Book Review: Being Logical

Since taking my first philosophy class some 20 years ago, I have always been struck with how ubiquitous bad thinking is. In my estimation, it's gotten worse in since then, especially on account of the rise of the Internet. That's not to say that the Internet is not a good place to have philosophical discussions, rather, the Internet seems to be a place where really bad thinking flourishes; you aren't required to have an editor when you write for the Internet!

In Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking, D. Q. McInerny presents informal logic in a meaningful and non-technical manner. In part one, McInerny sets the stage by preparing the mind to engage in logical discourse. In part two and three, discusses the basic principles of logic, gray areas, explanations, definitions, crafting a strong argument. Here's the meat of the book, for, after all, philosophy really is the activity of creating and evaluating arguments. The last two parts deal specifically with how to identify bad thinking, evasive agnosticism, emotionalism, common sense along with a fairly detailed list of informal fallacies.

Even at only 137 pages, including a reasonable index, this is a very nice read. After reading Kant's Logic or Quine's Elementary Logic, you can get a real appreciation for something that is written simply, and without a lot of tedious technicalities.