An introductory text-book of logic - Mellone, Sydney - Rare Books at ...

THE GENERAL AIM OF LOGIC. 3
end of the fifth century B.C.), who found a number of
difficulties in the beliefs of common sense, and in the
then prevalent philosophical conceptions, as to the
reality of time, space, and motion ; the discussions
to which these arguments gave rise began to awaken
a conscious interest in methods of reasoning, an essential
part of Logic. This interest was carried much further
by the work of the Sophists and of Socrates. The
Sophists met a growing demand for means of enlarg
ing and improving human nature, by giving instruction
in the arts and accomplishments
useful to a citizen in
practical life. They gave special attention to what may
be called the Art of Persuasion, in a wide sense. This
involved the beginnings of Grammar, Rhetoric, and
Logic, as distinct studies. Thus Logic first appears as
the art of arguing. The Sophists were more inter
ested in persuasion than in true instruction, in victories
through
verbal discussion than in scientific investi
gation. Some of them, such as Protagoras, were
thorough Sceptics, denying the possibility of knowledge.
Socrates went with them in their interest in humanity ;
but he was moved by an invincible faith that knowledge
of the truth is possible for us all. His method of arriv
ing at truth was so simple that its deep significance
is somewhat hidden. He observed that in ordinary
thought people are much more sure of the particular
objects to which a name belongs than they are of the
qualities in the objects, on account of which the name
is given ; thus, when we speak of such a thing as
oak-tree" or "a rose" or "a beautiful object,"
good action
"
"
an
"a
it is more easy to bring forward actual
instances of these things than to explain what we mean
(what idea we have in our minds) when we use the
name. But to arrive at consistency with ourselves and