Nature of Logic and Perception

Nature of Logic and Perception

What is logic? According to Webster's II New College Dictionary, logic is "the study of the principles of reasoning especially of the structure of propositions as distinguished from their content and of method and validity in deductive reasoning." In simplest terms, logic is a way of problem solving that uses careful thought and reasoning. Perception, on the other hand, is understanding that is based on the senses. Logic and perception relate to critical thinking because you need both skills in order to make well-informed decisions. Everyone was born with some degree of reasoning skills and numerous senses. Critical thinking involves the use of those senses and reasoning abilities. It is being able to determine what the problem is, brainstorming possible solutions, and logically deciding on and implementing the best solution to the problem. This is important because many problems don't have one simple or exact solution.

In my own personal life, my perception of things is now based on the facts of any given situation that I find myself involved in. I tend to sit back and watch as things happen, and when I notice that there is a problem, I determine what course of action to take based on what I believe is the problem. I try not to depend on preconceived ideas because they tend to be irrelevant and only cause more problems in the end. Growing up, my perception was not always based on actual facts. My perception was primarily based on the perceptions that my parents instilled in me as a young child and the environment around me. These are a couple of the perceptual blocks that influenced my views until I was on my own. My critical thinking process was solely based on what I was taught and what I saw in my environment. One example of this: I grew up around many different cultures and nationalities and I was taught that everyone was the same no matter what color their skin was or their nationality and I could be friends with anyone I chose to be friends with. However, I discovered that was not the case after I joined the military. Not everyone accepted the different cultures and nationalities in our world, and so my perception was changed to accommodate the newly found information I discovered.

The only incident that I can recall in my life where my perception of the reality was far from the actual reality was the year when my marriage came to an end. It was 1999 and I was preparing to get out of the military. We started off the New Year with promises and hopes for renewing and revitalizing our marriage and commitment to each other. Everything was fine until about one month before my discharge date. That's when my husband changed. He was dissatisfied with everything going on in our life and he was constantly complaining and criticizing me. It seemed like we were fighting all the time. The day before we were to leave Ft. Benning my mother called to talk to me, but my husband decided that he needed to talk to her first about a pressing issue on his mind. They talked and when they finished, he hung up the phone. When he did not let me talk to my mother, I asked why. Basically he told me that they had decided we needed some time apart to figure things out and I was going home to my parents for awhile. It blew my mind that they made that decision for me, but rather than get into a fight about it, I went along with it. After all, it was part his decision. Well, I got out of the Army and my kids and I went home to be with my parents. The time apart was good. It gave me the opportunity to examine my marriage. I knew I wanted to work things out and save it. My husband and I talked almost everyday while we were apart and discussed the problems that we believed we were having at the time. Our discussions were productive and I felt that my marriage was no longer in danger of failing. We finally reunited in June 1999 and it was a wonderful reunion. We were doing great and we were a family again. Then in September, things started to go downhill for us. The complaining and criticizing surfaced again, as well as the constant fighting. I finally asked him what his problem was because I could not take it anymore, and that was when he dropped the bomb on me. He told me that he did not love me anymore and that he wanted a divorce. I was caught completely off guard. I was not expecting to hear those words at all. Our marriage was not perfect and we had our share of problems, but