Q&A: Training in Logic
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Training in Logic
Question
Do you think that someone who presents himself as a lecturer, rosh yeshiva, etc., who gives analytical Talmud classes, should undergo training and study in fields like logic and philosophy?
In other words: is the fact that there is no formal education of this kind in yeshivas a deficiency, in light of the fact that there is considerable overlap between analytical Talmud study and those disciplines?
Answer
Definitely not. In every field it is helpful to know logic and philosophy, but if a person is intelligent and uses his head, he does not need to study logic or philosophy in order to analyze topics correctly. Of course it can be helpful, but it certainly is not obligatory.
Besides that, Nachmanides writes explicitly (in his introduction to Milhamot) that Talmudic study does not necessarily operate according to logic; that is, logic is only a tool and nothing more. If so, it follows that one cannot always apply a reduction to the concept of “Torah knowledge.”