Logic and Morality

Logic and Morality

Logic and morality go hand and hand. You can’t have morality without logic. Everything we do requires the use of logic, no matter what it is. To write this paper requires logic; for you to read this paper and understand it, requires logic. No matter what the task, we cannot escape logic. Logic transcends time and space. Its existence is not confined to the physical universe. Why is logic necessary? Why must everyone use it? Can we effectively function in a universe without logic? Without Logic, it would be impossible for anything to be possible, except anything not being possible. In this paper we will answer these questions; and see how morality ties into logic for the purpose of pointing us to the existence of God.

Logic

Logic is a real incorporeal entity conceptually existing inside the mind. The qualities/laws of logic cannot be observed in the physical universe. We cannot observe the law of “non- contradiction” A being A and not A at the same time. Laws of logic are different from per say laws of physics, which can be demonstrated, i.e., the law of gravity. We can see through repeated experiments that what goes up must come down. Laws of logic are not contingent upon anything in the physical universe for its existence. Well, how do we know this? Logic is immaterial, not made up of matter. Logic is what we would consider to be supernatural transcending time and space. Therefore, the physical universe does not have the means to quantify logic, let alone be responsible for its existence. There are those who say that logic is the by-product of the human mind; but this can’t be true, because our minds contradict each other and laws of logic are always true.

Three laws of logic

The law of non-contradiction states that, A cannot be A and not A at the same time in the same relationship. This is important, because without the law of non-contradiction, it would be impossible to know anything. Everyone would have the right to contradict anything another person said or did, and no one could say that they were wrong for it. It would be impossible to have rational debate, because there would be no rules of engagement. Imagine a world without a set of objective rules that were always true past, present and future? On a lower level, how could we determine the winner of athletic events without rules? Let’s take the 100 meter dash for example, the first guy across the finish line says he’s winner and the last guy claims to be the winner as well. How could we determine the winner without rules? The truth is we can’t. Without a set standard of rules that were true all the time we could not make sense of anything. There would be no such thing as epistemology because obtaining knowledge would be an impossible feat. It’s been reported that the population has grown to 7 billion people, imagine what it would be like if the law of non-contradiction did not exist. My guess is complete chaos.

The Law of Identity states that something is what it is and it can’t be what it’s not A=A. If something exists it has a particular nature, essence and characteristics. Whatever it is, its characteristics remain the same no matter when and where they are. No matter what the conditions the characteristics and essence of the entity remains intact. The characteristics of ‘it” can never contradict itself, because the things pertaining to “it” are what they are; and are incapable of changing, because they only have one identity. This reminds me of the Malachi 3:6 “I the lord do not change.” The reason God cannot change is because, he is what he is and he cannot be what he’s not. We also don’t change in regards to essence, we are human beings and no matter what we do or say we can only be human beings. Without the law of Identity metaphysics would be impossible. Imagine a world were nothing was itself; it would be impossible to know what is real. It would be impossible to anything.

The law of exclude middle states that a statement is either true or false. I’m a male, is either true or false. I’m alive, is either true or false. I can’t be sort of alive; I’m either alive or dead. Imagine having a judicial system where statements weren’t either true or false. There would be no such thing as conviction, because there wouldn’t be a truth standard to necessitate falsehood. This would be a pretty chaotic world to say the least. Without an objective standard of truth, no one could have knowledge. And without knowledge, we couldn’t accomplish anything. In this day and age when people are running further away from the truth, it’s good to know what logical absolutes are to help point out fallacies in reasoning. Without the law of non-contradiction it would be impossible to have any type of rational debate. Without the law of identity it would be impossible to know what is real; and without the law of excluded middle there could be no truth. With that being said, I hope it’s clear that without logical absolutes life in this universe would be impossible. Now that we see the necessity of logic, I would like to present a case for objective morality in light of logic.

Logic is something that pervades every aspect of our lives. We can’t do anything, say anything, or think anything without using logic. The whole human experience requires logic for literally everything. There is no way around logic. This brings us to the concept of morality. I’m making an argument that morality requires logic and is inseparable from logic. It’s important to note that morality deals with the concept of right and wrong, so this is not limited to lying, cheating and stealing. I would go as far as to say it’s just incorrect information, period. Sin is categorized as missing the mark. Incorrect information only leads to problems. If something is wrong, it’s wrong. Incorrect information ultimately leads to destruction and is a result of our sinful nature. Our ability to reason correctly all the time has been marred. If logic is absolute and pervades every area of our lives, then, morality is absolute. Meaning there is an objective moral code predicated on logic which is a reflection of God’s mind.

Derrye Randall, Feb 27, 2012