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HETHER REGARDED AS A SCIENCE, AN ART, w or a skill-and it can properly be regarded as all three-logic is the basis of our ability to think, analyze. argue, and communicate. Indeed, logic goes to the very core of what we mean by human intelligence. In this concise, crisply readable book. Professor D. Q. Mclnerny I offers an indispensable guide to using logic to advantage in everyday life. Written explicitly for the layperson. McInerny's Being Logical promises to take its place beside Strunk and White's The Elements ofstyle as a classic of ' lucid, invaluable advice. As McInerny notes, logic is a field with a pro- found bearing on our lives. A mastery of logic begins with an understanding of right reasoning-and encompasses a grasp of the kinship between logical thought and logical expression, a knowledge of the basic terms of argument, and a familiarity with the pitfalls of illogical thinking. Accordingly, McInerny structures his book as a series of brief chapters that build on one another to form a coherent introduction to dear and effective reasoning. At the heart of the book is a consideration of argument-how an argument is founded and elaborated. how it differs from other forms of intellectual discourse, and how it embodies the elements of logic. McInerny teases out the subtleties and complexities of premises and conclusions, differentiates statements of fact from statements of value, and discusses the principles and uses of every major type of argument, from the syllogistic to the conditional. In addition, he provides an incisive look at illogical thinking and explains how to recognize and avoid the most common errors of logic. B E I N G L O G I C A L Being Logical A G U I D E to G O O D T H I N K I N G D. Q. Mclnerny R A N D O M H O U S E i^MMl N E W Y O R K Copyright © 2004 by D. Q. Mclnerny All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mclnerny, D. Q. Being logical: a guide to good thinking / D. Q. Mclnerny. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-4000-6171-7 1. Logic. 2. Reasoning. 3. Thought and thinking. I. Title. BC71.M37 2004 160—dc2 20305879 Text design by Mary A. Wirth Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Random House website address: www.atrandom.com 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition IN MEMORIAM AUSTIN C L I F F O R D MCINERNY and VIVIAN GERTRUDE RUSH MCINERNY