– How people learn to think logically? Is there any limits to possible logical thinking, depending on age?
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I believe that the national decline in logical reasoning (HUUUUGGGE generalization, I know) can be attributed, in part, to the decline in language instruction (you know, the old-school, diagramming sentences kind of grammar lessons).
In high school, I was required to take four years of Latin. While it did not provide me with a grounding in a conversational, “useful”language, my education in Latin gave me four terrific advantages:
1. I was able to pick up related “Romance” languages very easily (PS. Romance = related to the Roman language, not the love language)
2. My English vocabulary was vastly improved due to so many English words being derived from Latin or one of its related tongues
3. I learned how to memorize! Latin has many different cases, declensions, voices, etc. and all those endings and uses need memorizing
And finally, 4. Latin teaches logical reasoning. This is the big one. English grammar taught the same kind of thought processes, too (not as intensively), but Latin was the granddaddy of learning to suss-out the way individual words are constructed and placed in order to create meaning.
The move to “holistic” language instruction helped us learn how to communicate on vacation. It traded away the nitty-gritty “behind-the-curtains” real reason for learning a language.
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