Logic

by Gordon H. Clark

Sixteen hundred years ago Augustine wrote, "The science of reasoning is of very great service in searching into and unraveling all sorts of questions that come up in Scripture....The validity of logical sequences is not a thing devised by men, but it is observed and noted by them that they may be able to learn and teach it; for it exists eternally in the reason of things, and has its origin with God." In this high school-level textbook, Dr. Clark furnishes the Biblical background for logic. The Definition of Logic; Informal Fallacies; Definition; The Beginning of Formal Logic; Immediate Inference; Syllogism-Diagrams; The Syllogism-Deductions and Rules; Historical Remarks; Other Forms of Argument; Truth Tables; The Deduction of the Syllogism; God and Logic; Glossary; Scripture Index; Index.

Genres: Philosophy, Logic, Nonfiction, Education

First published June 1, 1985

About the author

Gordon Haddon Clark was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian. He was a primary advocate for the idea of presuppositional apologetics and was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years. He was an expert in pre-Socratic and ancient philosophy and was noted for his rigor in defending propositional revelation against all forms of empiricism and rationalism, in arguing that all truth is propositional and in applying the laws of logic. His system of philosophy is sometimes called Scripturalism.

The Trinty Foundation continues to publish his writings.

Reviews

[Davey Ermold · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my near-thirty years of life, I've never had lessons in logic. I've had little bits here and there, and I knew how to construct some semblance of an argument, but this is the first time I've ever actually read regarding the subject. This book serves as an excellent primer to the introduction of the study of logic.

It includes some exercises, but I wish that the answers to and explanations of the exercises would be available. In the book's brevity, it sometimes was too terse. Nevertheless, it was a great introduction that I hope my kids will read in the future.

[Jimmy]

In reviewing this book, I have to preface it by saying I finished it during my honeymoon. Reading a book on logic might not sound like the most romantic read for such an occasion, but under other circumstances others might enjoy this book more. From the corpus of other Clarkian works published by the Trinity Foundation, one discovers that this book was used by Clark to teach logic both inside and outside the classroom with college students. The way Clark goes about teaching logic is different than other logic textbooks I've used in the past. Clark is overall clear, and his insistence on being strictly logical (as evident in his criticism of unbiblical philosophy in his other works) provided this book with a unique thrust than most beginning logic text by proving some of the points in logic that has been taken for granted as true. A drawback to this book is that some of the terms are older, including the symbols of logic. I wished the chapter on informal logical fallacies could have been longer to cover more fallacies. However, in an age where people can be so illogical and anti-logic, despite my concern for other areas in Clark's theology/philosophy, this is a work I can recommend with the above caveat.

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, along with the Lecture series available from TrinityFoundation.org, were extremely helpful in teaching me how to think logically, that is correctly, that is the way God thinks. It is deplorable that logic is not the foundation of any type of education system.

[Carlos Montijo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on logic that I know of.

[Winnie Thornton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reduces the "logos" of John 1:1 to pure "logic," and that I do not like.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FAMED CALVINIST PHILOSOPHER/APOLOGIST EXAMINES THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC

Gordon Haddon Clark (1902-1985) was an American philosopher and Calvinist theologian, who was chairman of the Philosophy Department at Butler University for 28 years. He wrote many books, such as 'A Christian View of Men and Things,' 'Thales to Dewey, An Introduction to Christian Philosophy,' 'Religion, Reason and Revelation,' 'God and Evil: The Problem Solved,' 'God's Hammer: The Bible and Its Critics,' etc.

He observes, "At the present time there is a large body of ministers and theologians who reject logic. They are willing to use valid arguments for a few steps, but then they say faith curbs logic. In other words, if several verses in the Bible, supposing them to be true even though these men say much of the Bible is false, if these verses validly imply a conclusion, the conclusion may be false. This view and those who promulgate it are irrational." (Pg. 58)

He asserts that "Man's mind is not initially a blank. It is structured... No universal and necessary proposition can be deduced from sensory observation. Universality and necessity can only be a priori." (Pg. 13)

He concludes on the note, "the student should remember, for the rest of his life, that if he is logical, he will never go wrong---unless he starts with false premises. Logic will not guarantee the truth of the premises, but without logic no progress is possible." (Pg. 116)

In the Postscript, he suggests that John 1:1 may be paraphrased, "In the beginning was Logic, and Logic was with God, and Logic was God..."; after admitting that this paraphrase may "sound obnoxious and offensive," he asks, "Why is it offensive to call Christ Logic, when it does not offend to call him a word, is hard to explain." (Pg. 121)

Few conservative Christians look at the foundations of logic; this makes Clark's book all the more valuable.

[Andrew Hoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I great book, if in the hands of the right reader. I have the following in mind:

One who is acquainted with formal logic and desires to read an artful treatment along with an excellent conclusion addressing God and logic.
One who is not acquainted with formal logic but is willing to take much time, possibly in the context of a class or with a reading group, to make sense of the dense content presented in this book.
Or, one who is not acquainted with formal logic, is content to read through much that he doesn't understand, but glean what he may from Clark's mastery of the subject.

All that said, if looking for a helpful primer on logic filled with sufficient examples and exercises, this is not the book for you.

[Jean Pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a thick book at all (120 pages). But there is so much to digest. This is not a book that can be read through in one sitting. I would suggest really thinking through everything discussed and writing out a lot of the things Clark mentions. All in all, I do believe that this is a book everyone needs to read. Too few people understand logic and therefore give logically inconsistent arguments. I being one of those people. Reading through this helped me to see how to structure my thinking and also helped me to see when I’m using bad logic.

[Jeremy Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

“God is a rational Being, the architecture of whose mind is logic.” Dr. Clark, postscript. Helpful introduction. Chapters 4-7 are quite rigorous and rely on the readers prior knowledge of math. The book also seems to assume it is being used as a textbook with extra helps given in the classroom. Clark’s writing though is wonderful.

[Alexander Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to Aristotelian logic with some notes on its importance to theology and thought. The Postscript provides a concise overview of Dr. Clark's unique philosophy which I do not wholly ascribe to, but it is rigorous and worth thinking over.

[Guilherme Cruz]

Logic is important (& dry), y'all.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential text on logic and reasoning. Clark presents an advanced, deep-dive into the primary elements of logic. Numerous tables and graphical illustrations are provided to aid in categorization. Why isn't this mandatory study material for all high-schools or at least college freshmen?

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Leah]

Hard for me to follow his A/B/C/D diagrams and seemed a little long winded. Finally caught on to what he was saying in the last few chapters. Short, though, but dense.