formal logic

noun

1. the branch of logic concerned exclusively with the principles of deductive reasoning and with the form rather than the content of propositions.

formal logic

noun

1. Also called: symbolic logic. the study of systems of deductive argument in which symbols are used to represent precisely defined categories of expressions Compare philosophical logic

2. a specific formal system that can be interpreted as representing a fragment of natural argument

Word History and Origins

Origin of formal logic¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Before Boole, formal logic came from the writings of Aristotle.

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Their method, which is based on the formal logic used by mathematicians and philosophers, captures the choices faced by a hacker who has access to the mobile phone and the PIN.

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But expertise in formal logic isn’t essential for anyone’s enjoyment of this moving biography.

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Pinker’s main focus is the sort of conscious, sequential reasoning that can track the steps in a geometric proof or an argument in formal logic.

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But a granular knowledge of formal logic isn’t essential for anyone’s enjoyment of this moving new biography.

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