Philosophy of Logic

Philosophy of logic is the branch of philosophy that studies the scope and nature of logic. It investigates the philosophical problems raised by logic, including how logic is to be defined, how different logical systems are connected to each other, the nature of the fundamental concepts used by logic, and its relation to other disciplines. Various characterizations of the nature of logic are found in the academic literature: logic is often seen as the study of correct reasoning, valid inference, or logical consequence, a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises in a topic-neutral manner, independent of the specific subject matter discussed. The philosophy of logic also investigates the nature and philosophical implications of logic's fundamental concepts, including the problem of truth, the nature of premises and conclusions, and the metaphysical status of the laws and objects of logic; a central dispute in the field is between realists, who hold that logic is based on facts that have mind-independent existence, and anti-realists such as conventionalists, who hold that the laws of logic are based on the conventions governing the use of language.