material or performing any actions, explain to yourself why it is needed, where it came from, what it will give, etc.;
For any situation, come up with at least five ways to resolve it. Even the most incredible ones - an oil tycoon appeared and quickly solved this problem;
Summarize information. Use inference from the general to the particular, and induction from the particular to the general. Systematize any knowledge in two ways - this will develop flexibility of thinking;
To take things a step further, learn to write with your left hand (if you're right-handed), master the macrame technique, or learn the basics of playing the cello;
Move more in the fresh air. Just a twenty-minute walk activates brain function by almost 60%. And if during your walk you count how many men, women and children you meet along the way, then even more;
While doing any work, take short breaks every 40-50 minutes, diverting your mind to something else. You can wash the dishes, jump rope, stand on your head, or just lie down and relax as much as possible. This way your brain will always be in good shape, and your vital activity will always be at its best.

All these rules are not complicated. It’s difficult to focus on this at first. But with a little patience, you will be able to tell your friends how to develop logic and achieve clarity of thinking.

Have a nice trip!

Image: Cristian V. (flickr.com)

Everyone knows what logical thinking is, but articulating this concept is not always easy. Mental activity is an exciting and multifaceted movement forward. Logic is necessary for a person; it is a kind of mechanism for studying, first of all, oneself and the world around us. Helpers in this difficult work are the senses, as well as the work of thought.

Without logical thinking, it is impossible to form a mental process in such a way as to obtain true conclusions based on the real perception of reality. Logic essentially studies the laws of mental development and reasoning, and also forms them.

Types of logical thinking

Verbal-logical

The verbal-logical type of thinking makes it possible to think correctly, be able to speak competently, and masterfully control one’s language and speech. It helps in conducting discussions and even arguments.

Perhaps every person at least once in his life found himself in a situation where he could not express those feelings and thoughts that were beautifully lined up in his head. It turns out that the development of the work of thought and speech is not a luxury, but a means of communication in the information age.

Abstract-logical

Abstract logical thinking is higher than sensory experience. It, relying only on reason, tries to determine the essence of objective reality. The level of impressions, views and assessments is not seriously considered. In other words, this is the culminating form of knowledge of the surrounding world.

Figurative-logical

Figurative-logical thinking is determined by imagination, which helps to most clearly and intelligently restore the parameters of an object or action. It is formed in childhood, starting from one and a half years.

Important! Techniques for logical knowledge of the world develop logic, ingenuity, and so on. Exercises that help develop verbal and logical thinking make it possible to maintain a connection between speech and thinking.

There are a great many such master classes, especially on the Internet.

To train your memory you need:

generality;
mediation.

It turns out that the development of logical thinking depends on the process of summarized and indirect (through inferences) reflection of the essence. The essence of thinking lies in the interaction of thought processes with ideas in the internal picture of the world. Such exercises allow you to construct a changing image of the world.

The uniqueness of knowledge is as follows:

it allows you to deeply understand the laws of the existing world;
delves into a changing, dynamic world;
guesses the future, makes plans;
relies on knowledge accumulated throughout life;
flows out of living observation, but does not merge with it.

There are three types of logical thinking:

concept;
judgment;
inference.

A concept is nothing more than a special mechanism of the mind, thought. Judgment is the basis on which the work of thought is based, in turn, either uniting or not objects and phenomena. Judgments can be:

correct;
erroneous;
total;
individual;
uncharacteristic.

Important! Inference is a conclusion, a generalization that a person draws from previous reasoning.

Developing logic and thinking

It is also supposed to classify methods of cognition according to their characteristic features:

degree of formation;
directions of tasks;
in detail;
by non-triviality;
in the image and;

Important! The degree of development depends on image, action, logic and abstract logic. The mental process clearly manifests itself both in theory and in practice. A thorough (expanded) process of thought depends on the degree of discursiveness (analyticity) and intuitiveness.

Analyticity is, first of all, reasoning that has a clear sequence in time. Intuition is based on emotional perceptions, has no clear periods, passes quickly, and so on.

Based on the degree of unusualness and exoticism, two types of thought development are distinguished:

reproductive:
creative or productive.

A reproductive or self-reproducing way of thinking cannot be imagined without images and ideas that are taken from real sources. Creative work thoughts are based on inventive imagination.

According to the degree of achievement, thinking is:

visual;
verbal.

Visual relies on appearance and its own ideas, and the verbal acts with abstract schemes and constructions.

According to its actions, the mental process is divided into:

critical;
creative.

Remember! Critical is aimed at identifying flaws in other people's views. Creative work of thought reveals unknown knowledge. This is the formation of your own ideas, and not condemnation of other people's assessments and considerations.

Development of logical thinking (training exercises)

Each member of society thinks in his own way, individually, this is where his peculiarity is manifested, and it also depends on:

fruitfulness of the mind;
independence;
scope;
scale;
accommodating;
swiftness;
creation;
criticality;
savvy.

And these are not all the criteria. Many people ask questions about how to develop logical thinking. This is the best time to start thinking for yourself. In essence, the improvement of logic is subject to the ability to notice, distinguish, set a problem for oneself and solve it on one’s own.

The flexibility of mental cognition lies in the ability to make a new decision, to change a pre-planned path, if necessary. The inertia of the thought process is manifested in the tendency to use cliches, habitual courses of action. With inert development of the mind, it can be difficult to switch from one system of action to another.

The speed with which logic is improved depends on the exercises that are necessary for its training. The scope of the mind covers a huge range of problems. But the depth of mental knowledge depends on the ability to look at the root of objects, phenomena, actions, and so on.

In order to maintain order in thoughts, it is necessary to develop consistency of thinking. Criticality is special kind thinking, which makes it possible to really and even more than evaluate the result of mental activity. Criticality finds the weak and strengths mental activity, can justify the truth of one’s own judgments, and so on.

Stability of thinking is based on already known laws and regularity. All these qualities are formed and change over the course of life. Knowing your individual abilities, you can correct and develop them.

Important! Anyone who masterfully uses special techniques to develop logic becomes more attentive, thinks clearly and clearly.

For such people it is not difficult to concentrate their attention and grasp the essence of the material. They devote a lot of time to memory training; it is easier for them to achieve their own goals and work. The conclusion is the following: if we develop logic, we live fully and creatively.

Have fun with benefits
Educate yourself

Logic is not an innate quality of the human personality - we learn it throughout life. This tool for understanding the world is more alien than close to us, so people diligently evade logical conclusions, trying to think in a way that is more profitable and convenient for them. Moreover, without it, humanity would not be able to survive, because the basis for creating most of the laws of life is still logic. Paradox? Yes, there are many of them in this multifaceted science.

Today we will talk about logic as a science and as a system of thinking, about why it is needed and how to develop the ability to think logically, about the facets of good and evil hidden in the intricate labyrinths of inferences.

How did logic originate? The root of logical laws is empirical, that is, experimental knowledge of the world: a person created or witnessed an event, and then saw its consequences. After several repeated cause-and-effect situations, he memorized them and made a definite conclusion. Thus, it turns out that the laws of logic, like other sciences, were derived through experiment.

There are logical axioms that each of us must know. Deviation from following them is considered a sign mental disorders. But at the same time, there are many laws of logic that can be twisted the way a person wants - and the whole point is that in this science, like in any other, there are errors and exceptions.

To begin with, let us consider what bases of capricious science are applied to human life. So, the logical axioms that are the basis of our worldview:

1. Vector direction of time from the past to the future, its linearity and irreversibility. From early childhood, a person studies the concepts of “yesterday”, “today”, “tomorrow”, begins to understand what the past, present and future are, to accept the reality of what happened as something that cannot be changed.

2. Cause-and-effect relationships and their one-way direction.

3. Logic includes the concepts of lesser and greater, as well as the ability to fit one into the other (and not only in the literal, but also in the abstract sense); contiguity and interchangeability of concepts and vice versa, their incompatibility and impossibility of coexistence in the same time period.

For example, a woman cannot be pregnant and conceive a second child at the same time, a person cannot be dead and alive at the same time, a sick person cannot feel healthy, and water does not freeze at above-zero temperatures.

4. Induction and deduction. The inductive method of inference leads from the particular to the general and is based on similar characteristics of various objects. The deductive method, on the contrary, leads from the general to the particular and is based on the logical law.

Deduction: When it's raining, the grass becomes wet.

Induction: The grass outside is wet, the asphalt is also wet, the house and its roof are wet - therefore, it is raining.

In the method of deduction, the truthfulness of the premise is always the key to the truthfulness of the conclusion, but if the result does not correspond to the premise, then there is a dividing factor between them.

It's raining, but the grass is dry. The grass is under the canopy.

Simply put, the deduction method gives a 100% true answer. But in the induction method, an inference based on correct premises has 90% truth, it has an error. Let's remember the example about rain - if the grass, asphalt and house are wet, we can say with 90% confidence that it has rained. But it could be dew, or a broken watering machine that splashed water all around.

Induction refers to the generalization of the results of repeated events. For example, if you throw a ball up, it will fall down. If you do this a second time, it will fall again. After the third fall, you will come to the conclusion that all objects thrown up fall down - and this is the basis of the law of attraction. But don't forget that we are now in the field of logic, and inductive reasoning has a margin of error. Who knows, maybe you throw the ball up a hundred times and it will fall, and the hundred and first time it will get stuck on a tree or end up on a cabinet? What if you are in zero gravity? Of course he won't fall down.

Therefore, deduction is a more accurate method, and induction allows only guessing with a high degree of probability.

5. Sequence of actions. If you perform a series of actions in in a certain order, we will get the expected result. But if you violate this order, the result may turn out to be completely different or may not exist at all. At the same time, there are many situations when the result does not depend on the order in which we perform necessary actions. In a word, this is called an algorithm.

Logic has a strong connection with other sciences. The above rules are based on the laws of mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, but it is the understanding of relationships that is the main pillar of logical thinking.

Everything that is around us has two sides - positive and negative. There is not a single phenomenon that has only one side. The same applies to logic - despite all the apparent benefits of it, you should not get too carried away with this science: if used incorrectly, it can cause a lot of harm.

Logic can be a tool of evil

Why does no one love or approve of a person who lives exclusively by logic?

Cold calculation and logic leave no room for mercy, love and self-sacrifice, on which our world still rests. Logical conclusions allow you to see several steps ahead, but, as they say, the ways of God are inscrutable - somewhere an error can creep in, and a clear logical system will crumble like a house of cards. Thus, logic and medicine are defeated by cancer patients who managed to be cured in an incomprehensible way, or by women who gave birth to healthy children, despite doctors’ prohibitions.

What would a world based solely on logic look like? Most likely, it would be prosperous and cruel - there would be no weak and sick, poor and unemployed; all people who are not useful would simply be destroyed. But that’s why we are who we are: when emotions and feelings enter the battlefield, logic fails. Because of this, there is a lot of trouble in the world, but there is also a lot of good - people help each other, forgive the shortcomings of their loved ones and save those who, it would seem, cannot be saved.

Logical conclusions can sometimes run counter to ethics, morality, and even the criminal code. It’s not for nothing that maniacs and murderers think that they act quite logically.

People are extremely illogical creatures

How do we manage to make incorrect logical conclusions? How do two people with the same premises come to different conclusions?

As already mentioned, logic is a science, and like any science it is not perfect, therefore it is inferior real life in truth. There is an exception to every rule, and in such cases logic is powerless. In addition, our psyche has a tendency to dodge and be cunning if the conclusion is not in its favor.

For example: The guy behaves aloof, doesn’t call, doesn’t pay attention to me at all. He probably doesn't care about me.

This is what a girl who relies solely on logical thinking would say, and everything would be simple - she will try to forget about her cold prince, and he will never know that he was the object of her admiration. But that was not the case! Emotions and the 10% error of the inductive method come into play.

Alienation, indifference and lack of attention in 90% of cases indicate disinterest in the relationship. But is it possible that he is too shy or proud, or maybe he has gotten it into his head that sympathy needs to be demonstrated in this way? Do people have enough “cockroaches in their heads”?

In such cases, logic becomes a tool of emotions, and many stupid actions are committed under the banner of erroneous conclusions. To prevent this from happening, you need to distinguish the fine line between true logical conclusions and false ones. This is why logical thinking develops.

To a certain extent, each of us has developed it - this is required by society and its way of life. But for a better understanding of the laws of reality and the ability to operate with them, it is necessary to have the ability to think more logically. high level than ordinary earthlings.

Well-developed logical thinking helps to achieve more success in your work, make fewer mistakes in everyday situations.

How to learn this? The brain, like muscles, needs to be constantly trained. There is a false myth that all people are born with pre-programmed mental abilities and will not be able to become smarter or dumber than given by nature. This is not true - by regularly training thinking and memory, a person constantly improves his performance, he can develop until the end of his days. That's why regular mental exercise And development intellectual abilities - one of the most important assistants on the path to self-improvement.

Have fun with benefits

1. Start with logic puzzles for children and adults - puzzles, “find 10 differences” exercises, attention riddles and search for logical errors. They can be easily found on the Internet.

For example, solve a couple of puzzles:

“How is it that someone I know shaves his beard ten times a day, but still remains bearded?”

“Your friends use it more often than you, even though it’s yours. What is this?"

2. Play attention and logic games with friends. So what if you are thirty and you are managers and entrepreneurs? Believe me, it’s much more pleasant on a Friday night not to mindlessly cruise around bars, but to play crocodile or association in someone’s kitchen. There are a lot of such games on the Internet, you just need to search - and then your holidays and weekends will be filled with new meaning.

3. Take IQ tests. It’s difficult to say how truthful Internet tests of this genre are, but you’ll have to rack your brains thoroughly. In addition to IQ testing, there are many other tests for thinking and logic. If you have nothing to do, put aside solitaire and strain your brains.

4. Develop logical thinking and The Vikium project will help you become smarter.

Educate yourself

1. Take up the study of some science that is close to you, but one that you have never gotten around to before. It could be chemistry, physics or history - by studying them, you simultaneously develop the ability to think logically. Why did Napoleon attack Russia? Why did the Roman Empire collapse? Why does this happen when two chemical components are combined? chemical reaction, and not another? By answering these questions, you learn to connect events with logical chains - this is what you need.

2. Study deduction and induction, as well as their formulas. When a situation happening to you seems confusing, turn it into a problem and solve it.

3. Learn to argue reasonedly. Next time you feel like shouting, “Because I said so!” or “Oh, that’s it!” - try instead to convey your position to your opponent without unnecessary emotions using arguments. The method of leading the interlocutor to the necessary conclusion with the help of indirect questions, with answers to which he agrees.

You know that a woman is a mirror of her husband’s success?
- Well, yes.
- That is, successful man must be a gorgeous wife.
- Agree.
- Can a chic wife wear an old down jacket?
- I understand where you’re going... Okay, we’ll buy you a fur coat.

4. Read good detective stories. They help train the brain with their intricate plot and entertain at the same time. The best representatives of this genre can be called Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle and Boris Akunin.

5. Play chess. This is where there is room for development logical abilities. By trying to calculate all possible moves of the enemy, a person develops the ability to see cause-and-effect relationships. Don't like chess? Play backgammon or preference.

And one last thing. Learn to trust your intuition. Strange, right? But in reality intuition is the result of subconscious inferences, when a person, without realizing it, draws conclusions from the information provided by the outside world. It usually goes something like this: “Whenever I feel like this, it ends badly.” If you dig deeper, this is just the memory of past experiences when situations were framed in a similar way. The trembling voice of the interlocutor, his shifting eyes and attempts to distract the opponent’s attention from main idea conversation - we have long forgotten how the scammer behaved before deceiving, but the subconscious mind remembers everything perfectly.

***
The ability to think logically, analyze information and make correct conclusions is an integral part of the work of any successful person- his well-being literally depends on this. Therefore, by developing the mind, we make a direct investment in our future, filled with achievements. But don't forget that logic can be insidious - be prudent and merciful.

P.S.: Have you solved the puzzles given in the article? Here are the correct answers. The bearded acquaintance is a barber who shaves other people every day. And our property, which friends use more often than we do, is our name, because we ourselves rarely pronounce it.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.