« Social Uses of Logic in Medieval and Modern Contexts »
Résumé
During the Middle Ages, especially from the 13th century on, logic constituted a propaedeutic
discipline for any form of higher education as well as an art of ‘disputation’ (disputatio),
which represented both a scientific method and a compulsory performance for gaining
university degrees, socially organized and controlled by teaching institutions. Logic was
also newly regarded as a science and a technique for perfecting the intellect of men. It
thereby received an unprecedented anthropological signification, while it led to relegate
whole social groups, thought of as deprived of logic, to inferior forms of humanity. Medieval
logic represented a dominant argumentative culture, doted with a strong normative significance.
Only the normative dimension of logic remains today, but to a large extent detached
from its theoretical foundation and its educational value. Our era is characterized by the disappearance
of a formal teaching of logic and by the end of the practice of disputation. The
concept of intelligence has undergone major evolutions, while intellectual and scientific
practices no longer follow a rigid and ritualized logical pattern. The very notion of logic has
also changed radically, with a divorce between formal logic and the so-called ‘informal
logic,’ and the disappearance the idea of logic as a unitary norm which came along the
emergence of an irreducible logical pluralism. Social uses of logic are essentially discriminatory,
as can be observed indirectly in intelligence tests and directly in logical tests, according
to a selection program largely based on the identification of ‘native’ logical skills of
the candidates. However, a concern for logical education, but under a different name, has reemerged
during the 20th century, with the critical thinking movement. The reflections and
practices it led to offer interesting parallels with the medieval situation of logic.
The study of the medieval situation of logic allows to point out irreversible changes, to
trace long-lasting legacies and stimulating parallels, but also to reflect on modern uses of
logic from a different angle. The history of the uses and values bestowed on logic along time
and spaces helps pluralizing and historicizing logic, especially when used as an instrument
to evaluate on the basis of a ‘universal and natural’ logic the degrees of rationality of
individuals and groups whose intellectual behavior does not fit into the norm.
Domaines
PhilosophieOrigine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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