INTRODUCTION: Why should men take their minds seriously?
PREFACE: What happened to logic?
1 CONSISTENCY AND CONTRADICTION: What does it mean to make sense?
Reality Is the Standard for Ideas
Ideas Must Be Consistent with Each Other
Ideas Require Facts Plus Method
Summary
2 SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE: Where do words come from?
Concepts Organize Entities
Essentials Lead to New Concepts
Definitions Make Higher-Level Concepts Clear
Summary
3 CAUSE AND EFFECT: How does man grasp what is happening?
Explanations Require a Standard of Evidence
Causality Leads to Specific Expectations
Volition Accounts for Human Action
Summary
4 INFERENCE AND PROOF: How are conclusions supported?
The Syllogism Reveals a Universal Premise
Essentials Validate Generalizations
Causality Justifies Specific Conclusions
Summary
5 CERTAINTY AND ERROR: On what basis are choices made?
Certainty Is the Standard for Judgment
Error Consists of Subordinating a Fundamental
Principles Guide Man’s Actions
Summary
GLOSSARY: What concepts are key to how ideas work?
INDEX