logic

Definition 1

General: Cause-and-effect explanation of an action, decision, event, phenomenon, or solution.

Definition 2

Formal: Discipline that examines human reasoning to deduce general principles for distinguishing sound conclusions (valid inferences) from the specious (invalid) ones. Also called classical logic, it is concerned only with the process of thinking, and not with the correctness of the end result or conclusion. It was systematized by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) and is based on his theory of syllogism.

Definition 3

Symbolic: Basis of principles used in the design of computer or 'intelligent' systems, such as those that define truth tables and interconnections of on-off circuit elements. Also called mathematical logic, it relies on the works of two German mathematicians, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1686-1717) and Friedrich Ludwig Gottolob Frege (1848-1925). See also fuzzy logic.