On another level, it is a short course in nonmathematical logical thinking, a form of thinking that is especially important for philosophy and economics, but also one that all of us use and often horrendously abuse every day. If a fallacy exists, Gula has identified and labeled it, like a joyful lepidopterist showing off every variation on butterfly wings. On one level, it is a handbook of ways that people deceive themselves and others. However, I also note that this attitude usually reflects the fact that they have been caught short, either not knowing what they are talking about, not having thought through their position, or not realizing that they are reacting emotionally rather than rationally-that is, that there’s some hidden agenda behind their attitudes.” Nonsense was intended to be the best compilation and study of verbal logical fallacies available anywhere, and it is that and more. That wonder led to a course at Groton on informal logic, and that logic course led to Nonsense.ģ “I notice that some people are afraid of logic. Having seen many meetings and discussions that floundered, I began to wonder why.
“Nonsense came about because of my frustration in seeing how people, even highly intelligent people, are often simply unable to when in a group. In a listing in Contemporary Authors, Bob Gula described why he wrote his last book, a handbook of verbal logic.
Here was someone who set track records as a youth, who loved dogs and children, who played the piano at a concert level with special enthusiasm for Franz Liszt, but who also wrote or co-wrote seventeen books on subjects ranging from Mythology: Greek and Roman to Precision: A Reference Handbook for Writers, and who also taught Latin, Greek, algebra, geometry, chemistry, English composition, and, most famously, logic, in addition to serving as Director of Studies, at the Groton School, one of the best secondary schools in America. Of forty-seven years, a life prematurely cut short by pancreatic cancer, was immediately impressed: the energy, the piercing eyes, the clarity and brevity with which he spoke, the athletic form, the mass of swept-aside but rarely tousled sandy brown and gray hair, the sometimes impish sense of humor, the complete concentration with which he listened, really listened, to others, the sparkling mind. 169įoreword Anyone who met Robert John Gula in his relatively short life 98 Twelve: Erroneous Comparison and Contrast. 63 Nine: Confusion and Incorrect Inference. 54 Eight: Ambiguity and Incorrect Inference.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-111842 ISBN: 0966190858ĬONTENTS Foreword. This edition contains everything germane to the author’s original concept of a timeless handbook of verbal logic. In the Stein and Day edition, the work principally consisted of a handbook of verbal logic, but also contained some introductory and other material of a more popular and ephemeral nature, developed by the author at the request of the publisher. First published by Stein and Day in 1979. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews. PO Box 118 Mount Jackson, VA 22842 888.542.9467 NONSENSE: A HANDBOOK OF LOGICAL F ALLACIES © 2002 by Axios Institute. Nonsense: A Handbook of Logical Fallacies Robert J.
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