Tansu KUCUKONCU , PhD
( Tansu KÜÇÜKÖNCÜ ( in Turkish alphabet ) )
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On Logic
Almost all of the definitions of 'being human' begin with, directly or indirectly, his ability of thinking. This is his most striking charecteristics.
How did human begin to think ? Surely, its main base is his genetic potential. First, he began to gather row material of thinking, by means of his senses (seeing, hearing, etc.). His senses provided differentiateable (in some ranges and sensities) data of some charecteristics of materials' world. These data caused primitive concepts (feelable records of material's world in human memory) to exist. Then interactions between these concepts began; i.e comparations, combinations (especially of different forms of data -which was obtained by different sense organs-from the the same (or similar) (kind) of source(s). These happened by means of innate rules -which still are mysterious secrets for researchers of human mind- (if we use computer terminology, this is something like mind's inner machine language).
Then, records in memory began to be shapen a bit more systematically. Generation of mental figures (or symbols) provided the tools of human's thinking. Interaction of objective (which have their corresponces in the materials' world) mental figures caused ideal (which have no correspondence in the materials' world; which are just productions of mind) figures to be created. At those times, these interactions began to perform in simple forms (this is something like outer machine language of mind; a primitive one). This was the birth of primitive logic (or simply thinking).
At the same time, these mental figures ,that's concepts, turned out to voices. This was the birth of primitive language.
Language made things easier. It lessened the volume of the tools of thinking. In thinking, simpler symbols took place of mental figures. This caused thinking to be performed faster and easier.
Moreover, it made communication possible. Hence, wonderful horizons opened to human-being. He got the ability of facilitating others' minds' products.
Then, it became possible more to lessen the volume of the tools of thinking. Combinations of the units of these tools (words); that's sentences, and relations between them became able to be expressed in simpler terms (as parameters and operators). This was the birth of formal logic. And it was an important step in human thinking. It prepared the foundations of modern sciences (especially the ones which use formal explanations).
Nowadays, logic is the most powerful universal language. It still is impossible to say that 'everthing is okey in communication when we use this language'. But this is not it's mistake, in contrast, it's the mistake of its users.
What's logic ? Consistency is its basic charecteristics. But to accept it as universal we must limit this consistency with evidents. It must be evidentally consistent. Surely, the evidences only can be the ones which directly can be sensed by sense organs or can be transformed, in any way, into sensible forms (indirectly sensible). It must be objective, that's, pure; that's, uneffected by beliefs, wishes, etc. These are the main mistakes done by its users (especially in daily life and social interactions). It works better in scientific life (especially natural sciences).
Mistakes or misuses in natural sciences mostly are because of inefficient evidence.
Is logic unique ? Or is there only one way of thinking in a universal way ? My answer is both yes and no. No, because I think that the same logical result can be reached by means of different ways (but, our evidental consistency requirement still is valid). Yes, because I think that all of this forms can be transformed, in some way, into each other, and this can be called as uniqueness. Investigation of a new way of obtaning data (still an unknown mode of sensation) may change the situation. But even in this case, I think that a way of transformation can be find.
