more from Ian Rumfitt

Single Idea 11211

[catalogued under 5. Theory of Logic / A. Overview of Logic / 1. Overview of Logic]

Full Idea

If a designated conclusion follows from the premisses, but the argument involves two howlers which cancel each other out, then the moral is that the path an argument takes from premisses to conclusion does matter to its logical evaluation.

Gist of Idea

If a sound conclusion comes from two errors that cancel out, the path of the argument must matter

Source

Ian Rumfitt ("Yes" and "No" [2000], II)

Book Reference

-: 'Mind' [-], p.787


A Reaction

The drift of this is that our view of logic should be a little closer to the reasoning of ordinary language, and we should rely a little less on purely formal accounts.