In order to begin my paper about the nature of logic and perception, at first I’d like to define these two concepts. According to explanatory dictionaries logic is a science that is busy with studying different principles of reasoning, such as deductive and inductive reasoning and others. A simpler definition is given at electronic dictionary [2] where logic is defined as aggregate of principles and methods that are used to distinguish correct from incorrect reasoning. Logic is performed by the process of studying and estimating personal thoughts and ideas for the purpose of finding the correct ones which will help to understand the way in which a person thinks and find the reasons for him/her to do that. Also logic is the branch of philosophy that analyzes reasoning of people.

Logic is strongly interrelated with perception and critical thinking. To understand this relation in a better way it’s necessary to define the term perception. It is not only a sensory and visual awareness of the reality provided with the help of human receptors (such as eyes, ears and others), but it is also a process of analyzing, organizing, selecting and explaining of data received from the outside [3]. As for critical thinking, it is a mental process of evaluating information with the help of cognitive skills, such as taking in consideration all possible variants of outcome, studying available evidence, learning different opinions and considering the truth while depending on reasonable facts rather than emotions. All these actions must be done before making a final conclusion. Usually critical thinking helps to develop more logical ideas, thus performs correct behavior. Also among the most important purposes of critical thinking are estimating points of view of different people, attaining understanding and solving certain problems by asking ourselves to define what is right and what is wrong.

From my point of view, logic of a person is not the same as logic taken as a science. Of course personal logic obeys the common laws of logic, but still these two concepts are not identical due to the personal perception of the world that every person experiences. For example, let’s speak about two people looking at the masterpiece of a famous artist. It’s a usual thing that one likes it and the other one doesn’t. So, the one who likes it is thinking that it’s the best painting he or she has ever seen, but the one who doesn’t like thinks that the painting is the worst he/she has ever seen. What happens in this case? Two people both at the same time look at the same painting, but they perceive it differently, I should say oppositely, thus they think about it differently. Hence, having different perception of an object will result in different reasoning. To decide who is right and who is wrong in this situation is impossible, because as all people are different, their tastes are also different.

Now, let’s speak about perception and critical thinking. I think that these two concepts have very strong interrelations that can be seen in the following. It’s obvious that human perception feeds human critical thinking. Unless we see, hear or feel something we don’t think about it, but as soon as it happens, our brain starts to work at analyzing received information. Thus, the process of evaluating, comparing and reasoning has started, which is indeed the process of critical thinking. Interrelation of perception and critical thinking can be seen in a different way. Critical thinking sort of restricts our personal perception by the process of rational thinking about subjects. For example, we hear some awful screams from outside, we cannot see anything, but just hear, and brain starts to draw a picture of something bad happening. While we perceive those screams in such a way, our critical thinking suggests to us that it might be children playing outside, who shout their heads off. And it’s correct. One look out of the window proves it. Critical thinking is usually used to decide efficiently what we should believe and what we shouldn’t, which uses reason as the main instrument for defining the truth. The most important principle of critical thinking is to evaluate every supposition basically with the help of logic. Critical thinking is also very closely connected with logic. Critical thinking is the foundation of logic as a science, and logic for its turn is the only science that studies the nature of the process of thinking in general.

It’s important to notice the relation between critical thinking and stereotypes. From my point of view these two concepts are opposed. Stereotype is an idea or a convention that has grown steady through fixed usage, while critical thinking is a very personal process which is peculiar to every separate individual. That’s why, when we come across a certain stereotype it’s necessary to think about it critically and to decide whether it’s true or not.

Now, I’d like to speak about my own example of perception of reality which didn’t correspond to what was really going on. Well, I have two friends, who are actually my only and best friends. One day, we decided to meet at a café and then have a walk in the park. I was running late, so when I came to the place where we had to meet, both of them were already there. At first they didn’t see me, so they kept on discussing something rather emotionally. When I came closer I heard some words, such as, “Ticket… concert… favorite band… don’t tell…”, then they noticed me and right away stopped the conversation. I greeted them and asked what they were discussing so loudly, they pretended that they didn’t hear me even when I asked them again and again. As I’ve heard some of their words I thought that they decided to go to the concert of our favorite band without me, because I didn’t have money at that time. I felt very sad about it, because they were my best friends and we never made secrets. To cut a long story short, I’ll say that I was wrong. In a week I had my birthday and got a ticket from them for the concert about which they were talking at the café the other day. I was extremely happy and felt ashamed that I thought in such a way about my friends. From that day I decided to rely more on my brain then on my eyes and ears, and to critically think about everything that goes on around me. I realized that I didn’t hear their entire conversation, and made a hasty conclusion. Now, as I grew up older I try to consider all facts and to think over a couple of times before do or say something.

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