Material Logic, Student Text - Softcover

Martin Cothran

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1930953577 ISBN 13: 9781930953574

Publisher: Memoria Press, 2004

Synopsis

What are the ten ways in which something can be said to exist? What are the five ways in which something can be said of something else? What are the four questions you must answer in order to really know something? In ancient and medieval times, the answers to these questions were common currency among thinking people. When most people think of logic, they think of formal logic—the study of the structure or form of reasoning. But what most educators don’t realize is that formal logic is only one part of a complete logic program. The other branch of logic study was called “material logic,” and focused not on the form of reasoning, but on its content. In short, while formal logic studied the "how" of reasoning, material logic studied the "what." The principles of material logic, an important part of trivium language study, are now almost forgotten—a casualty of the almost exclusive modern secular emphasis on math and sciences. Formal logic was once termed minor (or lesser) logic, while material logic usually went by the name of major (or greater) logic—a measure of how important classical thinkers considered them. There is a huge gap between formal logic courses and so-called "thinking skills" courses. Formal logic focuses exclusively on the systematic study of the structure of reasoning. That is important, but it hardly covers all you need to know to reason effectively. “Thinking skills” courses, on the other hand, tend to suffer from a highly nonsystematic topic-hopping approach, where the student is unable to see how one principle connects with another. With the publication of Material Logic: A Traditional Approach to Thinking Skills, these ancient techniques are a lost art no more. Whether you want a follow-on course to Memoria Press’ popular Traditional Logic program, or simply an introductory thinking skills course for high school grades, this new addition to Memoria Press’ widely acclaimed Classical Trivium Core Series is a valuable tool in teaching your student to think. Our monks wanted to call the program “Concerning the 10 Categories, the Five Predicables, the Four Causes, and the Five Elements of Classification and Their Use in the Art of Thinking”—in Latin! But we convinced them that a simpler title would get the message across just fine. And by the way, their words for it were: “Logica summa est”—which roughly translates: “It’s just tops!” Material Logic, like all of Memoria Press’ programs, is designed to ease the job of the teacher or parent—with straightforward explanations, an easy to read text layout, and digestible daily exercise sets. Material Logic, the newest contribution to trivium language study, can be used as either a one-semester or one-year course. Consumable. Features: The TEN ways in which something can exist The FIVE ways you can say something about something else The FOUR Questions you must answer in order to know what something is Analyses of famous essays by St. Thomas Aquinas, Hillaire Belloc, and Sir Francis Bacon

About this title

About the Author

Martin Cothran is a writer and teacher, living with his wife and four children in Danville, Kentucky. Author of Memoria Press' Traditional Logic, Material Logic and Classical Rhetoric programs, he is an instructor of Latin, Logic, Rhetoric, and Classical Studies at Highlands Latin School. Martin holds a B.A. in philosophy and economics from the University of California at Santa Barbara and an M.A. in Christian Apologetics from the Simon Greenleaf School (now a part of Trinity University). He currently serves as senior policy analyst with The Family Foundation of Kentucky. The Lexington Herald-Leader has described Martin as "a master of the 30-second sound bite, and the Associated Press has called him "articulate and relentless," although he is not entirely sure that they meant it as a compliment, since his views on policy issues are often at variance with those of the liberal media. He practices the art of rhetoric in frequent articles on public policy issues that have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and various other newspapers, as well as on radio and television. He has also served as a registered agent (or “lobbyist”) at the Kentucky State Capitol for over 12 years and has served on various state committees that oversee education policy, where he continues to be an influential voice on education policy issues. Martin is the managing editor of “The Classical Teacher” magazine, which also serves as Memoria Press’ product catalog.

Edition details

• Publisher: Memoria Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1930953577
• ISBN 13: 9781930953574
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224