Abstract
Not only philosophic logic — which R. B. Braithwaite says is “concerned primarily with distinguishing between necessary and contingent propositions” —1 but logic in general serves a function in relation to psychology and behavior which, while noted even by David Hume,2 is often neglected: the satisfaction of emotional and cognitive 3 needs. While it is true that logical principles do not describe psychological processes,4 formal logic does nevertheless play an important social-psychological role: it provides grounds for holding linguistically expressed beliefs which would otherwise be doubtful.
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References
Richard B. Braithwaite, Scientific Explanation: A Study of the Function of Theory, Probability and Law in Science ( New York: Harper and Brothers — Harper Torchbooks/The Science Library — 1953 ), p. 45.
David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (Garden City, New York: Dolphin Books of Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1961 ), Book I, Part I, Section IV; Book I, Part III, Sections II-IV: Hume’s use of the following expressions, “habit,” “customs,” “due to the soul” and so forth is similar to what I will later refer to as “context”.
Ralph M. Eaton, General Logic: An Introductory Survey ( New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1931 ), p. 6.
Cp. R. B. Perry, Puritanism and Democracy (New York: Harper & Row, Torchbooks, 1964), p. 46: “Norms are not only goals sought, perfections admired, or scruples which forbid, but standards by which to appraise actions or other norms.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, tr. G. E. M. Anscombe ( New York: The Macmillan Co., 1953 ).
Cf. Stephen Toulmin, The Philosophy of Science: An Introduction (New York: Harper and Brothers — Harper Torchbooks/The Science Library — 1960), p. 13 and pp. 17ff.
Gilbert Ryle, Dilemmas (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1954) reprinted in part in R. Jaeger (ed.), Essays in Logic: From Aristotle to Russell (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1963), pp. 167ff.
Cp. William Barrett, Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy (New York: Doubleday Anchor Books, 1958 and 1962), pp. 69ff.
John Dewey, Reconstruction of Philosophy, enlarged edition (Boston: The Beacon Press, 1957 ), p. 132.
Cp. Solomon Asch, “Effects of Group Pressure Upon the Modification and Distortion of Judgments,” in Heinz Guetzkow (ed.), Groups, Leadership, and Men, U.S. Office of Naval Research ( Pittsburgh: Carnegie Press, 1951 )
Read D. Tuddenham, “The Influence of a Distorted Group Norm Upon Judgments of Adults and Children,” Journal of Psychology, 52: 231–239, 1961.
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© 1967 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Weiss, D.H. (1967). Philosophical Logic and Psychological Satisfaction. In: Philosophical Logic. Tulane Studies in Philosophy, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3497-5_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-3497-5_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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