Premises, inference, and argument
Logic
Examine concepts and valid inference, then distinguish deductive consequence from uncertain evidence and causal explanation.
From concepts to argument3 essays
Begin with classification, examine logical consequence, and locate inference within the wider activity of thinking.
Concepts: How We Classify and Understand the World
Concepts make recognition, classification, and inference possible. This essay separates concepts, words, and objects, then examines intension, extension, prototypes, boundaries, counterexamples, and revision.
12 min readLogic: Premises, Conclusions, and Valid Inference
Logic studies consequence and inferential commitment. This essay explains truth, validity, soundness, deduction, induction, abduction, and the boundaries between logic, fact, probability, and causation.
13 min readConceptual and Logical Thinking: From Classification to Action
Conceptual thinking organizes classifications and logical thinking constrains inference. This essay maps perception, causation, probability, creativity, criticism, systems, strategy, decision, and metacognition.
15 min read
From inference to evidence3 essays
Separate deductive consequence, graded support, and causal explanation. The route crosses related fields without treating them as one discipline.
Logic: Premises, Conclusions, and Valid Inference
Logic studies consequence and inferential commitment. This essay explains truth, validity, soundness, deduction, induction, abduction, and the boundaries between logic, fact, probability, and causation.
13 min readLogic and Probability: Deduction, Uncertainty, and Evidence
Logic constrains what follows from premises; probability represents uncertainty and evidential support. This essay separates truth, validity, credence, conditional probability, Bayes, causation, and AI generation.
15 min readCausation: Difference-Making, Mechanisms, and Reasons
A causal claim says more than one event followed or predicted another. It connects difference-making, intervention, counterfactual dependence, and mechanism while separating causes from evidence, reasons, and purposes.
19 min read
From language to concepts2 essays
Separate words, kinds of objects, and roles in argument before examining conceptual boundaries.
Words, Concepts, and Objects: Reference and Reasoning
A practical distinction among parts of speech, semantic content, ontological categories, and the roles concepts play in reasoning.
9 min readConcepts: How We Classify and Understand the World
Concepts make recognition, classification, and inference possible. This essay separates concepts, words, and objects, then examines intension, extension, prototypes, boundaries, counterexamples, and revision.
12 min read
All essays
- Concepts: How We Classify and Understand the World
- Logic: Premises, Conclusions, and Valid Inference
- Conceptual and Logical Thinking: From Classification to Action
- Logic and Probability: Deduction, Uncertainty, and Evidence
- Causation: Difference-Making, Mechanisms, and Reasons
- Words, Concepts, and Objects: Reference and Reasoning