Mystery of Logical Thinking

Education Economy English

They always say that logical thinking is critical especially in a business world.

But I always wonder why that is.



1. Being logical is context dependent

A logical argument in a place might not be logical in another place. For example, how do we logically explain why we cannot kill other people? In one culture, they might refer to human rights. In some other places, they might say that its prohibited by Bible, therefore, it is illegal. In another place, they might argue that killing is illegal because Quran defines so.

Which one is logical? I don't know.




2. Definition of "being logical" is not clear

First of all, Im not sure what logic is. Let's think about the following famous sample.

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(quote)

A judge tells a condemned prisoner that he will be hanged at noon on one weekday in the following week but that the execution will be a surprise to the prisoner. He will not know the day of the hanging until the executioner knocks on his cell door at noon that day.

Having reflected on his sentence, the prisoner draws the conclusion that he will escape from the hanging. His reasoning is in several parts. He begins by concluding that the "surprise hanging" can't be on Friday, as if he hasn't been hanged by Thursday, there is only one day left - and so it won't be a surprise if he's hanged on Friday. Since the judge's sentence stipulated that the hanging would be a surprise to him, he concludes it cannot occur on Friday.

He then reasons that the surprise hanging cannot be on Thursday either, because Friday has already been eliminated and if he hasn't been hanged by Wednesday noon, the hanging must occur on Thursday, making a Thursday hanging not a surprise either. By similar reasoning he concludes that the hanging can also not occur on Wednesday, Tuesday or Monday. Joyfully he retires to his cell confident that the hanging will not occur at all.

The next week, the executioner knocks on the prisoner's door at noon on Wednesday — which, despite all the above, was an utter surprise to him. Everything the judge said came true.


(unquote)
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexpected_hanging_paradox

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It seems like the prisoners reasoning is completely logical. But it does not work.








And the last mystery is that in this article, Im trying to question the value of logical thinking logically.