Article April 1, 1916 Issue

Logic

INEZ KOCH

In a conversation with a leading authority on law the question of logic came up. With great skill and perfect ease this eminent lawyer gave examples of logical reasoning, showing how unmistakably conclusion follows its premise, and how major and minor propositions must be coordinate to bring out the perfect syllogism; but the writer noticed that all the syllogisms given were based on a material premise.

The conversation was about the nature of man, the student of Christian Science maintaining the fact of man's spirituality, while the lawyer endeavored to prove man's materiality and consequent dereliction and death. After the lawyer had settled his point to his entire satisfaction through several perfectly stated syllogisms, the writer also gave a syllogism, based on the allness of Spirit, God, and the lawyer admitted that it was absolutely correct. From the standpoint of mere logic the syllogisms of both were faultless; but they were of course diametrically opposed in their conclusion, the one proving the spirituality and the other the materiality of man. On being asked how he proposed to combine these two opposite results to bring out the truth of the matter in hand, the lawyer laughed and said, "Well, of course you can only assume your premise; you cannot prove the truth of it." On the writer's insisting that in order to obtain correct results by true reasoning the premises must be true, he answered, "No one can be absolutely sure that his major premise is true."

This admission from one who possessed an international reputation in the legal profession, revealed clearly the unreliability of all human reasoning, and the great need of a knowledge of the truth in our law courts and elsewhere. The opportunity to gain this knowledge is to the world through the study of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mrs. Eddy. On page 279 of this book we read: "Every system of human philosophy, doctrine, and medicine is more or less infected with the pantheistic belief that there is mind in matter; but this belief contradicts alike revelation and right reasoning. A logical and scientiflc conclusion is reached only through the knowledge that there are not two bases of being, matter and mind, but one alone,—Mind."

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"Light of the world"
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