Can something be logical but not true?

Asked by: Casper Heathcote PhD  |  Last update: February 26, 2025
Score: 4.7/5 (46 votes)

A logical fallacy is an argument that may sound convincing or true but is actually flawed. Logical fallacies are leaps of logic that lead us to an unsupported conclusion.

Does logic have to be true?

All of philosophical logic can be thought of as providing accounts of the nature of logical truth, as well as logical consequence. Logical truths are generally considered to be necessarily true. This is to say that they are such that no situation could arise in which they could fail to be true.

Is a logical argument always true?

FALSE: A valid argument must have a true conclusion only if all of the premises are true. So it is possible for a valid argument to have a false conclusion as long as at least one premise is false.

Can a logical statement be false?

In logic, statement is a declarative sentence that is either true or false, but not both. The key to constructing a good logical statement is that there must be no ambiguity. To be a statement, a sentence must be true or false. It cannot be both.

Can something be logical but irrational?

Because in reality, both logical thinking and rational thinking are needed. Otherwise, it's pretty easy to see that even logical people can wind up using logic in some pretty irrational ways.

19 Common Fallacies, Explained.

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Can something be true but not logical?

Definition: a sentence is logically indeterminate if and only if it is neither logically true nor logically false. As we have seen, many sentences - although true – could have been false and vice versa. These sentences, even if true, are not logically true by definition, and even if false are not logically false.

Is logic always rational?

Arguments may be logical if they are "conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity", while they are rational according to the broader requirement that they are based on reason and knowledge. Logic and rationality have each been taken as fundamental concepts in philosophy.

What is false logic called?

A logical fallacy is an argument that may sound convincing or true but is actually flawed. Logical fallacies are leaps of logic that lead us to an unsupported conclusion.

Is lying a logical fallacy?

Logical fallacies refer to errors in the way information is used to justify a claim (or make an argument). They also encompass errors in the way arguments are interpreted to conclude whether a claim is true or not. A lie is simply a statement or claim that is not true.

How to negate a logical statement?

To negate a statement of the form "If A, then B" we should replace it with the statement "A and Not B". This might seem confusing at first, so let's take a look at a simple example to help understand why this is the right thing to do.

Are logical fallacies true?

Using a logical fallacy doesn't necessarily mean someone is wrong. It can, however, indicate either faulty thinking and flawed logic, if used unintentionally, or an attempt to manipulate the truth to be more persuasive, if used deliberately.

What makes logic valid?

Valid: an argument is valid if and only if it is necessary that if all of the premises are true, then the conclusion is true; if all the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true; it is impossible that all the premises are true and the conclusion is false. Invalid: an argument that is not valid.

What is an invalid argument?

An invalid (i.e. flawed) argument is one whose conclusion is not proven by its premises. That is, even if all the premises are true, the conclusion could still be false. Some sort of jump in reasoning has taken place, and it's your job to figure out where the argument went wrong.

Can logical arguments be true or false?

A logical argument is valid if its conclusion follows from the premises, and it is sound if it is valid and all of its premises are true. A false or deceptive argument is called a fallacy. Many types of fallacies are so common that they have been named.

Is logic always correct?

Logic is a very effective tool for persuading an audience about the accuracy of an argument. However, people are not always persuaded by logic. Sometimes audiences are not persuaded because they have used values or emotions instead of logic to reach conclusions.

Can logic be disproven?

You simply cannot disprove closed systems of logic because, well, you'd need to use them to disprove them which can't happen. We're left with inductive reasoning (and its junior partner, abductive reasoning). These lead to likely conclusions, not absolute truths.

Can a lie be logical?

A lie may be logical, but a truth cannot be illogical although it may be alogical.

Is gaslighting a logical fallacy?

Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or false arguments that can be proven wrong with reasoning. Gas lighting may use logical fallacies, but it is a different kind of thing. It means to manipulate someone by psychological means into questioning reality as they underst…

What is the famous liar paradox?

In philosophy and logic, the classical liar paradox or liar's paradox or antinomy of the liar is the statement of a liar that they are lying: for instance, declaring that "I am lying". If the liar is indeed lying, then the liar is telling the truth, which means the liar just lied.

Can logic only be true or false?

Aristotle's syllogistic is just one possible system of formal logic but there is only one logic of human deductive reasoning, so each system will be either true or false, and they won't possibly be all true. They may even be all false.

What is pseudo logic?

pseudologic (countable and uncountable, plural pseudologics) False logic. A logical argument that deliberately omits an outcome so that a false conclusion is reached.

What is a paradox logic?

It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically unacceptable conclusion. A paradox usually involves contradictory-yet-interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.

Is logic a wisdom or intelligence?

Intelligence can be defined as the ability to think logically, to conceptualize and abstract from reality. Wisdom can be defined as the ability to grasp human nature, which is paradoxical, contradictory, and subject to continual change.

Are all rationals real?

The rational numbers are the set of all numbers that can be written as fractions p / q , where p and q are integers. All rational numbers are also real, but there are real numbers that are not rational, for example the square root of 2, and pi.

What is the difference between logic and reasoning?

I think generally reasoning is a process in a thinking mind that involves experience, facts and different things related to the object the mind is reasoning about. But logic is the way you reason about something. Roughly logic is a frame in which you reason about something.