They solve many problems and make many choices, without being able to demonstrate (in the purest sense of the word) why their conclusions and choices were correct.īetween the ages of five and nine, therefore, children cannot rely too heavily on logic. ![]() This is also how children between five and nine years old operate. That is to say, they make random decisions, analyze and memorize the outcomes in order to progress, and then correct themselves by discerning both the invariables and the contextual variables. This is the main reason why artificial intelligence is only now starting to see results, despite the fact that information technology has been in use since the 1940s.Ĭomputer engineers have needed to overcome their grounding in logical, mathematical, and hypothetical deduction, and to incorporate developments in cognitive science and neurology. Algorithms now operate more like children. Pure logic, besides often producing unfortunate results in the real world, can be a hindrance in a highly complicated universe where decisions require managing multiple factors. Neurological studies, since those undertaken by Antonio Damasio in the 1990s, have shown us that decision-making processes and emotional processes are intimately linked, from both neurophysiological and behavioral perspectives. People with ultra-logical cognitive tendencies won’t have enough factors for their reasoning to work with, and may be incapable of making a decision-and therefore, incapable of taking action. This is how a child can choose between two toys or how an adult chooses between buying and renting an apartment. Intervention, conscious or unconscious, from our memory of similar past experiences, our preferences, and our personality in the broad sense The cognitive processing of a situation and/or argument Most real-life problems that we have been grappling with since infancy cannot be formally resolved by logical deduction.ĭecision-making is based on a complex mix of different elements: This is one of the reasons why automated translation between languages has been a thorn in the side of artificial intelligence experts since the 1970s. Paradoxically, human communication only works because it is not a purely logical linguistic system. But a child learns to speak and to understand in a pragmatic and contextual, not logical, fashion.Ĭertain communication problems result from an overly rigid logical rigor, as in the case of people with Asperger’s syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Logical language is systematic and obligatory. However, in formal logic, the sentence means that if I had a knife, I would be obliged to cut the steak. If someone says: “If I had a knife, I would cut my steak,” most people would understand that having a knife makes it possible to cut the steak. It is contextual, whether we are talking about comprehension or expression. Natural language does not conform to a formal logical structure. ![]() It is from out of these capacities that critical thinking can begin to develop at this age.Īs is readily apparent, communication via language is not logical. But again parents can encourage the basics of critical thinking at an early age by promoting social factors like self-esteem.ĭespite the fact that young children may not be able to grasp logical concepts, they still employ everyday forms of reasoning in both their use of language and in problem-solving and decision-making. This is why we only explain mathematical principles to children when they are 13 to 14 years old. At a young age, the cognitive system does not yet have the capacity to discern logical invariables (i.e., the ability to reproduce a line of reasoning in a variable context). Third, if parents train children from ages five to nine to make more or less complex logical deductions, no deep knowledge is acquired. Multiple developmental psychology studies since Piaget have shown that our cognitive system can only become proficient in logical analysis later on, and with the correct training. Second, although logic is not natural, it can be taught with varying degrees of success, according to personality, cognitive profile, and so on. We can only acquire it through learning-and only at an age when the cognitive system and brain development allow for such learning (between ages 12 and 15). The fact that if it does rain, the speaker will take an umbrella implies nothing, strictly speaking, about what will happen in the case that it is not raining. Logic, the cognitive capacity for formal and reliable deduction, is not natural to humans. But from a purely logical perspective, it does not follow.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |