Standard logics as theories of argument and inference: Deduction

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview on standard logics as theories of argument and inference. It discusses work which collectively represents several disciplines. Among them are logic, computer science, cognitive and experimental psychology, argumentation theory, forensic science and linguistics. Also involved are those branches of mathematics which explore Bayesian statistics, information theory and ergodics; engineering in its connection with complexity theory and entropy; economics and management studies in their engagement of game theory, choice theory and probabilistic decision theory; epistemology in its involvement with the foundations of probability and rationality theory; and fallacy theory and other branches of informal logic, as they bear upon the question of limitations (real or imagined) of formal logic as central and load-bearing part of any good theory of argument and inference, especially when considered as branches of practical reasoning.