How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

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Logic principle

Principles > Logic principle

Principle | How it works | So what?

Principle

What makes sense must be true.

How it works

In our non-stop quest to understand and control the world around us, we seek rational truth that makes sense to us. Logic uses evidence and scientific laws with cause-and-effect arguments to incontrovertibly prove a point.

Social logic

Our need to appear rational with others brings much logic into our discussions where we attribute causes to events and actions. The actual truth and real logic are often relatively unimportant as compared with the social benefits of appearing rational.

Conversations and debates are filled with people who are desperately seeking to impose their logic over that of others and aggression often replaces rationale, particularly if they feel that the other person's logic is superior. A cold, logical argument may thus fail to convince others.

For logic to be most effective, there thus needs to be additional work done to manage emotions.

False logic

Logic is not always logical. What persuades us is the appearance of logic rather than something that follows the strict rules of argumentation.

False logic appears in such ways as:

• Convoluted rationale that confuses and hence leads the listener to assume it is true.
• Bold assertions of logic ('It makes sense, doesn't it?' or 'It stands to reason that...').
• False data that follow logical rules and inevitably lead to false results. (The focus on the logic often acts to distract from the false data.)

So what?

Understand the real logic of both your and their arguments. Also understand the social and emotional situation.

See also

Evidence principle, Understanding principle, Objectivity principle, Thinking vs. Feeling preferences

Theories about decision-making

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