Unification Thought Study Guide

V: Logic
54. What is the concrete meaning of content and form in logic?

Since logic deals with thinking, it necessarily has a process of thinking based upon recognized knowledge. Now, cognition requires a judgment, that is, a proposition, which, without fail, has a subject and predicate which explain the object of cognition. Moreover, the proposition has a copula which signifies by words the relationship between subject and predicate, or in what manner they are connected with each other, regardless of whatever the object of cognition may be. Now, concepts which indicate the object of cognition, that is, subject and predicate, are the content, whereas the copula, which signifies the mode of the relationship between the two, is the form. For example, in the proposition "that person is a Japanese," "that person" and "a Japanese" are subject and predicate respectively and "is" is a copula, that is, form.

55. What are some characteristics of formal logic?

Formal logic does not deal with the content of thinking, but only with the law and form of thinking. Law refers to the principle of identity, the principle of contradiction, the principle of sufficient reason, etc. Form is inference form, which refers to direct inference and indirect inference. Direct inference is an inference in which we draw a conclusion directly from one premise. Indirect inference is an inference in which we draw a conclusion from two or more than two premises, that is, major and minor premises. In the case of indirect inference, there are the deductive method and the inductive method.

56. What are the characteristics of the logic of communism?

The logic of communism implies the logic of the dialectic method. Its main characteristic is that it deals with the developing movement of objective reality. In other words, communists insist that logic must deal not with the form but with the content, that is, the actual object of cognition, and that it must deal not with the fixed, unchanging aspects of the object, but with the developing and changing aspects of the object. Thus the communists deny the absoluteness of the principle of contradiction of formal logic. That is, they insist that we should not regard the principle of contradiction, "A is not non-A," as an absolute principle, but that we must examine logically another aspect of things, namely, "A is A; at the same time A is non-A." The reason they hold these two views simultaneously is that, as an object of cognition, A is a changing reality. A already has within itself some changing element which is non-A, which implies that A already has non-A within itself.

57. What is the basic standpoint of Unification Logic?

In any field the Unification Philosophy has the basic standpoint which formulates logic of theory based upon the contents and the structure of the Original Image. Therefore, in dealing with the law and form of thinking, the origin of the development of theory is the structure of the Original Image. This is because in order to understand the world of result, that is, the phenomenal world correctly we must naturally deal with the world of cause.

Since man resembles God, man's thinking must resemble that of God. God's thinking means the formation of the Logos, which implies the formation of the Inner Developing Quadruple Base. Since the Inner Quadruple Base cannot exist without the Outer Quadruple Base, man's thinking cannot do without the formation of the Outer Quadruple Base, that is, cognition and practice. This is the basic assertion of Unification Logic.

58. What is form in Unification Logic?

Formal logic deals only with the inference form in the stage of reason, whereas Unification Logic deals not only with the inference form but also with the understanding form. Since the inference form of Unification Logic is equal to that of formal logic, we may study this form by means of general formal logic. But the understanding form which has a direct connection with the structure of the Original Image is to be explained by means of the Unification Philosophy.

The stage of understanding is also the stage of cognition. And cognition can be established by the correspondence which is necessarily formed between " the content and form from outside" and " the content and form existing inside." This cognition is nothing but thinking in the stage of understanding. Thus, the stage of understanding in thinking is the stage in which subjective factors (content and form of inside) and objective factors (content and form from outside) carry out give-and-take action (correspondence) centering on purpose. The form from outside is the being form of objective things, and the form inside is the being form of cells, tissues, etc. composing a physical body. These are all materialistic (Hyung Sang), but these Hyung Sang forms make, in the brain, the Sung Sang (mental) representations which correspond to them. When these correspond with each other, cognition (thinking) is achieved. In this situation, the Sung Sang representations from inside are, namely, the prototypes of cognition which are nothing but understanding forms. Therefore, they are different from Kant's understanding forms.

59. What is law in Unification Logic?

Basic law of formal logic refers to the principle of identity, the principle of contradiction, the principle of excluded middle, and the principle of sufficient reason. The basic law of Unification Logic is the law of give-and take because thinking (the Logos) in the Original Image is originally multiplied through the give-and-take action of the Inner Quadruple Base and is manifested as creation by the give-and-take action of the Outer Quadruple Base. The law of give-and-take can work in both the stage of understanding and the stage of reason, the two stages of thinking. The Outer Quadruple Base and the Inner Quadruple Base work in the stage of understanding and the stage of reason respectively. For example, let us take the case of the deductive method which is the inference form in the stage of reason. In this case, when major and minor premises are made, at first the function of thinking (Inner Sung Sang) should clearly fix in the mind those concepts (inner Hyung Sang) that correspond to the subject and predicate of premises, and secondly, by means of the give-and-take action between the function of thinking and the concepts, the conclusion can be multiplied (developed). In this manner, inference form is established based upon the law of give-and-take action.

60. How does Unification Logic deal with content?

Formal logic deals only with form and entirely neglects content; dialectical logic in communism, on the contrary, concentrates only on content and neglects form. But Unification Logic deals with both of them, because it views the structure of thinking as being equal to the Inner Quadruple Base in the Original Image. At the formation of the Inner Quadruple Base, not only the function, the subject part of the mind (intellect, emotion, will) which corresponds to Inner Sung Sang, but also the object part, concepts (ideas) etc. which corresponds to Inner Hyung Sang necessarily are set up. These concepts (not only concepts of form but also concepts of content) are those gained in the stage of understanding. They were formed by the correspondence between the form and content from outside and the form and content existing inside in the process of cognition, and after that retained in the memory.

Hereupon, the Inner Quadruple Base has the two aspects (identity-maintaining and developing) and the development necessarily occurs through several stages (c.f. ontology, 0. 22, 3), so within each stage of the individual development, each individual being maintains its self-identity on the surface, and because of this the principle of identity and the principle of contradiction are maintained as they are. In this manner, Unification Logic accepts the developing aspect of the outside, objective object (content), and at the same time, acknowledges the principle of identity and the principle of contradiction.

(Editor's Note:) The Inner and Outer Quadruple Bases have the two aspects (identity-maintenance and development). For example, although the outward appearance may change depending on the stage (egg, larva, chrysalis, imago), a butterfly (potentially a butterfly as a species) remains the same in any given stage of development. This is an identity maintaining aspect, and by this aspect, the principle of identity and that of contradiction hold true throughout all stages. In this manner, Unification Logic acknowledges both principles of formal logic.

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