We started this series because something felt off. Not politically off. Not socially off. But definitely intellectually off. We are surrounded by information yet starving for wisdom. We hear many opinions but lack discipline. Voices are everywhere, but clarity is hard to find. Isaac Watts wrote Logic; or, The Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry After Truth in 1725. His goal was simple: “Truth is the object of our understanding, and the desire of truth should be the spring of all our...

Method: Organizing Your Mind We’ve walked the path carefully. Perception. Ideas. Judgment. Propositions. Reasoning. Now Watts brings us to the final operation of the mind: Method . If reasoning connects the dots, method arranges the dots. Watts defines it this way: “Method is the disposition of our thoughts in such order as is most proper to find out and communicate truth.” That word disposition matters. Method is not just having thoughts. It is arranging them intentionally. In other...

We’ve trained our perception. We’ve clarified our ideas. We’ve formed judgments. We’ve stated propositions. Now, we arrive at the engine room of logic: Reasoning. If judgment compares two ideas, reasoning takes multiple propositions and connects them to reach a conclusion. Watts defines it this way: “Reasoning is that act of the mind whereby we infer one proposition from two or more propositions before known.” That word infer is important. Reasoning is not guessing. It is not reacting. It is...