Formal logic neutralizes contradiction and serves prediction and control

Evidence

Under the rule of formal logic, the notion of the conflict between essence and appearance is expendable if not meaningless; the material content is neutralized; the principle of identity is separated from the principle of contradiction (contradictions are the fault of incorrect thinking); final causes are removed from the logical order. Well defined in their scope and function, concepts become instruments of prediction and control. Formal logic is thus the first step on the long road to scientific thought—the first step only, for a much higher degree of abstraction and mathematization is still required to adjust the modes of thought to technological rationality. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 525

Categorization

• XREF: This is the bridge to the core thesis that technological rationality flattens critical thought — directly relevant to reader’s attention-economy interest. — connects to: Formal logic’s either-or structure derives from the compulsion of self-preservation. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 47; Dialectical logic must eliminate all remaining traces of deductive systems; Closed language validates itself through tautology and command rather than argument — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 414 (+8 more)
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that formal logic’s neutralization of contradiction is the precondition for technological control is dense and paradigm-shifting — the elimination of contradiction in thought mirrors the elimination of alternatives in one-dimensional society.

Broader Connections

• Formal logic preconditioned the mind for technological control #corroborates (0.95) — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 526
• Logic tests the validity of propositions after value judgments drive decisions #qualifies (0.80) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 95
• Totalizing truth-seeking theory gets co-opted by the system’s optimization #complicates (0.75) — Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, 154
• Conditional, functional programming renders power universal yet bounded #exemplifies (0.75) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 670
• Pure negation cannot sustain a collective will without implicit construction #expands (0.72)
• Interaction between two minds cannot be modeled by formal deduction alone #qualifies (0.72) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 368