The Conversation Rulebook

Disclaimer: I realize that this won't be interesting to most but I feel it needs to be done.

Before going further I want to lay a couple foundational ideas of logic. I am an analytical thinker and having a framework helps when trying to hang thoughts.  I want to present the primary laws of logic required for coherent conversation. Now I haven't done much official study in this field so if I need correcting please let me know. These ideas are pretty basic and we use them without thinking about it. Laying them out is like writing down the rules to a game so everyone knows how to play. The truth is we cannot avoid them. So here they are:

Four Laws of Logic:

• Law of Identity
• Law of Rational Inference
• Law of the Excluded Middle
• Law of Non-Contradiction

The Law of Identity:
If we are talking about 'A' then we are not talking about 'non-A.' So if you are talking about a red car I know you are not talking about a blue truck. To have a coherent conversation we need to know what we are talking about.

The Law of Rational Inference:
As Wikipedia states: "Inference is the act or process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be true."
So when I say that I came to work today on my bike you could conclude that my bike is at the office.
Pretty simple stuff right?

Law of the Excluded Middle:
Just because two things have one thing in common doesn't mean they have everything in common. For example:
A) All Elephants have ears
B) I have Ears
C) I am an Elephant
This is funny to me because while growing up some people made this very mistake with me and my ears. Too bad they didn't know the laws of logic. This law makes a lot of sense when using the absurd example above, but many people ignore this one in daily discussions. I will refer back to this especially when talking about the differences between religions.
Here is another prime example by Veggie Tales: Monkey Song

Law of Non-Contradiction:
Last one and just as important as the rest... Non-contradiction means that two antithetical {mutually incompatible} propositions cannot be true at the same time and in the same sense. X cannot be non-X. A thing cannot be and not be simultaneously. And nothing that is true can be self-contradictory or inconsistent with any other truth.
The best example I have heard has to do with crossing the border into America:
Border Guard: "How long have you been out of the country?"
Husband: "A week"
Wife: "Two days"
BG: "Which one is it?"
H: "Both"
W: "Neither"
BG: "Do you have tobacco or alcohol in the vehicle?"
H: "No"
W: "Yes"
Just see if the border guard believes that two contradictory statements can be true at the same time - not likely, chances are your stay at the border will be a long one...

All rational discourse requires these laws and now with the rules of the game in place I think I am ready for more fun blogging.