Logic and Democracy
Brett King, RMCA Headmaster
I’m relieved that the 2008 political season is winding down. It has been rewarding to see that this year’s elections have captured the heart of many usually uninterested in the political process. But I have been disappointed by the typically shallow and subtly deceptive political advertising. It is regrettable that this has seemingly influenced the thinking of many citizens.
However, I am encouraged that RMCA is laying the foundation for students to be intelligent participants in democracy. This requires that we equip them to discern what is true and what is false. This ability is not just important in the area of morality and ethics; it is critical in the arena of politics as well. In one of the most important and prophetic books in my library, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman writes that capitalism and democracy require that government and its citizens be “sufficiently mature, well-informed, and reasonable.” This necessitates the need for voters to look beyond the visual imagery and drama of advertising to the structure of ideas: words and arguments.
At RMCA, formal logic is not just an isolated class. It is a way of thinking cultivated in students from the earliest grades.
Discerning truth in an age of imagery requires some dexterity in the use of logic. Yet formal logic is rarely taught in schools—even the government schools with a historical mandate to prepare an “educated” electorate. Our aim is to equip students to recognize, among other things, the fact that two contradictory claims cannot be equally true at the same time.
The Fallacy Detective: Thirty Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning is one of the engaging books RMCA uses to teach Logic and Apologetics. fallacydetective.com
What then is logic? At its most basic level, logic is concerned with evaluating arguments—not the quarrels between angry people, but the arguments that persuade one why something is true. It is evaluating a series of propositions that demand a conclusion. The propositions (i.e. premises) and their resulting conclusions are governed by rules. Understanding and adhering to these strict rules of logic help one move beyond mere opinion to objective analysis.
Logic is one of the tools used to pursue truth. In 8th grade, our students hone their use of this tool by engaging in an interdisciplinary critical thinking project. Students are asked to choose a controversial topic and evaluate at least two viewpoints surrounding an issue. In doing so, they are asked to seek truth by utilizing the tools of logic fostered throughout their experience at RMCA. And not surprisingly, most students excel in this intellectually rigorous activity.
Politics and logic do not have to be contradictory. I believe that equipping students to make rational, intelligent decisions is one of the best ways to prepare them for citizenship. And I certainly hope that at least a few RMCA students will have the courage to enter the fray of politics. May they be true statesmen in the classical tradition, exercising their skills of logic with courage, grace, and distinction.
