Formal logic requires substantive concepts to be scientifically useful

Evidence

John Stuart Mill began his System of Logic with a “book” devoted to concepts. Starting with concepts was a logical choice since they are some of the main building blocks for constructing theoretical propositions. Propositional logic involves the proper manipulation of symbols. For this to have usefulness in science these symbols need to be given substantive content. In this book I show how one can construct substantive concepts and discuss the implications for empirical (qualitative and quantitative) research of different concept structures. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 55

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Frames concepts as the building blocks whose substantive content determines whether propositional logic yields usable science.