An essential tool for our post-truth world: a witty primer on
logic--and the dangers of illogical thinking--by a renowned Notre Dame
professor
Logic is synonymous with reason, judgment, sense, wisdom, and sanity.
Being logical is the ability to create concise and reasoned
arguments--arguments that build from given premises, using evidence, to
a genuine conclusion. But mastering logical thinking also requires
studying and understanding illogical thinking, both to sharpen one's own
skills and to protect against incoherent, or deliberately misleading,
reasoning.
Elegant, pithy, and precise, Being Logical breaks logic down to its
essentials through clear analysis, accessible examples, and focused
insights. D. Q. McInerney covers the sources of illogical thinking, from
naïve optimism to narrow-mindedness, before dissecting the various
tactics--red herrings, diversions, and simplistic reasoning--the
illogical use in place of effective reasoning.
An indispensable guide to using logic to advantage in everyday life,
this is a concise, crisply readable book. Written explicitly for the
layperson, McInerny's Being Logical promises to take its place beside
Strunk and White's The Elements of Style as a classic of lucid,
invaluable advice.
Praise for Being Logical
"Highly readable . . . D. Q. McInerny offers an introduction to symbolic
logic in plain English, so you can finally be clear on what is deductive
reasoning and what is inductive. And you'll see how deductive arguments
are constructed."--Detroit Free Press
"McInerny's explanatory outline of sound thinking will be eminently
beneficial to expository writers, debaters, and public
speakers."--Booklist
"Given the shortage of logical thinking,
And the fact that mankind is adrift, if not sinking,
It is vital that all of us learn to think straight.
And this small book by D.Q. McInerny is great.
It follows therefore since we so badly need it,
Everybody should not only but it, but read it."
--Charles Osgood
