Logic

study of principles and methods of good reasoning

science of reasoning which aims to determine and lay down the criteria of good
(correct) reasoning and bad (incorrect) reasoning
probes into the fundamental concepts of argument, interference, truth, falsity and
validity, among others – – by means of logic that we clarify our ideas, assess the
acceptability of the claims and beliefs we encounter, defend and justify our
assertions and statements, and make rational and sound decisions
Psychology studies reasoning that is primarily concerned with how people reason;
it demands to look for patterns of behavior, speech, or neurological activity that
take place in the process of reasoning
Logic studies the principles of good reasoning. Its task does not merely describe
how people reason but to discover and make available those criteria that can be
used to test arguments for correctness
Logic being the science of correct and sound reasoning, is indispensable in the
field of law; the efficiency of practicing law depends on the quality of legal
reasoning
Legal reasoning is what we use when we apply laws, rules, and regulations to
particular facts and cases; it is what we use when we interpret constitutions and
statues, when we balance fundamental principles and policies and evaluate
evidences; make judgments to render legal decisions
By examining and evaluating the elements and structures of legal reasoning, our
legal judgments and decisions will shift from mere subjective preference to
objective rationale; such kind of judgments and decisions can better serve the
rule of law
Importance of legal reasoning in law practice: legal education should include the
understanding and analysis of the fundamental principles and methodologies of
legal reasoning that will enable the law students to discriminate between good
and bad patterns of legal argumentation
For a profession that relies so much on sound reasoning and valid argumentation
in order to justify a claim, defend a proposition, assess the strength of evidences
and render a judicious decision, legal logic should be placed at the center of our
legal curriculum
The rule, founded on logic, is a corollary of the principle that general words and
phrases in a statute should ordinarily be accorded their natural and general
significance
Legal Reasoning

Argument as an Expression of Reasoning

Legal reasoning is expressed through arguments, and it is with arguments that

logic is chiefly concerned. Thus, it is important in this introductory chapter to
discuss the fundamental notion of argument, its basic elements and structures,
and what makes it distinct from other verbal utterances and expressions
When people hear argument, they usually thin of some kind of quarrel or dispute
In logic, however, an argument is a claim put forward and defended with reasons.
To be more precise, an argument is a group of statements in which one
statement is claimed to be true on the basis of another statement/s. The
statement that is being claimed to be true is called the conclusion and the
statement that serves as the basis or support of the conclusion is called the
premise.