PHILOSOPHY

BEGAN WITH MAN’S SENSE OF WONDER

B.A. LLB (Hons.)

First Year
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
• Philosophy stands for “love for wisdom”. It is considered as the mother of all Sciences
• Philosophical thinking begins with inquiry, wonder, and thirst for knowledge
• It is curiosity expressed in the question, “What are things REALLY like?” The gradual recognition of the
difference between appearance and reality raises such questions
• For E.g. - Is sadness our natural state of Being? Or, is happiness our real nature?
• It involves critical thinking, logical reasoning, search for truth and analysis through perspectives
• Indian philosophical systems are called as ‘Darsana’. It means to ‘see’. The interpretation of this word is
manifold. It refers to both logical as well as intuitional perception/ vision
• The aim of philosophy is – (a) To have clarity in arguments and beliefs
(b) The ability to question wisely
(c) To have consistent thinking through contemplation
(d) To remove conflicts, ambiguities and ignorance
 TRADITIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
• Western Philosophy – Starting from the Milesians to Socrates – Plato – Aristotle – Christian
theology – Political Philosophy – Rationalism – Empiricism – Idealist schools of thought to
contemporary philosophical trends like analytic and continental philosophy
• Indian Philosophy – Starting from Upanishads, Nyaya, Sankhya, Yoga, Advaita Vedanta to
Bhakti philosophy in recent times. Buddhism, Jainism, Tantrism etc. also form a part of Indian
philosophy but they do not accept the Vedas as their source
• Logic has been an integral part of every school of thought both in the Indian and Western
traditions since it is a tool/ instrument (Organon) which is employed to prove/defend arguments
(both metaphysical and empirical)
• Our focus specifically will be on logic due to its evident applicability in the practice of law.
Nevertheless, a thorough grasp of philosophy fosters critical thinking and helps you channelise
thoughts clearly
 BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

Metaphysics Epistemology

Ethics Aesthetics

Logic
 CHAPTER - 1
INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC
 WHAT IS LOGIC? School of
Athens by
• Aristotle was the father of Traditional Logic (pg. 3-4, Copi) Raphael

• The concern of logic is right reasoning

• Traditionally it was defined as the science which investigates
Plato &
the general principles of valid thought Aristotle

• It involves the correctness of thought, its expression in

language and the structuring of the same in a logical form to
prove an argument
• Later on it was interested precisely in drawing valid inferences
Aristotle - Father of
Traditional Logic
• And in the modern context it aims to study the forms of valid
arguments
• It is usually said that man is different from other creatures because of his ability to reason (Do you
agree?)
• Logic gives principles and methods to differentiate between correct and incorrect reasoning. Two
philosophical trends, namely traditional and symbolic/ mathematical logic are widely accepted
• Reasoning or inference is a process which tries to arrive at a true conclusion via the relation of
implication from true premises
• Since the process of reasoning involves the relation of implication, it does not require the
intervention of a thinker to determine the conclusion from the premise. The non-interference of a
thinker ensures that there is objectivity in the conclusions drawn. So, it isn’t strictly an unconscious/
subconscious process, as much as it is the very structure of a person’s thinking
• The ultimate aim of logic therefore was to discover laws of reasoning/ thought which would stand
its ground universally, necessarily and permanently. Without such applicability and validity through
time philosophers and logicians alike would not have delved into it
 DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS
• In a deductive argument the premises imply the conclusion and so the that itself sufficient
evidence for a person to draw the conclusion. The conclusion cannot go beyond the premises
(pg. 11-12, Copi)
• E.g. All birds have feathers
All sparrows are birds
All sparrows have feathers
• In inductive arguments the evidence is not contained in the ‘form’ of the argument. It is
necessary to go beyond it and look for proofs (e.g. scientific) to prove the conclusion as true
• E.g. Plants can be cloned easily, therefore mammals can also be cloned without much ado
• We would specifically focus on deduction, although inductive arguments are necessary
wherever proper empirical evidence is needed.
• Can deductive and inductive logic be combined to provide an integrated approach?
 FORM AND CONTENT OF ARGUMENT
• Firstly it is important to understand that only arguments are analysed on the basis of their form
and content. A statement or assertion will be analysed because it is not giving any conclusion
which has to be verified. So, wherever verification/ validity is sought, we look for the soundness
of its form and content
• Content is the information that any argument puts forth. Every argument therefore is naturally
distinct with varied content (unless the same object is being spoken of in different ways)
E.g. The hottest planet is such E.g. Earth’s twin is so called
because of its atmosphere because of its atmosphere
• The form of an argument is the structure or pattern in which an argument is framed.
E.g. All men are mortal E.g. All actors are artists
Socrates is a man Chris Evans is an actor
Socrates is mortal So, Chris Evans is an artist
 LOGIC AS FORMAL SCIENCE
• Logic is concerned with the form of an argument because it is the form which is necessarily true if its structure is
valid. Content usually has to be verified through observation/ experiment/ sensory experience. But, the form of
an argument is true if its structuring is true. So, any content that is properly placed in a given form turns out to
be necessarily true irrespective of the thinker. It is this separation from human experience which makes logic full
proof and not subject human error/ change
• Susanne Langer says that the form of an argument is not the physical shape but the way in which an argument is
constructed. A simple sentence comprises a subject, predicate and copula (verb) which binds the subject and
predicate in a meaningful way
• E.g. Shruti is a law student. Here, Shruti is the subject, law student is the predicate (attribute) that talks about the
subject and the verb ‘is’ binds the two together
• Logical form can better be understood by referring to constants and variables. Constants are the structure/ form
of an argument, while variables are the changing content, which occupy specific spaces in the form and give
meaning to an argument. Variables could include names, situations, places etc. which are always different
 VALIDITY AND TRUTH
• What according to you is the difference between validity and truth?
• Truth is the property of a proposition (proposition will be discussed in the next chapter). Truth can be factual or
apriori (purely mental)
• Validity (for deductive arguments) on the other hand pertains to the form of an argument. An argument is valid
when its conclusion is a logical consequence of its premises. So, an argument can be validly inferred based on its
structure, but can still be false. However it is common sense that if you wish to put forth a sound argument you
should make sure that it is both valid and true.
• E.g. All men are immortal
All monkeys are men
All monkeys are immortal
• The above argument is valid, but not true
• The validity of an inductive argument, owing to its empirical nature, depends on material evidence. So, it is
materially valid. (Refer to pg. 13)
 UTILITY OF LOGIC
• Logic has both theoretical and practice value
• Sound reasoning can help us in knowing when to act, how to act, how to communicate, how to
identify inconsistencies in others’ statements, to alter fallacies (if any) in one’s thinking/
writing, provide systematic justifications, question the very nature of reason (on a deeper level),
assess situations/ surroundings
• The use of logic is mostly involuntary and even those who do not know the technicality of it
can be very good argumentators
• Most of the assignment answers suggested that good reasoning aids in decision making. But, in
reality is the moment at which you take a decision related to the intellect/ intuition/ emotion?