Logic and Reason

Logic is 1 + 1 = 2. If A = B and B = C, then logic dictates that A = C. When the moving car suddenly stalls and the gas indicator points to EMPTY, it is logical to conclude that by adding gasoline into the tank, the car will start working again. When the desk lamp suddenly goes out but lights in the rest of room still are ON, it is logical to conclude that changing the desk lamp’s light bulb will fix the problem. Reason is the process of making sense (cause and effect) of the things happening around us. Through reason, we find ways to resolve conflicts as a result of our different personality and approach to do things. Through reason, we understand how and why we make mistakes to enable us to find better ways of doing things. Through reason, we become civilized and leave the animal under our footsteps. With logic and reason, we are able to unravel Nature’s secrets bit by bit, piece by piece, layer by layer down to its very core, one day.

Logic

Everything (animate or inanimate) on Earth is made of a précised combination of one or more of the available 94 chemical elements. For example:

1. Water = H₂O

2. Sand = SiO₂

3. Sugar = C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁

4. Protein = (CH₂OH)CH(NH₂)COOH

5. Blood Cell = C₇₃₈H₁₁₆₆N₈₁₂O₂₀₃S₂Fe

   Each of the chemical elements is in turn made of a precise combination of 3 basic atomic particles – proton, neutron, and electron. For example:

1. Hydrogen = 1 proton, 1 neutron, 1 electron

2. Oxygen = 8 proton, 8 neutron, 8 electron

3. Carbon = 6 proton, 6 neutron, 6 electron

4. Iron = 26 proton, 30 neutron, 26 electron

5. Silver = 47 proton, 61 neutron, 47 electron

   Everything may look different with unique functions, but, they are all built based on the principle of logic with unalterable basic materials and quantity. In the physical world, behind the unpredictable randomness, sudden changes, and the destructive forces, there are observable orders (cause and effect, etc.), identifiable patterns (decay and regeneration, etc.), and hidden laws (conservation of energy, etc.). With the help of logic, everything can be explained in understandable terms.

Reason

Our civilization started when we used reason to resolve disputes (compromise, diplomacy, tolerance, etc.), to learn to live together (appreciate, respect, embrace, etc.), and to build a better life (language, communication, community, etc). Our man-made world began to take shape when we used reason to understand the unknowns (diseases, stars, thunderstorms, etc.), to learn from the mistakes (air pollution, over population, wars, etc.), and to find better ways to do things (science, technology, machines, etc.). Reason helps us to discern right from wrong, to understand good vs. bad, and to know that justice prevents social unrest, that without laws there is no order, and when to tell a white lie instead of the truth. Among friends and at home, a person may indulge on irrational behaviors, farfetched ideas, and out of this world fantasies. An unreasonable person will have difficulty in making friends in public, in striking deals in business, and or getting the job done at work.

Building Blocks

Everything on Earth is built based on a set of well-defined building blocks following a set of well-defined rules with its functions constrained by a set of well-defined laws. We, the human beings, are the only things that are able to unravel those building blocks, rules, and laws on Earth. The keys are the logic and reason. We are taught addition, multiplication, how to speak and write, how to behave in public, and the history of our civilization from the grade school. As our brain matures, we learn how to think logically - deduction, induction, cause and effect. We learn to use reason to solve problems, to control the emotional urges, and to document what we have learned to pass onto the future generations. Today, after 7000 years of logic and reason, the accumulated knowledge – anthropology, biology, geology, mathematics, physics, etc, has enabled us to understand what kind of world we live in, how the world operates, and one day, why the world works the way it is.

Intergalactic Community

Logic and reason have also enabled us to create a man-made world where our mental and physically needs can be obtained, maintained, and sustained. For example:

1. Automated and mass food producing and processing industries with distribution network that keep the local supermarket stuffed 24/7,

2. An energy exploration, development, and processing infrastructure that keep the dwellings livable under all weather conditions, cars running, airplanes flying 24/7,

3. A healthcare management system equipped with the latest instruments to relief and cure people’s pains and sufferings 24/7,

4. Education and research centers that teach people all they want to know about the world and help people to find what are not yet known about the world, etc.

   Our attention has not been confined on Earth only. We use telescope to take a closer look at the shining stars in the sky, launch satellite into the space to see what the Earth looks like, and send men to the moon and exploratory probe to the other planets. After 3.5 billion years, Nature has come up with an intelligent living thing with the capabilities to transform Earth into a member of the intergalactic community eager to share its logic and reason with the other life forms.