Why Study Logic? Perhaps the most important thing to give your child to prepare him to confront this world is a firm grasp of logical thinking skills. Without this refined skill — the ability to reason correctly — his thinking is not firmly anchored, but is “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” Children who can logically understand what they believe will hold fast to the truth and will be able to defend it throughout their lives.

Logic is necessary to analyze other people’s beliefs. Logical fallacies are everywhere in our society. If your child cannot detect the logical mistakes he hears, then how will he discern who is right? The study of logical fallacies (common mistakes in reasoning) is important to critically reason through the arguments of others.

Logic is necessary to understand and communicate our own beliefs. The Scripture commands us to prove our doctrines and practices. (Ephesians 5:10) We are to reason and dispute from the Scriptures with persuasive and convincing arguments (Acts 17:2) If we are able to think through and clearly reason from the Bible, then we will be better equipped to give a proper defense of our faith. (I Peter 3:15)

Logic is necessary. The study of formal logic should be considered foundational to every educational curriculum. In the past it was. The roots of logic stretch into every other subject. The construction and programming of computers, for example, is based entirely upon the application of the laws of logic. The proofs of algebra and geometry rely upon the laws of logic. The laws of logic, in one way or another, are fundamental to every academic discipline.

Unfortunately, the study of logic is dispensed with in the modern curriculum. Social skills are considered more important than thinking skills. Children do not learn to think for themselves. The study of formal logic will give your child life-long skill in proper reasoning. The study of logic should be considered indispensable to every Classical Education.

We suggest starting your logic journey with The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Eight Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning (for ages 12 and up).